Breckenridge Snow Sculpting

So how does this:

 Become this?!?!

Well we found out that it is done with nothing more than hand tools and 65 hours of labor. We went to the International Snow Sculpture in Breckenridge over the weekend with our friend Jerry and Angela.  We went last year but we went on the wrong weekend. The weekend we went was the one that they were working on them and we didn't get to see the final project.  But this year we (me) got the dates right :)

We arrived in Breckenridge before lunch so we went to see them in the daylight and planned to return later in the afternoon to see them with lights on them at night.  These sculptures were phenomenal! The lights at night gave them a different look and in some circumstances the lights really helped highlight the contours of the pieces and added depth and dimension to all of them. 

However some didn't fare so well:

We also noticed that there were several trees painted blue in the downtown area.  Come to find out it is an art installation.  Mmmm I think I could do that and I'm not even artsy in the least!

Professional judges picked the winners but they also allowed the public to pick their favorites during the viewing week.  The winners of the contest don't actually win anything other than a medal, a trophy, a travel and lodging stipend and bragging rights.  There were contestants from all over the world; from Mongolia to Mexico and of course there were several representing the USA.  That night they also had a Fire Sculpture contest in Breckenridge in conjunction with the Snow Sculptures.