#Breckenridge, Colorado.
Hundreds of people arrived at the Breckenridge Nordic Center to buy and sell used gear this weekend while a storm continued to bring heavy snow to the High Country.
“I tried to talk people out of coming, but they were just so excited,” said Therese Dayton, whose family runs the Breckenridge and Frisco Nordic centers. “It is just amazing. This storm has been such a blessing for us.”
The storm allowed the Breckenridge center to open most of its terrain Wednesday, Nov. 12. The facility, in its 46th season, will open its trails in the Cucumber Gulch alpine wetlands area once the Forest Service approval process has finished.
Meanwhile, workers about 1,000 feet lower at the Frisco center are readying that facility to open for its 26th season later this week.
Dayton said the natural snow will help create a solid base that should last through mid-April.
Last Friday, an annual ski swap began at the Breckenridge center, where people bring used equipment to sell or donate to other shoppers. The swap will move to the Frisco center Friday, Nov. 21, and continue through Thanksgiving weekend.
A few days into the gear swap, Dayton said more people have brought equipment than bought, and she expects more to come when the sale moves to Frisco.
“We’ll get a whole new crew of people,” she said, from Silverthorne, Kremmling, Eagle County and the Front Range bringing cross-country, telemark and backcountry gear, from skis and skins to snowshoes, hats, gloves and backpacks. “Go through your garage because we can turn it into cash.”
The center, which will help people price their items, uses 20 percent of sales to furnish student athletes on the Summit Middle and High School ski teams as well as the Summit Nordic Ski Club.
Dayton said she wants people to be able to afford to learn or compete in both classic and skate-style cross-country skiing, and she wants the local Nordic centers to help train athletes for college scholarships, sponsorships and the Olympics.
Sellers can choose to receive 80 percent of their sales in cash or 100 percent in store credit, Dayton said, and if they want to receive 100 percent of the sale price in store credit, the centers will still donate 20 percent of the sale.
For more information about the swap, call the Breckenridge Nordic Center at (970) 453-6855 or the Frisco Nordic Center at (970) 668-0866.
Gold Run and Keystone Nordic centers to open in December
The Gold Run Nordic Center, which is run by the town of Breckenridge, is scheduled to open Saturday, Dec. 6, with a weekend party. Learn more by calling (970) 547-7889 or visiting BreckenridgeRecreation.com and click the Gold Run Nordic Center link on the left.
The Keystone Nordic Center is set to open Friday, Dec. 6, though a voice recording reached Monday said the center is working hard to open for Thanksgiving or a few days before. Call (970) 496-4275 or visit keystoneresort.com/activities/nordic-center for updates.
Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.
