BRECKENRIDGE — The end of January is approaching and in the popular ski destination of Breckenridge, snow comes and goes, cold weather is a near constant, and currently massive snow sculptures tower over visitors making their way through the town's heart.
For the past 30 years, Breckenridge has hosted the International Snow Sculpture Championships. The event brings together snow sculpting teams from across the United States as well as from all over the globe.
Teams of sculptors are given a week, or approximately 65 hours, to carve masterful creations from 12-foot-tall, 20-ton blocks of packed snow, using only handtools.
Many teams pull all night shifts to finish their sculptures on time.
The sculpting wrapped up on January 24th and the massive snow creations that are the cornerstone of the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpting Competition are in place for everyone to enjoy through January 29th.
The Breckenridge Tourism Office estimates that the event brings in about 45,000 people each year on average.
This year 16 teams competed hailing from 12 different countries:
- Argentina
- China
- Ecuador
- France
- Germany
- Breat Britain
- India
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- USA
To learn more about the event and these massive snow constructs, CLICK HERE.
