A Papillion family outworked the competition, and the weather, to claim the 2026 Nebraska Snow Sculpting Championships on Valentine’s Day to earn a coveted spot at the premier national event in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Team Gnome-AHA, Gerard, Dawn and Madison Eisert, took first place and earned the People’s Choice Award at the Feb. 13-14 competition at Heartwood Preserve in west Omaha. The entry, “Snow Place Like Gnome, Sweet Gnome,” topped a six-team field that included runner-up Rocket Men (Janda Kyle and Geoff Amstutz) and third-place finisher Team Old Cold (Jason Perreault, Jessica Perreault and Eric Benson).
Team Gnome-AHA Beats the Heat to Claim State Title
Winning a snow sculpting competition in 60-degree February heat is not how most champions picture their moment. For the Eiserts, it was just another challenge to work through.
Temperatures in Omaha climbed from 45 degrees at dawn to 60 degrees by midday on Feb. 14 — more than 20 degrees above the city’s average high for the date. Gerard and Dawn sculpted through the night, working until midnight before Madison joined them the following morning to add final details: intricate braids and a signature gnome hat.
“I think all the teams are just trying to figure out how to do snow sculpting in 60-degree weather,” Madison said.
First place winners: Team Gnome-AHA
The victory represents a significant leap from the family’s only previous state appearance. In 2019, Team Ice-ert, Gerard and Brianna Eisert, finished third in Elkhorn with “Say You’ll be Wine.” That experience introduced Madison to the sport.
“It was really fun. It was really exciting. It was a totally new world that I was not used to,” she said.
Snow sculpting is less about trophies and more about what drives them as a family.
“My family always wants to do adventurous things and new things, and we always like to do stuff together, so this is kind of everything all in one,” Madison said. “Everybody’s creativity is very different, but everybody’s just really nice, and it’s fun to do something together that can bring joy to other people.”
From State to National Stage
The win sends Team Gnome-AHA to America’s Snow Sculpting Invitational, the national championship held annually during Lake Geneva Winterfest in Wisconsin. The event, which now more than 30 years old, brings together 15 elite teams from across the country to carve 10-foot, 25-ton blocks of snow using only hand tools. The 2027 event is scheduled for late January or early February.
Warm Weather Derails Defending Champions Mid-Competition
The Eiserts were not the only team tested by the unseasonable conditions. Defending state champions Team Out Cold entered the competition with a clear creative vision — and left with something they did not plan.
Jason Perreault, Jessica Perreault and Eric Benson had designed “Nut-orious Victory” as their signature piece. When warm temperatures caused the sculpture to collapse mid-competition, the team improvised. They carved a broken heart with “R.I.P.” etched at its base and still managed to finish third.
“I would say this week, the weather is the real competition,” Benson said. “This is probably the most difficult sculpting thing we’ve ever done. The name of the game here is keep it upright and just try and get it all together.”
The setback stings more given the team’s track record. Team Out Cold won the 2019 Nebraska state title with “Phony Reality” — a sculpture depicting an iPhone pulling a person into the screen — then finished fifth at the national championship in Lake Geneva against some of the country’s top competitors.
The trio credits Jessica’s uncle, 20-year sculpting veteran Matt Seeley, with sparking their passion for the sport.
“We just have fun together as a team,” Benson said. “Our kids love to come out and see what mom and dad are doing. It’s an interesting challenge — and I love it.”
The Man Behind the Snow: Bob Lechtenberg Brings National Credibility to Omaha
Snow sculpting sits at the intersection of endurance sport and fine art. Bob Lechtenberg has spent his career at that crossroads.
Known in the sculpting world as the aBOBinable Snow Man (a nickname created by his wife, Emily) Lechtenberg is the founder of Abominable Snow Ice Sand and co-founder of Sculptora Borealis, a team that has claimed five U.S. National Championships, seven Wisconsin State titles and two World Snow Sculpting Championship People’s Choice Awards. At the 2026 America’s Snow Sculpting Invitational, Sculptora Borealis earned Artist’s Choice and second place against national and international competition.
“It’s a mix between sport and art,” Lechtenberg said. “The endurance it takes to complete a sculpture over a couple of days is something people don’t expect.”
Competitors typically spend 12 to 16 hours a day moving, lifting and carving snow. Each cubic foot of compressed snow weighs roughly 30 pounds. Competitors use only hand tools — no power equipment allowed.
What separates snow from other sculpting mediums, Lechtenberg says, is freedom. Unlike sand, constrained by gravity, or ice, which requires power tools, snow allows sculptors to achieve dramatic overhangs, negative space and extraordinary scale using tools found in any garage.
An Oscar-Winning Snow Machine — in West Omaha
The 38,000 pounds of ice that formed the competition blocks didn’t come from a typical snow machine. Lechtenberg used equipment developed by Dieter Sturm of Lake Geneva, an Academy Award-winning special effects coordinator whose credits include “Fargo,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “True Lies.” The ice was fed through a grinding machine, shaved into snow and packed into 4-by-4-by-8-foot wooden forms, then bubble wrapped before the competition began.
A featured competitor and coach on Disney+’s “Best in Snow” alongside Kermit the Frog, Lechtenberg is as focused on building the sport as he is on competing in it.
“It’s not so much about the competition anymore,” he said. “It’s about enabling others to participate.”
Nebraska’s Snow Sculpting Scene Finds a Home — and Eyes a Bigger Future
The 2026 Nebraska Snow Sculpting Championships at Heartwood Preserve near 144th Street and West Dodge Road in Omaha marked only the second state-level competition of its kind.
Matt Seeley, an Omaha native and international snow sculpting competitor, organized the inaugural 2019 event before COVID-19 disrupted momentum and the original venue became unavailable. After years of searching, Heartwood Preserve, a 500-acre mixed-use development with 80 acres of green space and 8 miles of trails, emerged as the new home.
“They host free events for the public nearly every weekend, and this fits perfectly into what they’re building here in west Omaha,” Seeley said.
Seeley knows the sport’s unforgiving side firsthand. He once earned second place at a national competition only to watch his sculpture collapse 15 minutes after judging because of warm temperatures.
“You work through adversity,” he said. “That’s part of the sport.”
With three trophies awarded and a national competitor in this year’s field, Seeley is already looking ahead. He plans to expand the field for 2027 and grow Nebraska’s presence in the sculpting world.
“Nebraska has talent and passion,” Seeley said. “I just want to give people the platform to discover it.”
The 2027 America’s Snow Sculpting Invitational is scheduled for late January or early February in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
