Restaurants in Breckenridge, Frisco, Keystone serve Thanksgiving menus

#Summit County, Colorado.

Thanksgiving can be a time of high anxiety if you aren’t a wiz in the kitchen. If baking the turkey, whipping the gravy, mastering a mountain of side dishes and trotting out pumpkin, pecan and chocolate pies (because the kids won’t eat pumpkin and your uncle refuses to acknowledge Thanksgiving without pecan pie) is the stuff of your worst nightmares, relax — Summit County restaurants have you covered. From traditional turkey dinner to surf and turf, leave the cooking to the experts and take advantage of one of these stress-free Thanksgiving feasts.

DILLON

• Pug Ryan’s Brewing Co. (104 Village Place) will be open for Thanksgiving, serving its regular menu, plus a special Thanksgiving dinner starting at 2 p.m. The all-inclusive Thanksgiving dinner includes roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and yams, plus pumpkin pie, for $21.99 for adults and $9.99 for children. Reservations are suggested but not required; call (970) 468-2145.

BRECKENRIDGE

• Blue River Bistro (305 N. Main St.) will offer a traditional three-course Thanksgiving spread in addition to its regular menu. The first course is a pear and roasted chestnut bisque; main course is garlic and thyme-roasted turkey, roasted onion and Fontina mashed potatoes, apple and walnut stuffing, bourbon-brown sugar spiced yams and cinnamon-cider cranberry sauce; and the third course is pumpkin cheesecake with maple-chocolate sauce. The three-course dinner is $30 for adults, $12 for children. Reservations are strongly suggested and are quickly filling up; call (970) 453-6974.

• Hearthstone Restaurant (130 S. Ridge St.) will be serving a four-course plated Thanksgiving feast to celebrate the holiday. The meal starts with roasted carrot and red quinoa salad, with organic field greens, shaved Bartlett pears, Jumpin’ Good goat cheese and apple cider dressing; followed by Colorado butternut squash soup with ginger creme fraiche and sage. The main course is roasted breast of turkey with sherry gravy, cranberry-orange compote, pheasant-cognac sausage and hazelnut cornbread stuffing, Yukon gold potatoes gratin, roasted Colorado red beets with aged balsamic vinegar glaze and Colorado green beans with organic hazel dell mushroom duxelle. Finish it off with pumpkin crème brûlée, Colorado apple pecan crumble or sweet potato cake with caramel sauce. Dinner is $44 for adults and $14 for children younger than 12 and runs from 2 p.m. to about 10 p.m. The regular Hearthstone menu will not be available Thanksgiving Day. Reservations are required; call (970) 453-1148.

• Modis (113 S. Main St.) will be featuring its original menu, as well as a Thanksgiving Day turkey special, starting at 3 p.m. The special will include roasted, all-natural turkey with house-made gravy, steamed cauliflower with cheddar cheese sauce, sage and parsley stuffing, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, house-made biscuits and house-made cranberry coulis. The price is $28 for adults and $12 for children. Reservations are strongly suggested; call (970) 453-4330.

• The MotherLoaded Tavern (103 S. Main St.) will be serving a Thanksgiving dinner in its home-cooked style. The restaurant will feature its full menu — or get a roasted turkey breast Thanksgiving plate for $10.95 — from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids pay $5.95. The MotherLoaded will reopen Friday at 11:30 a.m. Call (970) 453-2572.

• Quandary Grille (Main Street Station, 505 S Main St., C1) is doing a variety of dinner deals for Thanksgiving. One option is a traditional turkey dinner, with white and dark meat, honey-cured ham, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, corn, corn bread, dinner rolls and cranberry sauce for $19 for adults and $12 for children. Another choice is prime rib, house seasoned and slow roasted for six hours and served with two sides, creamy horseradish sauce and au jus, 8 ounces for $19 or 12 ounces for $23. For the little ones, Quandary has mac and cheese, dino nuggets, corn dogs, hamburgers, penne pasta with butter or marinara and grilled cheese on sourdough. Reservations are recommended; call (970) 547-5969.

• Sevens (Grand Lodge on Peak 7, 1979 Ski Hill Road) will be serving special Thanksgiving-themed lunch items from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a gourmet Thanksgiving dinner for $35 from 5 to 9 p.m. The meal begins with roasted beet salad or roasted butternut squash stew, followed by a turkey dinner with gravy, thyme sweet potatoes, Italian sausage apple stuffing, corn casserole and cranberry-orange compote. Dessert is cinnamon-apple bread pudding served a la mode. Reservations are recommended but not required; call (970) 496-8910.

