Ken Graham smoothes the side of Team Alaska’s snow sculpture Jan. 29, the last night of carving at the 20th annual Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge. Team Alaska’s sculpture, entitled “The Last Iceberg” did not medal but earned the People’s Choice award. Photo by Drew Jaynes

It all started with the seemingly insignificant flip of a coin.

It was the late 1970s and Breckenridge resident Rob Neyland was in a debate with some co-workers trying to decide whether to create a float for the town’s annual Ullr Festival parade or carve a snow sculpture for the local competition. The coin landed heads and chose the sculpture.

In the three years following that coin toss, Neyland and his friends won the snow sculpting competition at Ullr Fest in Breckenridge.

Fast forward to 1985. Neyland and crew were working on their annual sculpture at Ullr Fest when a spectator made an off-hand comment about how they should consider going to the national competition. Unbeknownst to the group, snow artistry had already become an established competitive sport nationally and internationally.

“Our minds were blown,” Neyland said. “We had no idea. And as soon as we heard about these other competitions going on, we realized that we were done with the local contest. I think that was really the pivotal moment.”

“It was also at this point we realized that because of the international nature of Breckenridge as a resort, that we needed to institute a plan to get an international competition landed in Breckenridge.”

Over the next four years, the team’s skills, notoriety and network grew. As did their knowledge of what it would take to run a successful contest. The team hosted several state competitions in Breckenridge during that time.

It wasn’t until 1989 that they finally managed to organize some semblance of the international competition they sought to create. That year marked the first Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Championships.

Now in its 20th year, the competition continues to thrive as teams travel from the far points of the world to compete in this annual event. This year teams came from places such as Lithuania, China and Mexico. There were also several teams from the United States representing Wisconsin, Idaho, Minnesota, Alaska and, of course, Breckenridge.

Neyland’s Breckenridge team has competed every year since the contest’s inception and hasn’t lost steam yet.

“In the beginning, we were going to all of these state and national competitions, and always remembering to take down peoples names, trying to build a network. And we did,” Neyland said.

Eventually, Neyland and his team managed to completely bypass the national organization and launch their own international competition. They managed to build a top-notch contest, one outside the purview of the national snow art community.

“The first year, it was definitely a coup – a smashing success,” Neyland said. “People were blown away by the quality of the snow.”

Greg Moerner, a member of this year’s Wisconsin team, echoes this sentiment.

“The way [Breckenridge] treats the artists and the quality of the snow is bar-none, the best to be found. That’s why we keep coming back,” Moerner said.

The snow blocks, measuring 12 feet tall and weighing in at 20 tons each, are made entirely of manufactured snow provided by the ski areas.

“Using man-made snow allows you to control the moisture content, and ensure higher uniformity,” Neyland said.

Nearby each block is the inevitable collection of tools and personal belongings, the tools often as eclectic in shape and function as the workers who use them. Many tools are homemade or repurposed, but each has its own unique use, Neyland said.

He described several of the tools the Breckenridge team uses, including one he’s confident they introduced to the community, the floor scraper. Other common tools include hand sanders, cable saws, even carrot slicers.

Walking amongst this year’s sculptures, bystanders can really get a feel for the immensity of the projects at hand. The teams had literally a 65-hour period in which to recognize the visions within their blocks.

“The way they really develop and manifest their plan is amazingly unique to the different cultures that they come from,” Neyland said. “The Swiss, are ultra-methodical. They have it all plotted out to grid points and mathematical coordinates that they transfer directly onto the block. And they do these really precise, hard-edged geometrical shapes. And you look at that and think, ‘How perfectly Swiss?’”

Staying true to form, Mexico’s team carved a sculpture of a feathered serpent deity called “The Altar of Quetzalcoatl,” which earned them the bronze medal.

The other two medal winners were gold medalist Team Lithuania and silver medalist Team Canada, Ontario.

Lithuania’s “Milite Est Vita” was in the shape of a textured hand giving the peace sign, symbolizing the fragility of peace.

Ontario’s sculpture left spectators enraptured with “Memories from my Youth,” where they portrayed the face of a Japanese princess from the front, and memories from her garden in the rear.

On the outset, Neyland has a philosophical view of the competition.

“All the cultures bring such an incredibly different approach to the same problem: How they go about walking up to a 20 ton block of snow and liberating the design that resides inside,” Neyland said.

Moerner referred to this competition as the best of the best.

“At this level, anyone can win,” he said.

Just like in a coin toss.