Breck Snow Sculpture Championship

UNCARVED SNOW BLOCKS

Each team is provided a  20+ ton block of snow, which is one of the largest ice blocks these teams will ever carve. Each block measures 10 feet by 10 feet by 12 feet tall.  It will take approximately 65 hours of scraping, shaping and sculpting by hand and with power tools to transform it into a true work of art.

The snow blocks are constructed through the generous support of the entire community of Breckenridge. The Breckenridge Ski Resort makes snow recognized to be some of the best in the world when it comes to carving. (Breckenridge spent years perfecting their “recipe”.) The town of Breckenridge Public Works Department hauls the snow in using a giant snowblower, and fills each wooden form used to build these ice blocks.

Using snowblowers the snow is forced into the forms, volunteers from the community climb into the form of scaffolding, and manually pack the snow with their feet. This step is critical to create a snow block that is free of cracks and defects that could decrease the integrity of the snow block. Once the snow block is formed and ready, a crane is used to remove the form from the snow block.  Each snow block construction typically takes 3 days just to complete in order to be ready for the artists to begin working with.

With the use of LED lights, crews often work into the evening, to create their masterpieces. Throughout the week, services are provided for the event by numerous area business and a myriad of volunteers, hosts and translators.

January 21-30, 2019 for the 29th Annual International Snow Sculpture Championships presented by Breckenridge Brewery! During the Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships, 16 teams from around the world descend on Breckenridge, Colo. to hand-carve 25-ton blocks of snow into enormous works of art.