Certainly some frosty competition! Artists turn 20-ton blocks of snow into beautiful larger-than-life creations

By MEGHAN KENEALLY

The Canadian team from Quebec chose to use the theme Great Expectations in for their creation

The annual International Snow Sculpture Competition came to a close this morning as the tired and cold artists were forced to put down their tools and wait for a verdict on who would be crowned this year’s winner.
Fifteen teams of five sculptors each spent much of the last week carving massive blocks of snow into larger-than-life creations in an effort to gain some recognition for a highly-specialized skill.
Because all power tools and colorants are banned from the competition, the dedicated artists got creative with their selections, with some using carrot scrapers and chicken wire along with traditional saws and ice picks.

Frosty foes: 15 teams participated in this year's annual International Snow Sculpture Competition in Colorado

This year, there were teams from Canada, Spain, China, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Switzerland and the United States- Alaska, Colorado, Idaho and Wisconsin.
The most surprising entrants- Mexico, Greece, and Australia- were all from warm countries, giving their representatives less opportunity to practice their skills at home. That has not hurt them in the past, however, as the Mexican team were last year’s victors. The competition is held in Breckenridge, Colorado, and has been for the past 21 years.

Reigning champ: Pablo Elias was on Team Mexico, who won last year's competition and returned to defend their title

Members of Team Canada-Yukon and Team China are shown hard at work on their sculptures

Detailing: All competitors were banned from using power tools or colorants in their work, like in the piece called First Catch seen above

The event’s organizers arrange for snow to be collected by dump trucks and compacted using wooden frames and snow blowing machines.
The snow is packed in by the strong feet of five to ten volunteers who jump on top of the snow to compress it before more snow is then added.
The finished product is a 20-tonne block of snow that is 10 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 12 feet high.
When the event begins, the teams have 65 hours spread over the course of five days to turn their blocks into masterpieces.

Breakneck pace: The teams, including Team Mexico seen above, are only allowed to work on the pieces for 65 hours total during the five days of the competition

Each team is made up of five members and the participating teams are selected by a committee that reviews their prospective plans months in advance of the event

While they all undoubtedly are going for gold, participating is still a feat in itself. Organizers invited 250 teams initially, who then have to submit prospective plans.
The organizers then widdle the group down to the best 15 options that they feel will turn downtown Breckenridge into a spectacle.
The winners will be announced Sunday afternoon and the sculptures will remain standing for at least the next week so that residents can tour around the icy works.

Global stage: Team Baltic, which has members from Latvia and Estonia, took the international nature of the competition to heart when they designed their sculpture, titled 'Discover The Edge'



source: dailymail