DENVER (KDVR) — For over 30 years, the town of Breckenridge has hosted the International Snow Sculpture Championships, where teams from around the world travel to the mountain town to craft detailed snow sculptures.

The competition started on Monday, Jan. 22 with 12-foot-high blocks of snow that weighed 25 tons.

The teams have five days and a total of 94 hours to complete their sculptures, according to Go Breck.

The start of snow sculptures in Breckenridge (Courtesy of Breckenridge Tourism Office)
Day 1 of snow sculptures in Breckenridge (Courtesy of Breckenridge Tourism Office)

The backstory of this competition dates back to 1979 when a real estate company decided to join the Ullr Fest snow sculpture competition instead of designing a parade float. After a coin flip, Team Breck, the town’s competitive snow sculpting team, was formed, according to Go Breck.

Years later, Team Breck moved on to bigger and bigger competitions until Breckenridge hosted an international competition in the 1990s. The event hosted artisans from places like Morocco, Switzerland, Mongolia, China, Argentina and Canada.

Thirty-three years later, the competition is still going on.

This year, artisans came from nearby places like Wisconsin, while others came from different countries like China, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, India, South Korea, Lithuania, Mexico and Mongolia.

Sculpting ends on Friday morning, but teams are already getting amazingly close to the finish.

Day 3 of snow sculptures in Breckenridge (Courtesy of Breckenridge Tourism Office)
Day 3 of snow sculptures in Breckenridge (Courtesy of Breckenridge Tourism Office)

There’s still a full day left of sculpting. Throughout Thursday, the 12 teams will put their finishing touches on their masterpieces before judging.

Sculptors are competing for first, second and third-place trophies along with the People’s Choice Award and Lothar Luboschik Artists’ Choice Award. There’s no cash prize involved – just glory, according to Go Breck.

Voting opened for the People’s Choice Award on Wednesday, and it goes on until Saturday afternoon. However, you’ll have a bit more time to see their creations.

The sculptures are open for viewing by reservation on Saturday. From Sunday until next Wednesday, anyone will have a chance to see the snow sculptures.

After Jan. 31 at 5 p.m., the sculptures “disappear,” so head over to Breckenridge before the end of the month.