Massive blocks of hard-packed snow are brought to life in Breckenridge each winter during the town’s annual snow-sculpting championships. Teams of sculptors work long hours in freezing temperatures to create art that is meant to melt away. It’s enough to give one goosebumps.
“I get chills just talking about it,” says Kristen Petitt, director of public relations for Breckenridge Resort Chamber, co-producer of the event. “For me it’s a week to not only watch sculptors turn snow into pieces of art, but to be inspired by them. The process is as beautiful as it is precise.”
The 17th annual Budweiser Select International Snow Sculpture Championships are set for Jan. 23-27 at the Riverwalk Center in downtown Breckenridge. Fourteen teams from around the world work around the clock to create intricate designs and compete for gold, silver and bronze medals. The 12-foot tall sculptures, weighing 20 tons, are carved using only such hand tools as chisels, saws, shovels, and rasps.
The internationally diverse field of sculptors travels from as far away as Mongolia to compete. Other four-person teams will represent Canada, China, Lithuania, Mexico, Switzerland, Russia, Czech Republic and Turkey. Five U.S. teams compete, including Breckenridge’s own home team.
Tom Day, a real estate broker with an engineering degree, is captain of Team Breckenridge. The other team members include professional artists Stuart Bremner and Chaz Dela Porta. Dave Pfau, a photographer, is new to the team this year.
This is Day’s 14th year in the competition. He says sculpting snow is more art than science, although science plays an important role.
The snow created for the Breckenridge competition is made with a recipe that assures the snow blocks are just short of being ice. “The consistency and quality of the snow blocks are the best in the world,” Day says. “We can do things here from a technical standpoint we can’t do anywhere else.”
The Breckenridge team members start by collaborating on an idea for their sculpture, which is then refined and put to paper. A 1/100th scale model is sculpted in clay and then a grid is created.
“Just like sculpting with marble, the grid tells us what to leave and what to take away,” Day says. “We just take away anything that isn’t part of the sculpture.” The team’s favorite tools include a floor scraper with steel blade for shaping, different sizes of Chinese ice saws, cheese graters, and all shapes and sizes of nailer plates.
In 2006 Team Breckenridge captured First Place and the People’s Choice award for a sculpture of a puppy looking at his reflection in a mirror.
The snow sculpture championships also are a type of performance art. Spectators are encouraged to watch the teams’ progress throughout the competition, especially on Friday when some teams work through the night to meet the 10 a.m. Saturday deadline. The sculptures remain on display until Feb. 4, weather permitting.
“When you’re here, talk to the guys and ask what they’re doing. There are teams from all over the world. Some are sand sculptors and have never worked with snow before.”
Spectators also can interact with the snow sculptors in another way, he says. “Bring us a little Schnapps and we’ll have a sip.”
SNOW SCULPTURE INFO
The International Snow Sculpture Championships are Jan. 23-27; viewing through Feb. 4.
Sculptures are open to view during the 65 hours of the competition; free to spectators.
Breckenridge is about 90 miles west of Denver via Interstate 70 (Exit 203, Colorado 9 south 9 miles). The sculpture venue is at the Riverwalk Center. Free public transportation, provided by Breckenridge FREE RIDE, is available 6:30 a.m. to midnight. Maps are available at the event headquarters, information centers and Breckenridge Station. For more information, see the events menu at gobreck.com.
