Do you want to build a snowman? That was the question that lingered in Eric Fobbe’s mind before he decided to erect a snowman the height of a telephone pole in his front yard in Buffalo, Minn., 40 miles northwest of the Twin Cities. But this gigantic snowman is almost as wide as he is tall.
The snowman, named Frosty Fobbe, towers 30 feet into the sky and is a beefy 20 feet wide. The snow giant has warmed the hearts of his neighbors in Buffalo and people around the country with his beaming smile and charming homemade 100-pound top hat.
Fobbe, who is a foreman for a construction company, said in an interview that the snowman is receiving a “crazy” amount of attention.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Fobbe, unaware of the pun he was dropping. “I never thought a snowman could do that.”
Fobbe said that close to 10,000 people came to see and take pictures of Frosty last weekend. Some made multiple trips.
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“I love how the snowman has brought joy to so many people during the Minnesota cold months. He may be ‘just a snowman’, but he’s turned into so much more,” said Fobbe’s wife, Anastasia. “The expressions on people’s faces when they see him in person is everything. My husband worked so hard, and I’m beyond proud of him.”
The Minnesota native had plenty of natural material to work with after his neighborhood was blanketed with nearly 15 inches of snow in mid-January. Snowfall in the region is nearly double the norm so far this winter.
Eric Fobbe worked nearly 60 hours piling snow with his snowblower and using a temporary staircase to sculpt Frosty’s backside.
But Fobbe said the time it took was worth it because the snowman came out just right: Frosty the snowman has a jolly happy smile, with homemade mittens and a traffic cone nose, and two eyes made out of plywood — kind of like the song. The snowman also totes a seven-yard-long scarf made by Anastasia Fobbe and 10-foot arms, also made of plywood.
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The Fobbes shared a picture of their family standing in front of the white giant on social media: Frosty towers over their multicar garage.
He's still making some last minute adjustments, but here's Frosty Fobbe 2023!!! I'm so proud of Eric and all of his hard work the past few days! ☃️❤️
Posted by Anastasia Fobbe on Sunday, January 22, 2023For the Fobbes, Frosty isn’t just a snowman, but an extension of their family.
Share this articleShare“My daughter loves [Frosty], and loved helping her dad build him,” Anastasia Fobbe said. “[My daughter] loves talking to everyone who stops by and always offers to take their pictures for them.”
Eric Fobbe ensures that Frosty maintains his plump figure nearly every day after he gets home from work. This past weekend, he had to add a foot of snow to Frosty’s shrinking head.
“Even if it’s cold out, [if] the sun comes out, he shrinks,” Fobbe said. “I’m always out there working on it.”
Fobbe hopes the subzero temperatures in Buffalo will save him from having to make too many adjustments this week.
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This isn’t the first time Fobbe has brought a snow giant to his neighborhood, it’s actually the fourth. His first snowman in 2015 was 12 feet. The 2019 version grew to 20 feet and then 25 feet in 2021. Fobbe says he didn’t plan on doing one this year, but his daughter begged him.
“Every time I build one, I say it’s my last one because it is so much work. I am sure I will build a bigger one in the future if it snows a lot,” Fobbe said.
Frosty’s size is not record-breaking for a snow person. According to the German news site Deutsche Welle, a snowman built in Austria in 2020 was almost 125 feet tall. The Guinness Book of World Records lists a 122-foot snow woman made in Bethel, Maine, in 2008 as the world’s tallest.
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