• Spencer’s (Beaver Run Resort, 620 Village Road) will set out a gourmet buffet featuring chef-attended pasta and meat-carving stations, soups and breads, cheese and crudité platters and salads, a seafood display with snow crab and peel-and-eat shrimp and all the traditional foods that accompany a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner. The buffet will be available Thanksgiving Day, with seatings from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Adults dine for $46 and kids younger than 12 for $16, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are recommended but not required; call (970) 453-8755.

FRISCO

• Backcountry Brewery (720 Main St.) will be serving an all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., including clam chowder, salads, smoked turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, corn bread stuffing, cranberry relish, cinnamon-apple crisp, rolls and butter, pumpkin pie and apple pie. The price is $19.95 for adults and $9.95 for children ages 5 to 12. Reservations are recommended; call (970) 668-2337.

• Bagalis Restaurant (320 Main St.) will be serving a three-course Thanksgiving dinner to celebrate the holiday, along with the restaurant’s full menu, for both lunch and dinner. The special includes a choice of butternut squash soup or field green salad with pears, grapes, almonds, mozzarella cheese and roasted pear vinaigrette; a main course option of Colorado “Red Bird” turkey prepared two ways and served with mashed potatoes, maple and brown sugar sweet potatoes, French-style green beans and a Grand Marnier orange-cranberry compote or braised rabbit fettuccini, with house-made pasta, butternut squash and beet greens; and a third course of either pumpkin-chevre cheesecake with maple cream and fruit compote or dark and white chocolate mouse with raspberry compote served in a martini glass. The price is $35 for adults, with an optional wine pairing for an additional cost, and $13 for children ages 13 and younger. Reservations are highly recommended; call (970) 668-0601.

• The Lost Cajun (204 Main St., Frisco, and 411 S. Main St., Breckenridge) is cooking up Cajun-infused, deep-fried turkeys for Thanksgiving. The restaurant charges $55 for just the turkey (10 to 12 pounds) or $99 for a whole meal, which includes two quarts of your choice of gumbo, crawfish etoufee, lobster bisque or red beans and rice with potato salad or coleslaw and French bread. Pick-up times are available from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Call (970) 547-8330 for Breckenridge or (970) 668-4352 for the Frisco location.

KEYSTONE

• Bighorn Bistro & Bar at Keystone Lodge & Spa (22101 U.S. Highway 6) will host a Thanksgiving Day buffet from 3 to 8 p.m. Buffet items include soups, salads, antipasti with cured meats, cheeses and marinated and pickled vegetables, poached shrimp, cured salmon and smoked trout with artisan breads, spreads and preserves, entrees ranging from herb-roasted turkey with cornbread dressing and candied yams to pork loin medallions with caramelized apples and onions to Scottish salmon with lemon-thyme sauce. Top it all off with a chocolate fountain with assorted dipping items, pumpkin pie, crème brulee and more. The price is $49.95 for adults, $25 for children ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and younger are free. Reservations are recommended; call (970) 496-4386.

• The Ski Tip Lodge (764 Montezuma Road) is offering a four-course Thanksgiving menu for $75 for adults and a three-course menu for children 12 and younger for $45, with three seatings at 4, 5:30 and 7:45 p.m. Sample menu items range from duck or butternut squash soup to salads and appetizers, with entrees from bacon-wrapped turkey to flat-iron steak to venison short loin, finished with a chef’s choice of desserts. Reservations are recommended; call (970) 496-4386 for more details.

• Keystone Ranch Restaurant (1239 Keystone Ranch Road) is bringing out a four-course, holiday-inspired menu for Thanksgiving, which includes soup, salad, entrée and dessert. The meal is $65 for adults, or get a three-course children’s option for $18. Reservations are recommended; call (970) 496-4187 for more details.

• The Black Bear Grill in the Inn at Keystone (23044 U.S. Highway 6) is serving a three-course Thanksgiving meal, starting with a choice of house salad or Southwest corn chowder. Entrée options include traditional roasted tom turkey with sage dressing, mashed potatoes, natural gravy, orange cranberry relish and green beans; certified Angus beef prime rib au jus with mashed potatoes, horseradish cream and green beans; or sesame-grilled salmon with soy ginger glaze, steamed jasmine rice and zucchini ribbons. Dessert is pumpkin pie with whipped cream or apple pie a la mode. The price is $29 for adults or $12 for children, and reservations are recommended; call (970) 496-4386.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Araphoe Basin Ski Area opens uphill access for the season

Arapahoe Basin, Colorado.

Sebastian Foltz / sfoltz@summitdaily.com

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area kicked off ski mountaineering season last Friday, Nov. 14, opening its slopes to uphill access outside of business hours.

“As soon as we can open it up, we’re more than happy to,” ski area spokeswoman Adrienne Saia Isaac said. “We’re just as excited as members of the public to see it open. I can’t wait to get back out there and get skinning.”

Following last week’s storms the resort was able to allowing uphill access starting Friday afternoon after the lifts closed. Morning access wasn’t possible due to avalanche-mitigation work. Guests are encouraged to check access availability before heading to A-Basin as weather and conditions may dictate a need to close uphill travel. The decision to open is announced each morning at 6 a.m.

Saia Isaac said that at this point new snow and avalanche work would be the primary reasons for closure. The ski area is currently limiting uphill access to the hours outside of lift operations. Uphill access during lift operations will be allowed later in the season as more terrain opens.

The ski area asks that anyone looking to access the mountain for alpine touring sign up for A-Basin’s free uphill access pass.

“It’s a totally free pass. It takes five minutes to get,” Saia Isaac said. “It’s just a good way to communicate with our guests who use uphill access the most.”

Skiers who want a pass must sign a waiver acknowledging the ski area’s uphill access policies. A-Basin also sends email notifications to pass holders regarding access information and upcoming alpine touring events, like the mountain’s randonee series.

A spokesperson for Breckenridge Ski Resort said limited uphill access is available on Peaks 7 and 8, but that guests should call the resort’s hotline as that may change depending on snowmaking operations.

All other Summit-area resorts, including Loveland Ski Area, have yet to allow uphill access, while early-season snowmaking is still underway.

Laura Parquette, spokeswoman for Keystone Resort, said that because of recent snowfall and snowmaking the resort was “close” to offering uphill travel. Copper Mountain Resort will likely open the mountain to uphill travel in mid-December.

Under their U.S. Forest Service special-use permits, resorts are able to dictate uphill travel policies as it relates to safety concerns and other operations on their mountains.

“If (access) needs to be restricted because of snowmaking or safety, it still meets the conditions of their permit,” White River National Forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said. “From a liability perspective, they have to make things as safe as possible under the terms of their permit. Their special-use permit allows them to set the operational conditions on the mountain. That’s all part of their annual operating plan.”

The objective, Fitzwilliams said, is to make the public lands on which resorts are located as accessible as possible within reason.

“They know that these are public lands and to keep them open to the best of their ability,” he said. “Every resort needs to make sure that that is provided for. It’s something we discuss with the resorts every year.”

Continued uphill accessibility has been a concern among some in the alpine touring community, with rumors that resorts might eventually be able to charge for access.

Fitzwilliams said that there have been no proposals of that nature at any Summit County ski resort.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge and Frisco Nordic centers open with ski swap

#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.

Today's top five things to do in Summit County

Kindle Workshop for Ebooks

Frisco, Nov. 17

5:30-6:30 p.m., Summit County Library, 0037 County Road 1005. Summit County Senior Center technology guru. Tim Orwick, will cover how to use your Kindle to download e-books. This session is open to 10 participants at the Main Library in Frisco. Call (970) 668-5555 for more information.

Open Jam Night

Frisco, Nov. 17

9 p.m., Barkley Ballroom, 610 Main St. Drum set, amps, piano, mics, sound engineer and more are set up for your use. You don’t have to play music to enjoy Open Jam night with great drink specials and lots of seating. No cover, starts at 9 p.m.

Open Mic Night

Breckenridge, Nov. 17

9 p.m., MotherLoaded Tavern, 103 Main St. User friendly but furiously cookin’ Open Mic with a furry Moose. Bring your strings and come sing, dance, laugh and cry.

Gold Miner’s Snowshoe Hike

Breckenridge, Nov. 17

10 a.m., Iowa Hill Trailhead, Airport Road. Enjoy an easy guided hike through the historic Iowa Hill mine site, which takes you past mining artifacts and interpretive signs. Lean what life was like as a miner in the late 1800s and visit a restored miners’ boardinghouse. Weather permitting; Reservations required.

