See the incredible creations from this year's International Snow Sculpture Championships

Artists from around the globe gathered in Breckenridge, Co. last month for the chance to compete for snowy glory at the 26th annual International Snow Sculpture Championships.

Sixteen teams representing 11 countries battled each other, as well as challenging weather conditions, over a five-day period to create incredible sculptures from nothing more than snow.

The competition awards no cash prizes and teams are only allowed hand tools to carve the snow. Each team of four artists is given a 12-foot block of snow that weighs a massive 40,000 pounds. They then rotate shifts over a 65-hour period to complete their creations.

Team USA-Vermont won first place for its piece titled "Rhona and her Recycling Octopus." The piece depicts a 14-year-old girl in her robo-octopus sweeping the ocean floor. Judges praised the piece for its appearance and for bring an important global issue into focus.

After the competition the pieces are left for a week as a temporary art gallery. Eventually, the sculptures will be bulldozed.