Every year, Breckenridge, Colorado hosts the International Snow Sculpture Championships. Artists come from around the world to carve magnificent creations from twelve-foot blocks of snow that weigh a mere twenty-five tons.
When I stopped to take some pictures, the light was flat with a waning storm. Notice the snow upon Ullr’s horns, stache, and beard?
Team Breckenridge won 2nd place with Ullr, the Norse god of skiing.

The projected spotlights at night brightened the monochromatic sculptures in dramatic ways.
Team Denmark with Harmony.

I bet a few artists were pained by the snowy dusting. I wanted to sweep it away to see the face’s details.
Team Vermont with Emergence.

Accumulation almost buried the tiny mushrooms below.
Team Wisconsin – Snowblind with Forest Jam won the People’s Choice Award.

I can’t imagine how the artists created perfect symmetry in this one.
Team Lithuania with Warn(m)ing Clouds Intersect won 3rd place and the Artist’s Choice Award.

The imperfections conveyed the difficulty of creating these monstrous works of art.

Achieving perfection seemed especially hard in the one below. The drawing depicted a thin ribbon. How did the team plan to accomplish that feat?
Team Wisconsin-Tomczak with The Complexities of Life.


I thought this one portrayed the title pretty dang well. The man is about to get munched.
Team India – Calisto with Burden of Socialization.


Team Switzerland with Allied.

I tried to capture these partying crocodiles in one frame. Oh, well.
Team Great Britain with See You Later Alligator. After While Crocodile.

This may not be your favorite, but it’s absolutely perfect in scale. Keep in mind that a few inches of snow fell on it.
The 1st place winner from Team Germany-Bavaria with Sub-Zero-Gravity.

One of these years, I plan to drive up earlier in the week to see the artists at work and then watch the demolition. Pow!
Which is your favorite?
Hello how are you
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Did you see this in the WordPress reader? It’s not showing up in mine.
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Yes. It showed up in my WP reader.
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Fantastic! It glitched out earlier.
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I look forward to this post of yours every year. So amazing! Thanks for sharing.
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It’s so nice to see you, Rebecca! Thanks for stopping by.
Did you see this post in the reader? It didn’t show up in mine.
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I got your post in my email. I always forget to check the reader, but no, I don’t see it there.
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It posted with yesterday’s date!!! It’s always something…
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I’ve had that happen, so now I check every time I publish to make sure it’s set to “publish immediately”.
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Me too! The timestamp decided to post yesterday, so the WP Happiness Engineers worked with me all morning to fix the bugger. For a while the link from emails was broken. GAH! I set my time from Denver to UTC, so it doesn’t happen again.
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These are amazing ice sculptures. I love the lighting too. I bet they were fun to see in person.
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They were! I’ve seen pictures of the artists creating them while standing on scaffolding. I would be that person who would tap a little too hard and cleave off the entire corner. LOL!
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😋
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These are amazing! My favourite was by Team Breckenridge.
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Mine too!
Great to see you, Darlene. ❤️
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💖
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They are all beautiful sculptures, Susie! ❤️ The light snow could possibly be blown off with a leaf blower.
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That would have been a great idea! I should suggest that next time.
Great to see you, John!
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Thanks, it’s nice to see you back here! Having worked in commercial lawn care for years, a leaf blower seems a natural choice. ❤️
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Yes!
My first day back and my article posted with yesterday’s date. GAH! But it’s fixed now!
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Oh, you have WP glitches too?!
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In publishing a post, yes. Hopefully, they fixed the bug!
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Absolutely gorgeous sculpting and photos as well – bravo!
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Thanks so much, John! It’s always fun to see them.
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Wow! I always love when you share these amazing sculptures. They’re all so cool, but my favorite has to be the Burden of Socialization. I love how the colored lights enhance them so incredibly. Gorgeous!
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Me too!
I was surprised that Burden of Socialization didn’t win some kind of award. Maybe the execution of the sculpture changed in some way from the original drawing.
Great to see you, Susan!
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Hey. We’re in Beaver Creek on 3 March. At VPAC for their anniversary show.
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Cool! Maybe we’ll see you there! I love Beaver Creek. ❤️
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You better let me know. The anniversary is a benefit. Tickets start at $250 and rise for the dinner/show to $1,000+.
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It’s SOLD OUT!
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It sold out in 30 minutes. We always sell out in 30-45 minutes. So? Sheesh.
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WOW!!!
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BTW, you have to ask. I never offer. 🙂
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Have fun tonight!! We have been traveling the last couple of weeks. Just got into town and are heading up to Breck. Whew!
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Thank you. It’s not that fun for us until NJ plays. That’s fun. The dinner was kind of funny. As folks introduced themselves to her they tried to buy her drinks. She never drinks when she’s working.
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Are you skiing today?
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We went home on Saturday. We bought a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, and we really like being there.
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That sounds so peaceful! Do you keep any animals there?
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Five dogs. It is a former dairy farm so once upon a time cows roamed here. 82 acres with a house, barn, two silos, a windmill, a shed. We built a new modern house, because NJ is tired of living in old places. We renovate the original house for long staying guests, like her mom.
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Nice!!!!
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I love this stuff! Beautiful! So creative!
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They are insane! I’ll try to go earlier next year and take pictures of the artist carving from the scaffolds.
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Thank you for giving us a glimpse of this international event, Susie. I have to say I liked them all but my favorite was Ullr.
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Mine too!
Thanks for stopping by, John! It’s always great to see you.
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Thank you, Susie. Always great to see you as well. (and to be seen)
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Very cool! Cold actually, very cold. I love them all. Thanks for sharing.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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It was cold! I think I have acclimated though. 🥶
Thanks for stopping by, Patricia. It has been a while!
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Wow! Those are amazing. I like the one from Wisconsin best! Though I’m a little biased since that’s where I live now 😉
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Nice!!!! I was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Madison.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Wow. And I struggle to make a recognizable snowman.
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LOLOL! Great to see you, Al! I need to make my rounds!
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It does look cold! I would have picked the Norse god as well. I’m always partial to a face.
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I loved the Norse god too! The details were fantastic. It was freezing as usual. LOL! 🥶
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These are so impressive, Susie. The geometric ones must have been very hard to do, but I kind of prefer the more natural art (like the “man” and the trees playing the guitar).
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Me too! I especially love Ullr!
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Incredible imagination and engineering in these snow structures!
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These are really cool pics. I bet it was even more awesome to see them in person. Good to see you’re still handling adventures 🙂
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Yes! Good to see you too! How is everything in LA?
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Things are all right. Just chugging along thankful we got some rain 🙂
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Lots of rain!!!
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Thanks, Susie, for sharing this inspiring event. Happy you got to make the trek to Breckenridge. I have a friend who just got a job as a ski instructor there. As always appreciate your perspectives.
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Nice! We’ve had a place in Breck for twenty-five years. We bought it when I was twelve. 🤣 Thanks for stopping by!
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Thanks for sharing those. What amazing sculptures. I’d love to see that event in person. 🙂
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thanks for stopping by, Philip!
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