Every January, Valloire holds an international snow sculpture contest. This year is its 32nd year and you can find the snow sculptures here: Valloire Snow Sculpture Contest 2015
For last year’s contest I managed to see the snow sculptures and took pictures of them. I didn’t have any idea who won the contest though because during the awarding ceremonies everything was in French. I didn’t understand a single thing except for merci, bon, a grand spectacle and magnifique which I heard many times. The Dutchman was also not patient enough to stay and listen. He reasoned out that the French can talk on forever (quite true), so instead, we escaped to a restaurant and had some fondue dinner, rather quite early though. We were the only ones in the restaurant!
Also, Valloire’s website is fairly new and they didn’t have the pictures and winners of last years’ listed on the site. The new website however is definitely a huge improvement. To my surprise, there is even an English version.
The nice thing about this contest is that the sculptures are showcased along the main street of the town and the road is closed to traffic. During the snow sculpture week, you can see the participants working hard on their masterpiece, day and night. I believe they have a day or two to finish their entry. Many people gather around to witness as the participants of the snow sculpture contest build, mould and chisel their creations.
Here are the snow sculptures of last year (2014):
Before the contest started there were gigantic snow blocks.
Still busy here building the snow sculptures for the contest.
A nice view of the chalets on the hillside in Valloire.
Feeling and looking very puffy here, haha. This is a French entry: ‘Tower of Babel’ by De Bazelaire, Lambermont and Roch.
Left entry is from Russia: ‘Le Sage Chevalier’ by Potapov, Ouzikov and Rybakov. Right entry is from Israel: ‘Idea of Chapel’ by Preminger, Meneev and Novozhilova.
Left entry is from France: ‘Tisse-Trame’ by Brossard, Rouiller and Segui. Right entry is another one from France: ‘Rechauffement Climatique’ by Belle, Chavetias and Chauvel.
This entry is from Canada: ‘Contorsion’ by Leguen, Heessels and Verstraete.
Left entry is from the USA: ‘Meltdown’ by Bremner, Talty and Dellaporta. Right entry is from Spain: ‘The Movement of a Country’ by Elias Vidal, Masramon Leiva and Forchini Zaragoza.
Left entry is from France: ‘Monnaie de Singe’ by Dieu, Carsbasa and Callon. Right entry is from Quebec – Canada: ‘La Traversee des Colosses’ by Ouellettes, Sebastien and Mathieu.
This is a French entry: ‘Non-Coupable’ by Schwindy’s Leo and Jea-Paul, and Bernard.
Another French entry: ‘Deliverance’ by Lievore, Noel and Diano. This is my favourite. I love the detail hole in the middle. Looks like the insides of your nose.
Left entry is from France: ‘L’Effet Boule de Neige’ by Hannecart, Lebouvier and Clavaud. Right entry is another one from France: ‘Impact!’ by Brossel, Mesnier and Romel.
Left entry is from Russia: ‘Elephant’ by Tkachenko, Puzrakova and Valery. Right entry is from Lithuania: ‘Week End Trip’ by Gaubas, Venclovas and Danas.
Left is a French entry: ‘Intime Equilibre’ by Burger, Cherpe and Tornatoris. Right entry is from Le Quebec / Saint Jean Port Joli: ‘Sugar Rush’ by Armand, Proulx and Bechard.
The awarding ceremony night of the contest.
The finished sculptures are showcased for the whole week before they are torn down.
Travel Period: January 2014
Destination: Valloire (Savoie – Rhone-Alpes), France
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