Snow Sculpting in Breckenridge, Colorado
If you are looking for a fun mountain activity to experience during your late January Keystone Vacation, the Breckenridge Ice Sculptures are definitely worth taking a day trip to see. Visit them today to see the artists live in action, hard at work or check them out over the weekend to see the finished pieces in all of their glory.
Every year the Town of Breckenridge, which is just a 20 minute drive from Keystone, hosts its inaugural snow sculpting championships. Competitors travel from other countries around the world to compete here in Summit County from places such as Morocco, Russia, Switzerland, China, Argentina, and Canada. Each year more and more artists come to Breckenridge to participate in this event due to its great reputation. Snow blocks stand ready for their artists and are built from snow brought down from the resorts in Breckenridge by the Public Works Department. The snow is transferred from dump trucks onto the streets and molded by snow blowers, front end loaders, and human "molders", whose primary job is to climb into and top of the snow and pack it down with the stomping of their feet. This process is the same for each snow block and continues until the mold is full and packed into sculptable snow. On Tuesday, January 26th, the cannons sounded signaling the start of the 26th Inaugural Championships and the designers got to work using all sorts of tools and working from smaller size models and drawings. The event continues throughout the week and artists will begin wrapping up their pieces on Saturday, January 29th at 10 am. The award ceremony will be held on Saturday at 2 pm. Visitors can submit their vote for a 'People's Choice' award anytime before Monday, February 1st at 2pm with just a $1 donation which goes towards the ice sculptures.
Many locals will be in attendance of this event and it is a rare treasure to witness in person. As a local myself, my family will be at the award ceremony and we are excited to see the beauty that artists from all over the world come to our home to create. It will be fun for the whole family. You can view the sculptures at the Riverwalk Center at 150 West Adams Avenue, just off of Main Street. There are free parking lots located throughout town for 3-hour time blocks and pay lots are available as well. There is also a Fire Arts Festival happening this weekend in conjunction with the ice sculptures. It's definitely worth the short drive from Keystone if you are staying with SummitCove Lodging over the weekend. Are you looking to reserve a ski condo to stay in for the weekend? Buffalo Lodge #8358 is still available for a last minute vacation this weekend. This property is a one bedroom, one bath condo in Keystone's River Run Village. Walk to the slopes, restaurants, ice rink and gondola and enjoy the building's great amenities, including the heated parking garage, which will allow you to hop in your car and be checking out the snow sculptures in no time!
Written By: Megan Harding