Check Out These Spellbinding Snow Sculptures—Before They Melt

Sarah Kuta

Daily Correspondent

Many sculptors work with clay. Others construct their masterpieces out of twisted pieces of metal or hot-pink PVC. Some blow glass into colorful shapes, while others carve pieces of wood into intricate designs.

However, for some artists, the material of choice is snow.

Each winter, the fluffy white stuff takes center stage at snow sculpting festivals and competitions across the country, from the chilly peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the frigid plains of the Midwest and beyond.

Last weekend, for example, a team from Mongolia took first place at the 2025 World Snow Sculpting Championship in Minnesota. The group, called Team Falcon, crafted a piece called Voice to win the annual contest in Stillwater, a suburb of Minneapolis.

A dozen teams from 12 countries traveled to Minnesota to compete in the event, which is now in its fourth year. Some even hailed from warm places like Peru, where they practiced for the competition with sand.

“In Lima, we don’t have snow,” says Sebastian Emmanuel Isrrael Peña Perez, a member of Team Kawsay Arte Peru, to KARE’s Ian Russell.

The competition may be fierce, but some rival artists manage to strike up friendships—and even kindle romances—amid all the snow.

Team Canada’s Joelle Gagnon and Team Finland’s Arto Manninen met at last year’s contest and became fast friends. Then, their friendship turned into something more. Now, they’re engaged to be married, but they’re still competing against each other on different teams.

“Totally didn’t see that coming when I came here last year,” Gagnon tells CBS Minnesota’s Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield.

Meanwhile, the International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado, are also underway this week, with 12 teams from across the globe creating massive, fleeting works of art in the city’s historic downtown. The frosty event has become a beloved winter tradition in Breckenridge, which has been hosting the competition for more than three decades.

Each team starts with a 25-ton cube of man-made snow that stands roughly 12 feet tall. The snow is packed into block-shaped molds by a team of volunteer “snow stompers.”

To create their chilly masterpieces, artists can use only hand tools—no power tools allowed—and they have just 94 hours to bring their intricate visions to life. That often means working late into the night.

Teams must finish their creations by January 24, which marks the start of “viewing week,” when visitors can meander through the mountain town’s larger-than-life outdoor gallery. At night, the sculptures are illuminated with colorful lights.

“These are the kind of pieces of art that are just mind-blowing and jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring,” as Keith Martin, a professional snow and ice sculptor and longtime member of Team Breckenridge, told the Summit Daily’s Lindsey Toomer in 2022. “They touch on that emotional chord, and I’ve watched people walk up and just start in tears because they hit them in such a way. I feel like there’s just something cool about being able to do temporary art so large that affects people in such a great way.”

Similar competitions are also being held this winter in Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Connecticut and beyond.