Adult Drop In Tennis Clinic

Breckenridge, Nov. 17

10:30 a.m., Breckenridge Recreation Center, 880 Airport Road, Breckenridge. No matter your skill level, our drop-in clinics gives you a workout with drills and point play coached by our tennis pros. Have a great time learning the game, refining skills and improving fitness levels over 90 minutes. All levels are welcome. 970-453-1734.

To view a full listing of today’s events visit http://www.summitdaily.com/Entertainment/Calendar/

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Interstate 70 mountain corridor gets more attention this ski season

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Justin McCarty / jmccarty@vaildaily.com

 If your tires fail the “George Washington test,” the Colorado State Patrol, state highway officials, resorts and businesses along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor want you to stay home this winter.

The test is easy and was displayed Thursday as part of the state’s expanded efforts to ease I-70 congestion from Eagle to Denver during high-volume weekend hours.

Place a quarter upside down into the tire tread, with Washington’s head going in first. If the top of George’s head is covered by the tread at various points around the tire, your radials are road-ready for a trip to Vail.

Read the rest of this story on the Denver Post website, click here.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Dew Tour announces Olympic-sized lineup for Breckenridge Ski Resort

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Sebastian Foltz / sfoltz@summitdaily.com

Dew Tour Mountain Championships officials announced a preliminary lineup of athletes for this year’s event that includes all eight Sochi Olympic gold medalists in freeski and snowboard halfpipe and slopestyle, along with a number of other medalists and top pros.

“Fans will be thrilled to see the stars of this past Winter Olympics up close and personal,” Dew Tour vice president and general manager Chris Stiepock said this week. “We have almost all the Sochi medalists in slopestyle and superpipe confirmed to compete. We’re excited to provide the next platform for these athletes and sports to evolve after a major competition such as the Olympics.”

Snowboarder and former Olympic gold medalist Shaun White was noticeably absent from the initial list, however.

A spokesperson for the Dew Tour said White “had not confirmed at this time,” but would be welcome if he chooses to participate.

While there were rumors after February’s Olympics in Sochi, Russia, that White might retire, he dispelled them in a recent Web interview with Sports Illustrated Now, saying he was more motivated now than before the Olympics.

White has not announced his participation in the Dew Tour, but he plans to host an outdoor big-air competition inside college football’s famed Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, Feb. 21-22, of next year. White told Espn.com that he doesn’t plan to participate in his event since he is also hosting.

A WHO’S WHO

Even without White, the list of participants in this year’s Dew Tour is once again a who’s who of the snowboarding and skiing world.

Back in Februrary, Joss Christensen, Colorado’s own Gus Kenworthy, and Nick Goepper completed the U.S. men’s freeski slopestyle podium sweep in Sochi. All three are confirmed to participate in December’s Dew Tour along with fellow Olympic freeskiers and Breckenridge locals Bobby Brown and Keri Herman.

Women’s slopestyle medalists Dara Howel, Devin Logan and Kim Lamare will also be in the mix, along with U.S. skier halfpipe gold medalists David Wise and Maddie Bowman.

Competition on the snowboarding side will be equally deep, with U.S. slopestyle gold medalists Sage Kotsenburg and Jamie Anderson leading the way. The superpipe competition will include Iouri “Ipod” Podladtchikove and Kaitlyn Farrington, each of whom won gold at Sochi, as well as four-time Olympian Kelly Clark — snowboarding’s most accomplished rider. The annual competition will once again take place in Breckenridge Ski Resort’s Peak 8 terrain park and halfpipe, with a street jam, live music and other festivities downtown.

Now in its 10th year — its seventh at Breckenridge — this year’s Dew Tour events are scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 11-14. They will also be broadcast on NBC and NBCSN, Dec. 13-14.

BRECKENRIDGE ANNOUNCES OPENING-DAY TERRAIN

Officials at Breckenridge announced their opening-day terrain offerings Thursday. The resort plans to have 86 skiable acres available for the Friday, Nov. 14, opening day. All terrain will be accessible from the Peak 8 base area and the newly renovated Colorado SuperChair. The resort will also run its Rip’s Ride beginner chair and beginner magic carpets. To celebrate its opening, the resort will have music and free food for those who arrive prior to 9 a.m. Also on hand will be Breckenridge local and recent Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame inductee C.J. Muller, along with some military veterans to ride first chair as part of a Veterans Day tribute.

Full details on opening-day festivities are available on the resort’s website, www.breckenridge.com.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Buoyed by snow, Summit County ski areas expand terrain offerings

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Tripp Fay / Copper Mountain Resort

While this recent storm system continues to drop substantial amounts of snow on Summit County, just how much it will help as far as opening new terrain at local ski areas remains a slightly muddled picture.

Officials at Keystone were able to report 17 inches of new snow between Tuesday morning and Wednesday at 2 p.m. with as much as 7 inches coming during the day Wednesday. Breckenridge also reported approximately 12 inches of snow on the mountain during the day Wednesday, with snow continuing into the evening.

But more than just the snowfall, cooler temperatures have made it possible to continue snowmaking efforts almost around the clock.

“With the snow, we’ve had great cold temperatures for snowmaking,” Keystone Resort spokeswoman Laura Parquette said. “That is really what will allow us to open additional terrain Friday.”

She confirmed that the resort will be able to open an additional 66 acres of terrain as of Friday, bringing their total to 106 skiable acres. Expanded terrain offerings will include their early season terrain park on Scout Trail. She said the park is expected to include around 20 features, and will mostly be a mixture of rails and boxes.

The resort’s full A51 terrain park is expected to open around Thanksgiving as scheduled. Friday’s terrain expansion will also include more beginner terrain.

As of late Wednesday, Breckenridge Ski Resort had yet to announce specific opening day terrain offerings. An announcement with details is expected some time Thursday. Lift operations at the resort will begin at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14.

“We could not be more excited about all the snow,” resort senior communications manager Kristen Petitt Stewart said. “You couldn’t ask for better conditions for opening.”

She was able to confirm that any accessible terrain for Friday’s opening day will be from the Peak 8 base area. She also cautioned guests to stick to open terrain as snow may be thin in out-of-bounds areas. The resort will host opening day festivities prior to the lifts opening Friday morning and throughout the day.

Copper Mountain Resort is unlikely to open any new terrain over the weekend, resort spokeswoman Stephanie Sweeney said, but they expect to open the American Flyer chair some time next week. The Flyer chair services additional beginner terrain out of the resort’s Center Village. Copper Mountain currently has 59.5 skiable acres of mostly intermediate terrain accessible via their American Eagle and Excelerator chairlifts. The U.S. Alpine Ski Team has continued early season practice at the mountain but their full top-to-bottom speed course has yet to open. A source with the ski team said they may be able to have their full speed course available early next week. The ski team’s alpine Speed Center runs out of the resort’s East Village through mid-December.

Arapahoe Basin plans to open their beginner terrain around the Molly Hogan chair and Pika Place magic carpet this weekend, along with their full ski lesson offerings. The ski area began top-to-bottom lift operations for the season Tuesday, Nov. 10 with the opening of Lenawee chair at midmountain. They currently have 94 of their 960 acres open.

Loveland Ski Area now has two top-to-bottom runs accessible from their base area on Chair 1. They currently have 77 skiable acres. Resort spokesman John Sellers said they hope to also open Chair 6 soon but could not confirm if they would be able to open additional terrain in time for the weekend.

With forecasters calling for as much as an additional foot of snow by Friday and the brunt of the storm still potentially on the way, it’s possible that some ski areas may be able to expedite terrain openings.

UPHILL TRAVEL

None of the Summit County ski areas are offering uphill travel/alpine touring at this time. Officials at each of the resorts said they need to wait for early season snowmaking operations to be complete before allowing guests to safely access the mountain outside of operating hours.

Arapahoe Basin will likely be the first to open its slopes to uphill travel. In an email, A-Basin vice president Alan Henceroth said the ski area has no definitive plans yet but snow this weekend may make an announcement possible. Arapahoe Basin and Loveland are the only ski areas that allow dogs on the slopes outside of normal hours of operation. Officials at each ski area recommend checking their websites for designated uphill routes and procedures.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Your guide to winter driving in the Colorado High Country

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News

We've all been there.

Snow is swirling, visibility is limited, windshield wiper fluid is running on empty and suddenly the most relevant thing ahead is a pair of ominous red lights.

Brakes grind, tires fly over snow-packed pavement and what might have been an avoidable collision becomes inevitable.

Back up a few days, 30 minutes or even 15 crucial seconds and there are a number of precautions drivers can take to keep weather-induced accidents from ruining a powder day.

