Photo: ParkCityShotSki
The Shot Ski World Record rivalry between Park City, Utah, and Breckenridge, Colorado, is one of the best winter traditions going. With another winter on the horizon, the 2026 Shot Ski Wars will begin October 10 with a new record attempt of 1,430 people throwing back shots of whiskey on Park City’s historic Main Street.
For a brief recap, the back-and-forth between the two mountain towns only spans the past decade. Breckenridge set the mark in 2013 after two locals were drinking whiskey from the local distillery and got the idea to collect skis from nearby shops. And a whole lotta friends. They glued shot glasses to 60 skis and the town threw back its first world record shot at Ullr Fest, the annual winter celebration with a massive bonfire and praying to the Norse god of winter, Ullr, to bring snow. Park City went out and beat that record just a few years later, and a shot-for-shot rivalry was born.
Every fall since, Park City sets a new record before winter begins, always attempting to break the mark Breckenridge set the winter before. A couple of months later the locals of Breck get together for another Ullr Fest and reclaim the title. In the spirit of keeping it friendly and fun, neither town organizes a record attempt so large that it’s immediately out of reach, and it only grows by a few feet and about 10 people each attempt.
That original 192-person, 60-ski record in 2013 is now up to more than 1,400 people. Breckenridge holds the current record with 1,420 participants, 507 skis, and 2,489 feet of continuous shots. Now that Park City is up, the ski town will be gunning for 1,430 people.
That’s no small task. In fact, the organization of it all might be the secret to what makes the events in both towns such a hit. Each attempt requires local businesses, donations, and an entire community willing to participate. Park City has a population of only about 8,500 people, and a healthy portion of that population puts a lot of time into something that is over in just a matter of seconds.
“The real work is really in the prep,” Mike Luers, one of the organizers of the 2017 event said. “You know, we hold multiple evening work days for the Rotary Club – you know, put the bolts in the skis. As you know, the VIP skis are sold, so we have to replace those every year. This year, we had to prepare 100 skis for the VIP. So, we had to collect 100 skis, you got to drill them, you got to wrap them, put the bolts in them. So that takes days of work.” But it’s certainly a fun cause.
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