International Snow Sculpture Championships Kicked

Download a copy of the Breckenridge Media Guide here!

International Snow Sculpture Championships Kicked Off Today in Breckenridge, Colo.

Click here for discounts and local deals being offered around town

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. – Jan. 26, 2010 – Twelve teams from six countries around the world gathered at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, Colo. today to sculpt 12-foot-tall, 20-ton blocks of machine-made Colorado snow into works of art. Sculpting began at 11 a.m. this morning with a shotgun start that kicked off Breckenridge’s 20th annual Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships.

The four-person teams traveled from six countries including Canada (two teams), China, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Mexico and the USA. The United States teams in attendance include Alaska, Colorado (Breckenridge and Loveland), Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Snow was flying as the teams began sawing and chopping large chunks of snow off their blocks to create the initial shapes of their sculptures. The teams will work within a five-day period to create their finished works of art. The teams started sculpting this morning, and will sculpt Wednesday and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. through the night and finish their sculptures by 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The awards ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 31, and sculptures will remain on display through the following Sunday, February 7 (weather permitting).

The finished pieces are achieved after a total of 65 intense hours of work without the use of power tools, internal support structures or colorants – just the ingenuity of the sculptors and a medium that lends itself, if only temporarily, to the persuasion of hand tools.

Call the Breckenridge Resort Chamber at 877.593.5260 for more information on the 2010 Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships. This event is free and open to the public.