Winter driving - particularly in the mountains and even more so in a resort community where roads are populated by drivers from somewhere else - is a dangerous and unpredictable sport in which slower speeds, snow tires and timing can make all the difference.

"The biggest problem is people going too fast for conditions," Summit County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Tracy LeClair said. "We want people to slow down and give plenty of space to the car in front of them."

Weather-appropriate tires are also important. In Colorado, drivers can be ticketed after an accident for having bald or improper tires.

Still, no one should assume other vehicles are equipped with winter tires, particularly in a resort destination like Summit County, where many people on the road are not driving cars equipped for the local winter environment.

"What you need to think about is stopping distances," Bridgestone Winter Driving School instructor Kurt Spitzner said. "In the winter, it's all about the tire. So when you're on public roads with people from literally everywhere, you're going to be dealing with a whole bunch of different available traction per vehicle."

Experts also recommend looking and planning ahead on icy roads, which provides a longer grace period to react to unexpected problems and obstacles.

"If you find yourself creeping up on the steering wheel, push yourself back in the seat, pick your head up and make yourself look ahead," Spitzner said. "You want to be able to see as far into the future as you can so you can always respond to what's coming up."

On downhill slopes, experts say the best technique is to downshift, to avoid reducing control over the vehicle by riding the brakes.

In the High Country, winter weather can be unpredictable and can change rapidly over short distances. When in doubt, drivers are advised to avoid the road altogether or to wait out the weather if the conditions seem too challenging.

"If you're getting ready to start your journey and things are already not good, perhaps you need to reconsider," Spitzner said.

With heavy traffic and steep grades, Interstate 70 between Denver and Summit County can be a difficult drive even with dry roads. Add in winter weather conditions and the trip becomes even more challenging.

The Colorado Department of Transportation operates 20 maintenance trucks in the western segment of the I-70 mountain corridor alone during snowstorms. Snowplows are out on the roads in 12-hour shifts, and they're the one commercial vehicle on the road drivers shouldn't mind being stuck behind.

"One of the safest places to be in bad weather is right behind the snowplow," CDOT spokesman Bob Wilson said. "That's where you'll find the clearest roads and the best traction."

Transportation officials also advise drivers planning to travel the I-70 corridor to be prepared with a shovel, ice scraper, warm clothes, water, non-perishable food, a flashlight, jumper cables and a full tank of gas in case the car gets stuck.

"If you get stranded, we always say, don't leave your vehicle unless you absolutely have to," Wilson said. "If you do get stranded, you should run your vehicle every few minutes at a time to stay warm."

Drivers can check road conditions on I-70 by calling 511 or online at CoTrip.org.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge Ski Resort to open for the winter season Friday

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Courtesy Breckenridge Ski Resort

With fresh snow on the ground, Breckenridge Ski Resort announced Tuesday that the resort will open Friday, Nov. 14, for the winter ski season.

After unseasonably warm temperatures caused the resort to delay its opening, originally set for Nov. 7, a strong cold front Monday brought snow and much colder temperatures to Colorado that will allow the resort’s snowmaking team to work around the clock for the rescheduled opening.

The recently upgraded Colorado SuperChair will start turning at 9 a.m., but skiers and riders are invited to get to Peak 8 earlier for opening day festivities.

The first several hundred guests will be given free treats, including handmade donuts from the Ski Hill Grill, and other prizes courtesy of Breckenridge’s official partners.

There will be a special ribbon cutting of the Colorado SuperChair, which this summer was upgraded from a four-passenger express to a six-passenger express and will provide a 30 percent increase in capacity for Peak 8’s most used lift. Breckenridge now has four six-passenger chairlifts across its five peaks.

More festivities will include special tributes to honor U.S. service men and women for this week’s Veterans Day as well as local ski legend CJ Mueller, who recently was elected to the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame.

For the full opening day schedule and updates on terrain, as well as to purchase the lowest-priced lift tickets, visit Breckenridge.com.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge’s C.J. Mueller reflects on career and Hall of Fame induction

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

After an appearance in the 1992 Winter Olympics as a demonstration sport, speed skiing all but disappeared from the mainstream winter sports realm. Why hurtling straight down a hill at well over 100 mph — the current record is 156.8 mph — didn’t stick around when that year’s other demonstration sport, curling, did is up for debate. Athlete deaths certainly may have made for a compelling argument to drop it, or it could simply have been a popularity issue.

While the International Ski Federation (FIS) still sanctions speed skiing as a World Cup-level discipline, the limited number of events are primarily in Europe, with a few in Canada. The United States no longer has a team or domestic competition.

However, for more than 20 years during what was the sport’s peak — leading up to the 1992 Olympics — one Breckenridge resident was continually at the top of the list of the world’s fastest men on skis.

Today, he’s the guy who annually leads the Breckenridge Fourth of July parade dressed as George Washington, but in the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s C.J. Mueller was breaking world records — eventually topping out at 137 mph on skis — and was continually among the top five in international and later World Cup races.

“It was just a great feeling going fast.”
C.J. Mueller

ONLY U.S. SPEED SQUAD

His feats earned him a spot on the U.S. Ski Team’s only Olympic speed team squad, and more recently a place in the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Three times he broke world records. He also finished 10th in the 1992 Olympics, in Albertville, France, and yet the quiet 63-year-old describes himself as having never been much of a risk taker. He said skiing at those speeds was actually very safe, if you knew what you were doing.

His friends, who dubbed him “Crazy John” in the early ’70s, might offer a different take on his approach to the sport.

“Everyone had a nickname,” Mueller said of his early time in Breckenridge, when most of the town’s roads were still dirt. “The guys decided I was ‘Crazy John’ and it stuck.”

Mueller told the Daily he earned the name from the days when he and his friends would borrow shovels from the lift operators and build jumps on Peak 8, back before terrain on Peaks 6, 7, 9 or 10 existed.

When Mueller moved to Breckenridge in 1970 there were only four chairlifts on Peak 8.

“I really miss the camaraderie of skiing back then,” he said. “For the most part everybody knew each other, and if you didn’t know people, you met them.”

Looking back at the ’70s and ’80s, he said it was also common to find fresh lines as much as a week after a storm.

While appreciating the past, he welcomes skiing’s evolution over the years, with faster chairlifts and much more terrain to cover.

After starting his career in local downhill races, where he and his friends wore old baseball uniforms, Mueller got into speed skiing almost by chance in 1981 while visiting friends in Val d’Isere, France. His first time out he said he reached 100 mph and was hooked.

“I don’t know what it was about skiing and going fast,” he said, looking back. “I just really enjoyed being in a tuck and going fast.”

At his home outside of town, Mueller proudly pulled out one of the nearly 8-foot-long skis that he used to become the first skier to crack 130 mph. It still sits in his ski closet in the house’s entryway with a quiver of more modern models.

Trophies from any number of races are prominently displayed down in his study.

And just the thought of his racing days still brings a smile to his face, as he demonstrates a tuck position with his custom aerodynamic poles.

As to what goes through your mind at those speeds, the answer was simple. Absolutely nothing. You tense up and point downhill. He likened the feeling to being a stone skipping across a pond.

“Developing the mental capacity to do that was the big key,” he said. “It’s being so focused that you don’t have a conscious thought. That was the really satisfying part of it, the mental training.”

Muller said he was humbled by his recent induction into the Colorado Hall of Fame. He said he was most proud that both his 88-year-old father and 90-year-old mother could attend his ceremony.

“Speed skiing is just not very well known. I didn’t think it was a big enough deal that I’d ever be elected,” he said, adding that he was speechless when the news came.

But for him the sport was never about accolades anyway. It was just the joy of skiing, and most who participated were more concerned about personal bests than overall wins.

“It was just a great feeling going fast. That was the big draw for a lot of people. Most of the people weren’t there to win. There were guys just trying to go faster than they’ve ever been before.”

RETIREMENT PLANS

These days Mueller is just another man around town, in a town full of athletes — except that he’s got County Commissioner Dan Gibbs planning surprises for him at parties in his honor.

Mueller also said he still gets plenty of days on the mountain; they’re just shorter than they used to be and not quite as fast. Perhaps more than anything he’s looking forward to taking advantage of the lifetime Colorado ski pass that comes with entrance to the hall.

A trip to Telluride is one of the first items on his bucket list. Because, while he’s skied and competed across the globe, he’s never skied the San Miguel County resort that’s just a few hours away

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.

Highway 9 wildlife safety project moves forward with contractor bidding

#Breckenridge, Colorado.

File photo - Summit Daily News

Someone has died on a stretch of Highway 9 north of Silverthorne almost every winter for the last 20 years.

