Breckenridge Snow Scultpure Championship
January 2013
Whether you’re a local or a guest, this is an annual event not to miss if you visit Breckenridge in late January.
Officially named the Budweiser International Snow Sculpting Championships, this year’s event officially opened on Tuesday, January 22nd, and culminated at noon, January 26th. Between Tuesday and Saturday, each five-member team had 65 hours to create an expressive sculpture from one large block of snow.
This wintertime event began on a small, local scale, several decades ago, with local merchants and school children participating in the sculpture creation. In the 1980’s the event became a statewide contest, and in 1991, Breckenridge hosted its first international championship.
Each year, before the sculpting can begin, packed blocks of ice/snow are created within wooden frames with removable sides (see video link above for a picture of a snow block, after the building framework is removed). Each pre-sculptured block weighs about 40,000 pounds, is ten feet wide, ten feet long, and twelve feet high.
The sculptors are allowed hand tools only – no power tools, and no internal support structures in this contest. Tools that are used include hand chisels, carrot scrapers, chicken wire, saws, ice cream scoops, and more. International teams have mentioned having to leave some favorite tools at home, due to aviation regulations. But spend some time watching the sculptors as they create their work, and you’ll witness continuous innovation.
Sculptures will remain standing until February 3rd, weather permitting. With the warm sun shining in today’s cloudless sky, temps reached into the 40’s….it was a beautiful day that brought the crowds out to admire the work of international artists. But if the warm weather continues, the sculptures may disappear before February 3rd.
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