JANUARY 2006

Breckenridge, GENUINE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Breckenridge local Gary Lindstrom has thrown his hat into the Governor’s race. Gary was county commissioner for many years and is currently serving our local district in the state House of Representatives. He says he will run on the platform of not being afraid to speak the Truth, a novel concept in politics today. His main goal is to create a vision for the state. He believes that today’s administration is merely reacting to crises instead of planning our future. He wants to target transportation and water as the most pressing needs. Gary believes we have more than enough water for our needs if we capture it in small reservoirs instead of letting it get away downstream. The political machine believes he is not a viable candidate; Gary is confidant he will win on ideals. Stay tuned for updates.

Things couldn’t be better in Breckenridge. The Imperial Express lift to the top of Peak 8 opened a month early thanks to Mother Nature. The highest lift in North America now provides access to some of the most radical bowl skiing anywhere. Even more amazing, thanks to Vail Resorts, the new Skyway Skiway opened TWO YEARS early. Originally planned to open in 2008 VR pushed its construction schedule to the limit this fall to get it done. This gift was in response to the rapid sell out of the Mountain Thunder Lodge townhome project this past summer. VR commented that it makes the Peak 7 and 8 villages development look very promising in the near term.

Vail Resorts is already working with the town of Breckenridge on final approval for the development of the base area at Peak 7. When granted, marketing and sales of Peak 7 properties could proceed. If all goes as planned construction will begin on roads and other infrastructure next summer with construction of the residences to commence in ’08. The money and transfer taxes from the sale of the Peak 7 development will in part fund the construction of the gondola, which will take people from town to Peak 7 and then onto 8. The construction of the village at Peak 8 hopefully will not be far behind. This will be a world-class project that will vault Breckenridge into the elite of resorts. It will sell fast and prices will go up quickly. Contact me now to be at the forefront as information is released.

Three time national champion skeleton racer and Breckenridge resident Katie Uhlaender is now the only member of the American skeleton team confirmed for Italy. Go Breck! Please cheer her on as the Olympics draw near.

More good info can be found at: http://www.BestoftheRockies.com.

WHY I LIVE HERE…

The Summit Huts Association provides scholarships for the Summit School system, the Colorado public school system, and the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center to defray the cost of hut nights provided for experiential education programs held in the Summit Hut system. These scholarships provide funding for the venue for adventure, education, retreat and recreation in a pristine, high alpine environment for dozens of local and statewide students. The Summit Huts office is located at 524 Wellington Street in Breckenridge. For more information visit online at www.summithuts.org, call 970-453-8583, or e-mail SummitHuts@Colorado.net

Keystone Resorts environmental efforts were recently recognized as they received the National Forest Service’s “Caring for the Land Stewardship Award”. Among the projects at Keystone that prompted the accolades was the purchase of enough additional wind power electricity to serve 40% of their rooms in addition to already powering the night skiing operation with wind power, composting food waste at the Outpost restaurant on top of North Peak as well as the Keystone Ranch and the Conference Center, and recycling over 1,200 tons of material per year.

The county took over operations of the Summit Recycling Project January 1. One of the biggest improvements this year will be the opening of the Material Recovery Center at the landfill. It will greatly increase the efficiency of local recycling by allowing people to co-mingle materials which can then be separated at the Center. With a stated goal of zero recyclable material making it to the landfill the Center will be able to make strides in both the volume and the variety of materials that will be recovered. Ease of curbside pick up and bringing administration of the project under one roof are further benefits of the county administration.
*FYI the average American uses more than 667 pounds of paper each year. If it were recycled each person would save over four trees a year. In 2004 The Summit Recycling Project saved the equivalent of 10,332 forty-foot Douglas fir trees.*

Breckenridge and Summit County finally were able to close on the 1800 acre B & B mining property outside Breckenridge this fall. In the first step toward long-term management of the space 170 acres were turned over to the Continental Divide Land Trust as a conservation easement. The transfer was made possible through a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, which administers proceeds from the state lottery. The parcel has outstanding natural resources including undisturbed wetlands and a population of the native and endangered cutthroat trout.

SCHOOL NEWS…

The Summit High skiing program is poised to add to its collection of 31 state championships. The Boy’s Nordic Team is said to have potential and is very confident. The Girl’s Nordic Team dominated last year and is said to be even better as they go after their third straight championship. They are lead by the Perkins sisters. Senior Brittany swept the competition last year and younger sister Briana is following close behind. The Alpine team is a little harder to pinpoint, as they have to compete with the clubs who attract the serious skiers and the Olympic hopefuls. There is no doubt that Summit High will be strong here once again with the boy’s having won two of the last three and the girls two straight. With only one senior skier on each squad the young team is hoping to improve as the season goes along and be peaking for the finals.

As of January 2006 the snowpack in the Upper Colorado Basin was 135% of average; the Yampa and White basins, 132%.

