In Breckenridge, sculptors transform blocks of snow into art

In Breckenridge, sculptors transform blocks of snow into art

 
snow sculpture

Artists have five days to complete their work. Pam LeBlanc photo

Huge frozen works of art are rising from blocks of snow in downtown Breckenridge, Colorado.

I wandered to the Riverwalk Center after dinner last night to take in some of the sculptures-in-progress. About a dozen teams are competing in this year’s International Snow Sculpture Competition, which first took place here in 1990.

The Breckenridge Ski Resort makes the snow used for the contest at the mountain and delivers it to the competition site, a few blocks off Main Street in downtown Breckenridge. There, the snow is loaded into 10 by 10 by 12-foot frames and stomped down three separate times to compact it enough that the sculptors can use it.

snow sculpture

A team works on their entry late Tuesday night. Pam LeBlanc photo

Each sculpture is based on a small model submitted by the snow sculpting team.

I watched as three men used blunt-edged paddles to hack their 25-ton block of snow into the crude shape of a figure sitting at a piano. They pointed to a small model of a bear playing a piano, which they dubbed “Bearthoven.”

Each team has five days to finish their work. They can only use hand tools; power tools are not allowed.

Read more: Ten – make that eleven – reasons to love Beaver Creek

Past sculptures have included swimmers, a skull, a hippo, musicians and more.

This year’s competitors include teams from Ecuador, Germany, Mexico, and the United States.

snow sculpture

Sculptures remain on display until Feb. 2, 2022. Pam LeBlanc photo

Gold, silver, and bronze awards are named, along with artists choice and people’s choice. In 2020, the last year the competition took place, Team Mexico took home the gold for the second year in a row. Team Great Britain won silver and Team India won Artists Choice.

Carving ends Jan. 28, and the finished pieces will remain on display until 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at Riverwalk Center, 150 West Adams in Breckenridge. Viewing is best after dark, when the sculptures are illuminated by colored lights. Admission is free, but reservations are required if you plan to go on Saturday, Jan. 29. For more information go here.

 

 

 

 

 

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It’s 101 degrees, but I’m planning my backcountry cocktails

It’s 101 degrees, but I’m planning my backcountry cocktails

This kit containing everything I need to make cocktails on my next hut skiing trip, arrived at my doorstep Friday. Pam LeBlanc photo

Yes, the thermostat at my house is currently registering 101 degrees, but it’s never too hot to think about what cocktails might warm you up on your next backcountry ski trip.

Just today, a care package arrived from my friends at Breckenridge Distillery in Breckenridge, Colorado, where I traveled earlier this year to celebrate the bourbon, gin and vodka-maker’s 10thanniversary. (Read that article at https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20181127/when-in-colorado-dont-miss-breckenridge-distillery)

I wiped the sweat from my brow as I unloaded a full-sized bottle of bourbon (!!), a collapsible flask, and an assortment of mini bottles of booze and accoutrements to help me prepare sophisticated cocktails on my next hut skiing adventure.

Here’s the gorgeous Sisters Hut where I stayed in January. Photo by Pam LeBlanc

I love the peace and quiet of hut skiing, which gets you off busy downhill runs and into the woods, where you essentially hike up a mountain on special skis, and hang out in a cabin or hut, warming up with cocktails.

I’ve done it several times, and this past year stayed at the brand new Sisters Cabin near Breckenridge. (Other favorites are Artist and Opus cabins near Ouray. Magnificent!)

Austyn Dineen packing it in during our girls’ back country ski trip in January. Pam LeBlanc photo

I’ve always just packed a little straight whiskey for those adventures, but the folks at Breckenridge showed me last February, when they set up a bar in the snow outside of Sisters Cabin, that it’s easy to do one better.

Below are several suggested recipes. They work best in snowy environments.

Cheers!

 

Snowball Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 ounces Breckenridge Bourbon

.25 ounces maple syrup

Dash of bitters

Orange zest

Dehydrated cherries

 

Combine all ingredients and stir. Add snowball to your cocktail. (Pack a mini bottle of bitters. Recycle your orange peels and use berries from your trail mix.) Optional: Smoke using a fire log.

 

Hot Smoked Cider

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces Breckenridge Spiced Whiskey

Apple cider packet

6 ounces hot water

6 ounces cinnamon stick

Ignite cinnamon stick and smoke the glass while preparing cocktail. Pour ingredients into smoked glass.

 

Backcountry Tea

Ingredients:

1 ounce Breckenridge vodka

6 ounces hot water

Teako green tea

Honey stick

Combine all ingredients and stir. Pour honey from stick into your cocktail.

About Pam

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Skiing in May? I just did it

Skiing in May? I just did it

A lift takes skiers up Peak 7 at Breckenridge on May 21, 2019. Pam LeBlanc photo

It didn’t seem like it at first, but Mother Nature offered up a much appreciated gift for me yesterday.

I flew into Grand Junction, Colorado, yesterday afternoon, prepared for a week of hiking, crawling around in gold mines and standup paddle boarding on local rivers for some stories I’m working on. Then a late season snowstorm rolled in, stranding me for a few hours on the side of Interstate 70 near Vail. The pass had closed due to a pileup, and I couldn’t get through to Breckenridge, where I planned to stay the first two nights of my trip.

When I sent up a distress flair (via a phone call), officials in Breck quickly lined up a hotel for me in Vail (and two of my FaceBook friends with roots in the area offered lodging, too), but just as I was headed there, the interstate re-opened. I don’t have much experience driving in snow, so I went slow and made it just fine.

The base at Breckenridge Ski Resort today is more than 70 inches. Pam LeBlanc photo

And I’m glad I did. I woke up this morning to about 10 inches of fresh powder. My Breckenridge friend knows how much I love to ski. She delivered a bag of ski clothes and gear, and I headed to the mountain in time to get in line as the lifts opened.

Skiing, in late May? Two days ago I was cooling my heels in the San Marcos River, complaining (a little) about the heat. 

This year, Breckenridge stays open through Memorial Day weekend. It’s been a stellar season, with more than 440 inches of snow. It was due, too. Last year wasn’t nearly as good.

The slopes were not at all crowded. Pam LeBlanc photo

What a morning. I skied Breckenridge earlier this season, and spent a week in the Banff area skiing Lake Louise, Mount Norquay and Sunshine Village this year too. But today’s conditions were the best – powder midway up my calves, hardly anybody to get in my way, and miles of soft, white icing ready to track up.

It’s still snowing now, at 5 p.m. Big, fat flakes are soaring sideways through the air, piling up on my borrowed knit hat and slipping down the collar of my shirt. I couldn’t be happier.

It wasn’t the agenda I had planned, but it worked out to be even better.

Thanks, Mother Nature, for the snowy gift.

Skiing in late May? Yes! Pam LeBlanc photo

About Pam

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