Cravings for Carvings

The Dolomite Mountains are located in North Eastern Italy, near to the Austrian border.

In the winter they are popular with tourists because of the skiing venues. In the summer they are popular with the climbing enthusiasts. Since 1887,”free climbing” has been a tradition in the region.

In the first week of July a bicycle marathon takes place. In a single day the cyclists have to cover seven mountain passes.

During WW1 the Austrians and Italians were involved in heavy fighting in the mountains. In order to facilitate the movement of infantry at high altitudes, a series of “via ferrate” were built. These were a series of trails that had been adapted by the use of ropes, pegs and iron ladders, in order to more easily allow access across the mountains.

These “iron paths” have recently been restored and are popular routes for hikers.

More recently two towns in the mountains have started a new tradition: The International Snow Sculpture Festival.

This takes place in the towns of San Candido and San Vigilio.

The festival will take place in San Candido 9^th – 11^th January 2013 and in San Vigilio 14^th – 16^th January 2013.

Teams of 3 are invited from around the world. Blocks of packed snow and ice each measuring 3x3x3m are placed around the towns and each team is allocated one block.

Each team has to complete their sculpture in 72hrs.

Voting on the best sculptures will be done by both residents of the towns and tourists.

At night the sculptures are lit up and it is usual that the cold temperatures will keep them intact until the start of spring.

So if you have a craving for snow carvings apply to the town tourism board for an application to enter a team or just go and help judge others skills.