The two-lane highway in this part of the Lower Blue River Valley is notorious for wildlife collisions because it separates prime winter range for animals on the east side of the road from the Blue River on the west side.

The animals cross the highway daily, especially at times when they’re harder for drivers to see.

“When I travel that corridor I try very hard not to travel at all at dawn or dusk,” said Summit County Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier. “It’s super, super dangerous.”

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 550 animals have died after being hit by cars and trucks in the last nine winter seasons, or about 61 a year.

More than 90 percent of those deaths are mule deer, said CPW wildlife biologist Michelle Cowardin, and those records don’t include the injured animals that later die off the road.

Three years ago, a private donor started the push toward a first-of-its-kind CDOT project that will improve safety and protect wildlife along the road. In 2013, a grassroots campaign helped raise the rest of the funds needed to fast-track the project.

Now the project has reached another milestone.

CDOT will start accepting contractor bids next Thursday, and resident engineer Grant Anderson said preliminary work, like relocating utility lines, has already begun.

Construction will start in earnest as soon as weather allows in the spring.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

The project involves building two wildlife overpasses and five underpasses in just over 10 miles of the road between mile markers 126 and 137.

Though only about a mile of the project lies in Summit, county government pledged to contribute $250,000 to the project over the next two years.

“It’s our workforce and our residents as well as the traveling public that we want to see safe,” Stiegelmeier said.

She added that the project especially hits home for those in the Summit community who remember the 2011 death of a high school student who swerved to avoid a large animal on Highway 9. The county wants to prevent similar tragedies.

In addition to the structures that will help keep wildlife off the highway, the project will also add 8-foot-wide paved shoulders to the highway that will better prevent collisions with cyclists and accommodate emergency responders.

Winter conditions will always cause some problems, Kremmling Mayor Thomas Clark said. But now, “when there is an accident, where do the first responders go?”

According to CPW data, documented animal-vehicle crashes account for 36 percent of the accidents between 1993 and 2012.

Because of the road’s hazardous track record, employees at Blue Valley Ranch, a private livestock and conservation operation along the highway, started counting animal deaths in 2006.

The ranch, owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Paul T. Jones II, has largely funded the current effort to make that stretch of Highway 9 safer.

In 2011, the ranch donated $805,000, as well as right-of-way land worth $140,000, to fund planning and design work for when government funding became available.

CDOT estimates the total cost of the project will be between $46 and $50 million.

Last year, an opportunity to fast-track the project arose through a state program called RAMP, or Responsible Acceleration of Maintenance and Partnerships, but to qualify, local governments must raise 20 percent of the project’s cost.

The ranch stepped forward once again and pledged $4 million if the remaining $4.3 million required could be raised.

A committee called Citizens for a Safe Highway 9 formed, led by Grand County resident Mike Ritschard, and successfully raised the funds by deadline, with pledges ranging from $10 to $100,000. The project was approved last fall.

“This project is getting a lot of interest and support because of the partnerships,” Cowardin said, which include state agencies, numerous individuals, businesses and local governments.

At Blue Valley Ranch, manager Sher Steuben said Thursday, “We can’t wait for it to really get underway and get finished.”

ANIMAL TRACKING

Drivers won’t notice impacts from construction likely for another six months.

In the meantime, Colorado Parks and Wildlife will add 20 more radio collars to mule deer in the area and set up cameras where the overpasses and underpasses will be built to track the animal movements.

About 15,000 mule deer live in the Middle Park area, said CPW wildlife biologist Kirk Oldham, including about 6,000 to 7,000 in the Lower Blue River Valley around the project.

Cowardin helped design the height and width of the overpasses and underpasses as well as extra wildlife protection features like fences, escape ramps and deer guards.

The underpasses, 15 feet high and 42 feet wide, had to be open enough, she said. “You don’t want a long, dark tunnel.”

The overpasses will be much larger, about 75 to 100 feet wide, and lined with berms and 8-foot high fences to keep the animals from jumping onto the road.

Cowardin said Blue Valley Ranch employees have continued to help track the number of animals killed, and the data shows the wildlife are hit all along the stretch not clustered in specific spots.

The partners will continue to monitor the animal behavior during construction and for a few years after with funding from CDOT and grants provided by the Grand Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Muley Fanatic Foundation and Woodcock Foundation.

Everyone hopes the number of animals struck will go down.

For more information about the project, visit coloradodot.info/projects/sh9wildlife.

Courtesy of the Summit Daily News.