A two-time cancer survivor has turned a massive snowbank into a fundraising contest to support Relay for Life, an event that raises both funds and awareness for cancer research.

“I’ve driven by this monstrous snow hill for weeks and weeks and we’ve kind of been shack wacky, so I thought maybe if we get outside and try to put some positive spin on this snow-filled winter,” says Amherst, N.S. resident Daren White.

White used Kool-Aid to spray paint more than 100 pink ribbons onto the snowbank in the parking lot of the Amherst Centre Mall. Now he is selling tickets for people to guess when the hill will melt and disappear, with half of the money raised going to Relay to Life.

The hill currently stands 11 metres tall and has a base of 233 metres.

“Some people are guessing March, and by the snow that’s falling today, I don’t think it’s going to be March,” says White.

“I call it my Hill of Hope and it kinda is backwards; I’d like to see the thing disappear, but I don’t want hope to disappear.”

White expects he will need to paint new ribbons onto the hill a few more times before the snow finally stops falling.

Local officials with the Canadian Cancer Society say White isn’t just a survivor, but also an amazing ambassador for the town and the cause.

“He really is somebody that stood up and said ‘You know what? I’m not willing to just let this happen to me. I’m willing to fight back for other people,’” says Sharon Bristol of the Canadian Cancer Society.

White says it will probably be April, or even May, before a winner can be determined, but he says that’s OK because the real winner is the Canadian Cancer Society and Relay for Life.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh