Dragons are this year’s theme at Ischgl as sculptors have carved them out of snow during the annual festival.

Just in time for the Chinese New Year, the Welsh Dragon is standing guard on the slopes of the top Austrian ski resort of Ischgl (www.ischgl.com), one of a mighty group of dragons currently creating a stunning spectacle on the resort’s ski slopes.

None of these fearsome monsters will be breathing fire or frightening the visitors as they are all expertly sculpted creations carved out of mounds of snow in Ischgl’s annual Shapes In White exhibition.

The annual snowmaking festival has taken up the theme of  Dragons and conjured up majestic creations in the minds of the 10 teams of sculptors from all over Europe, who had four days to transform their sketches into magnificent exhibits on the slopes of Ischgl in the Silvretta mountains of the Tirol.

The Welsh Dragon was the creation of German sculptors Dieter Faust and his girlfriend Birgit Tögel-Emrich, who live in London and were inspired by the red dragon on the Welsh national flag.

Other mythical monsters included the Tirolean Ice Dragon, a Baby Dragon, Dragon Ship and House Dragon.

The huge 4m piles of snow are provided to each team courtesy of the resort’s piste-grooming machines – which was easy thanks to January’s exceptional snowfall. The sculptors work at different points all over the slopes, so the result is an open-air snow art gallery that skiers and boarders can enjoy until the exhibits melt in the spring at the end of Ischgl’s five month long season.

• Ischghl: Read up more stories on Ischghl.
• Ski Resorts: Get the latest ski news right here.