Rescue teams have been summoned twice to Keystone Resort to locate out-of-bound snowboarders since Thanksgiving and Summit County Sheriff John Minor wants to increase fines for violations of the Ski Safety Act. Currently, there is a fine of up to $300, but the sheriff will work with Ski Country USA, lawyers and legislators to increase the fine to at least $500 and make the fine non-negotiable.

For those of you who couldn’t make it was a fabulous week of World Cup racing in Beaver Creek the first week of December. The first day of Super-G was marred by high winds and heavy snow. Limited visibility affected both the spectators and the skiers, as 17 of the 56 racers didn’t finish. The second day’s Downhill race made up for it with an encore of the 1-2 American finish, just flipped from last year with Daron Rahlves finishing first and Bode Miller second. On Sunday up and coming star Ted Ligety finished third in the Slalom. Miller built on his success to hold the lead in the World Cup overall standings. He has recently slipped to third in a tightly contested battle this year where four or five skiers all have a shot at taking Miller’s crown from last year.

On the free style side of things former CU football star and last year’s mogul world champ Jeremy Bloom took first place in spectacular fashion at the Olympic Trials in Steamboat last month. Steamboat resident Travis Mayer was close on his heels. Their coach commented that both performances were Gold Medal caliber and expectations run high for their trip to Turin, Italy. The defending women’s world champ continued to shine, Hannah Kearney of Vermont finished first to clinch a berth on the Olympic team and is ready to bring home the Gold.

Shaun White dominated the US Snowboard Grand Prix, recently held in Breckenridge, for the second straight year. The competition featured two Halfpipe competitions and Shaun took them both. Four years ago he missed making the Olympic team by one place but this year his performances should put him at the top of the list.

Think MORE SNOW!

*TRAVEL TIPS…FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS*

Midnight, outside a quaint Victorian storefront it’s late January and about ten below zero on the thermometer. A group of young adults and one older woman are laughing and piling snow, packing it with their mittens, and then piling some more. As you overhear them discussing how they are going to shape the head and helmet and how to texture the beard you realize that this is going to be some kind of artwork.

Twenty years ago a few locals in the little Colorado Ski Town of Breckenridge thought it would be a fun addition to the Ullr Fest Winter Carnival to have a competition making sculptures out of snow. No one really knew what they were doing and the common reaction was “what’s it supposed to be?” Most of the subjects were snowflakes, skiers or Ullr, the Norse God of winter and honoree of the carnival. Back then Breckenridge was fairly unknown compared to Aspen and Vail. In 1980 Main Street had as many vacant lots as stores and no curbs or stoplights. The lodging was haphazard condominiums constructed with paper walls and shag carpet. Many of the locals lived in old mining shacks without plumbing or electricity. My, how things have changed and the sculpture competition is a reflection of how far Breckenridge has come.

As the popularity of Breckenridge grew, serious artists began to come up from schools in Boulder and Denver and create truly stunning pieces of snow sculpture. Themes evolved to include things like a lady in a champagne glass and three leaping dolphins that stood about fifteen feet tall. Soon most locals were too embarrassed to display their creations anymore. This led to the idea of bringing the world’s best to Breckenridge for a championship every year. It turned out some of the best already lived in Breckenridge and the local teams have won many awards, not just in the hometown but also in competitions all over the world.

If you come for the whole week you will witness an amazing phenomenon. To make a championship caliber snow sculpture start with a ten foot by ten foot by twelve-foot high wooden form. Fill it with pure white snow. But you don’t just fill it; human feet must pack it as you go, with boots on of course. In Breckenridge this is done by dozens of volunteers working through the night. After leaving it to season for a night or so, what you have when you remove the form is a white block weighing about twenty tons. Until you have witnessed it you cannot imagine what these will look like in three days time.

What transpires is magical.

The teams begin cutting out the rough form of their creation with handsaws, no power tools are allowed. All the cuts must be strategically planned and a degree in engineering is a plus. Otherwise the whole structure can end up in a heap not suitable for making a snowman. Teams must also plan how far to take their creation each day; the final shape must come together the last night before the judging or a warm day can eat through your sculpture like acid. The teams work straight through the night before and the detail work is done with tools as delicate as a dentist’s. Some of the final creations are unbelievably intricate. Few places on earth can you witness art being brought from the raw to the dazzling before your eyes.

Teams come from the expected places to compete. Traditionally cold climates like Russia and Minnesota always come but Mexico also sends a couple of teams. One year the Jamaican team practiced in an industrial freezer to acclimate themselves. It wasn’t enough; they dropped out before the judging because of the cold.

From a contest where mainly locals walked around enjoying each other’s crude artwork, the International Snow Sculpting Championships now draws over ten thousand spectators each of the final two days. Just as the competition has reached world-class level, the town is now home to world-class entertainment, dining and accommodations. Breckenridge has slope side mansions, golf course luxury homes and four-star condominium villages to rival any mountain resort. The formerly forgotten Peak Eight base area will see a Beaver Creek style development in the next few years. If you haven’t been to Breckenridge before, or maybe not for a while, the snow sculpture week is a perfect time to find out why it is North America’s second favorite ski town.

Contact Me if you need further tips on where to stay, eat or play.