Pomas, gondolas, chairlifts, trains, cog trains and aerial trams. That would be the "full monty" of ways to get to ski slopes, and Santa Fean Tim Curry just returned from a trip to Switzerland where he had an opportunity to sample all these modes of on-snow transportation.

Curry was part of a four-man team competing in an international snow-carving contest, held during the second week of January in the town of Grindelwald, the 28th annual event of its kind.

"It was a blast," he noted in a recent interview. "It was great to have an opportunity to work on a sculpture that big and have four people all sharing the same goal, putting in a super-intense effort over five days. And it was a real challenge. About day three we were wondering if we could pull it off — if we'd gotten the proportions right and could execute the design. It was a little bit of a nail-biter. There was a lot of joy when it all came together. And it was so spectacular skiing the Alps and just being in Switzerland."

The event is by invitation only, and this year there were 10 teams. Team America consisted of Curry; Tim Schwander and Randy Amos, who both hail from Breckenridge, Colo.; and Chip Holland of Aspen. "Schwander came up with the design concept, so he was the creative director this time around," noted Curry.

Each team is provided with a cube of snow measuring 12-by-12-by-12 feet, which is created with snow blown into a form. The snow becomes extremely dense, heavy and can hold a carved shape. With this raw material, using only hand tools, the teams are free to go to work. Snow can be removed and repositioned, allowing works to exceed the 12-foot original cube height.

"We really had a great theme and design. Our piece, 16-feet tall, was titled Flamenco Dancers. It featured two dancers posed above a bed of flames. We were working from a model, on a 1-to-10 scale. We used a chalk line to 'snap' a grid on the cube to guide us but the cube wasn't quite square. We had to adjust the sculpture accordingly, which was a challenge. At one point we realized the arm was way out of place and we had to cut it off and move it." To reattach it, the sculptors used a slurry-like mix of snow and water, which eventually freezes. "Randy, Dr. Gizmo, who lines up all the tools and entry forms, is also the master of the mix," Curry said.

To cut and shape the work, the sculptors use odd bronze saws, long-handled cutting and shaving blades, two-person draw saws and other specialized tools. "It's a lot of hard work. We spent five days on it and part of a sixth, fine-tuning it. You can't use any motorized equipment and you're working with tons of snow. We probably removed more than half the snow in our cube. A block 1-foot-by-1 foot-by-2 feet took two people to move."

For all its hard work, the team came up empty-handed in the awards category. But it was well worth the effort, Curry said. The organizers pay for hotel accommodations, all meals and an eight-day ski pass.

"We stayed in a really nice hotel, the Kruz + Post, located right at the foot of the Eiger. The food was fantastic — five-course dinners every night. We skied for three or four hours twice and one full day. The snow was hard-packed, but still it was great — skiing in the Alps, wide-open terrain, with 6,800 vertical foot descents. We skied from one town to another. One day we made it to Wengen, where the World Cup was just finishing up a race.

"And it was a great group of people. We're all artists so it's a very friendly competition. We also spent a lot of time together socially. There was an orientation the first night with cocktails, and a few nights later a fondue up on the mountain. Then they put us on these little one-person sleds on a lighted course and sent us flying down. So you get an opportunity to mix with other teams and get to know them."

How does one become a snow sculptor on the international circuit? Curry and Schwander both went to the University of Colorado, where they received fine-arts degrees. They kept in touch over the years, both being in the building trades (Curry is owner/director of the company Design Solutions). Curry told Schwander that if they ever had a team opening to let him know. "He called me up about a month later and said, 'You've got one hour to book your flight, because I have four other guys who are in line to take your spot if you pass.' So I booked my flight, and then I told my wife."

Curry had his "on the job training" at the 2006 event, where they were selected for the people's choice award — a framed certificate. He hopes to go back next year, or to Japan, site of other competitions. "We'll see when the time comes."

Several snow-carving contests are held in the United States. The closest to us, and one of the largest, is held annually at Breckenridge in January. The 20th annual event just concluded. See the link for details: www.gobreck.com/events/townevents/budsnowsculpture/

Daniel Gibson can be reached at dbgibson@newmexico.com.