The Colorado Ski Town That Transforms Into A Winter Wonderland Of Snow Sculptures
Colorado is home to some of the best skiing in the U.S., and one of its premier ski towns is Breckenridge. Located about 80 miles from Denver, in addition to offering fantastic skiing and snowboarding, it's also a great mountain destination for non-skiers. This is particularly true in January, when Breckenridge hosts the International Snow Sculpture Championships.
Every winter, teams from around the world converge on downtown Breckenridge to create the best sculpture that they can from 25-ton, 12-foot-tall blocks of snow. This year, the teams will sculpt from January 20-24, while viewing of the finished sculptures will be open from January 24-29. The level of detail that the teams are able to create using just snow and hand tools is almost unbelievable, so if you're in the area, you should see them for yourself.
Free, timed entry reservations are required to walk through the sculpture area during the day on January 25. Otherwise, the area is open 24/7, and at night, the sculptures are lit up with colorful lights. You can also watch the teams in action during the sculpting period; seeing the artwork emerge from what was once just a huge block of snow is an incredible experience.
Teams compete for bragging rights with their Breckenridge snow sculptures
A number of prestigious awards are given out at the International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge; there's no prize money, however, just bragging rights. Judges designate the gold, silver, and bronze winners; visitors vote for the People's Choice Award; and the artists themselves vote for the winner of the Luthar Luboschik Artists' Choice Award.
12 teams, including three from the U.S., will compete in 2025. Team Mexico will be back, likely hoping for a repeat of 2024 when they won both the People's Choice Award and the gold award for their sculpture, "The Beggar" (pictured above left), conceived as a powerful statement about wealth and inequity. Each team's sculpture is designed around a chosen theme; some are thought-provoking like "The Beggar," while others are more playful, like Team Great Britain's "Hippo Ballet Dancers" (above right) from 2019. What they all have in common is that every one is an undeniably beautiful work of art. Each year features different sculptures, so it can make for a great annual tradition to check out this unique art display.
If you do miss the snow sculptures in Breckenridge, mark your calendar for next year. And if you're looking for a more permanent, larger-than-life art installation in the area, take a hike to the Breckenridge troll.