Copper Mountain is the final Summit ski area to open for the season

 

It’s official: Summit County’s mountains are open for ski season. Copper Mountain Resort hosted the final opening day in the county yesterday, Nov. 22.

Colin Thomas stood at the Alpine Lot waiting for a shuttle bright and early on opening day. Thomas had driven up from Denver — where it has yet to snow — for his second opening day of the season after Winter Park’s opening last week.

“I haven’t been able to ride the last two years because I got shoulder surgery done, so I was finally able to come back out and ride,” Thomas said.

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Dillon to consider updated development agreement with Uptown 240

 #Dillon #Colorado

The Dillon Town Council will hold a special meeting next week to consider an amendment to the development agreement with Uptown 240, which would extend the deadline for the developer to complete a series of public improvement projects and provide a path forward for continued construction.

Developers on Uptown 240 broke ground on the project in June 2019, but a loss of financing as a result of the COVD-19 pandemic caused serious snags in the process, and construction shut down in April 2020. As part of the development agreement with the town, the developer was required to construct a number of public improvements by the end of September, including repairs to sidewalks and road pavement on Lake Dillon Drive and West Buffalo Street, among others.

That deadline has come and gone, and the work has all been left uncompleted. On Oct. 1, the town issued a default notice to the developer and filed a lien on the property to secure payment of outstanding utility and attorney fees.

Summit County’s adoptable pets for the week of Nov. 14

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 The following animals are available for adoption at the Summit County Animal Shelter. Call the shelter at 970-668-3230 with questions. The most recent list of animals available for adoption can be found on the shelter’s website.

For a partial list click here

Breckenridge Ski Resort, Vail Mountain to open tomorrow

 

Breckenridge Ski Resort, which is scheduled to open Friday, Nov. 12, posted its opening day details on social media Wednesday, Nov. 10.

The ski area, which is the third to open in Summit County, will offer about 50 acres of terrain on Peak 8 with access to 4 O’Clock and Springmeier trails. The terrain will be served by the Colorado SuperChair and 5-Chair, which will open at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Just over Vail Pass in Eagle County, Vail Mountain Chief Operating Officer Beth Howard said Wednesday that Vail also intends to open Friday as scheduled despite less-than-ideal snowmaking conditions over the past few weeks.

Vail Mountain has enjoyed only short windows of snowmaking during the run-up to the 2021-22 season, Howard said at the State of the Valley event in Edwards.

But as Howard was speaking, Vail Mountain was taking advantage of one of the few opportunities there has been for daytime snowmaking prior to Friday’s long-planned opening.

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Breckenridge Ski Resort to host the return of Wake Up Breck event

 

Before the start of Breckenridge Ski Resort’s 60th season, the ski area is hosting the return of Wake Up Breck on Thursday, Nov. 11.

The annual community tradition was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic but returns next week alongside a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new South Gondola Parking Structure off Watson Avenue.

The ribbon cutting event will take place at 7:30 a.m. with Wake Up Breck following the conclusion of the ceremony.

Representatives from the town of Breckenridge and Breckenridge Ski Resort will be at the event to christen the new parking structure and engage in the festivities before sending up the first chair on opening day, Friday, Nov. 12.

As part of the ski season kickoff event, all attendees will receive a free 60th anniversary coffee mug, a cup of coffee and waffles from the resort while supplies last.

Mugs and waffles will be given out in the plaza in front of the parking structure, and a cup of complimentary coffee will be available at Starbucks, Clint’s Bakery & Coffee House, Cool River Coffee House, Daylight Donuts, The Coffee Depot at Main Street Station, Cuppa Joe’s and The Crown throughout the day.

The new parking structure is set to open along the resort on Nov. 12 and will provide 950 additional parking spots.

What determines tree line?

 

We all know what tree line is in Colorado: the point above which trees don’t grow. But what determines tree line: Cold? Soil conditions? Precipitation? And is tree line different in various parts of the world?

Although tree line looks like a sharp delineation from a distance, you can see that it actually consists of three different zones upon closer inspection. The area above which trees cannot grow thick enough to form a canopy is called timberline or forest line. Above timberline there is usually an area where small groups of trees can survive but not enough to form a canopy, and the limit of these trees is called tree line. Individual, though often stunted, trees may grow above tree line up to what is called the species line. These three zones usually occur within a hundred vertical feet of one another.

There are also different kinds of tree lines depending on the main factors that inhibit tree growth. When we refer to tree line in the Colorado Rockies, we are normally referring to the Alpine tree line, where cold, snowpack, soil quality and high winds are among the limiting factors. In other regions, there are desert tree lines, where moisture is the key limiting factor. There are also desert-Alpine tree lines, where cold and moisture are the key limiting factors.

Current research is directed at how climate change affects tree line. And locals have noted trees growing on some of our formerly tree-free summits. There are complex and interesting dynamics involved here. For instance, because seedlings have different limitations than trees, sometimes seedlings will survive when trees can’t, or vice versa. So the current tree line might reflect the climate from decades or centuries ago. Or there might be lags for when tree line moves because seedlings struggle to get established.

Alpine tree lines vary greatly across the world, especially in areas north of 30 degrees north or south of 20 degrees south in latitude. In Colorado, tree line is around 11,500 feet. In contrast, tree line in the Swiss Alps is around 7,200 feet.

#breckenridge #colorado #realestate #breckenridgerealtor #coloradorealtor

Bluebird Market in Silverthorne expected to open in November

 

#Silverthorne #Colorado

As Bluebird Market is nearing completion, business owners in the market are ecstatic to get up and running soon. Instead of construction workers, the market will soon be full of residents and visitors looking for a quick bite.

Scott Vollmer, director of property operations for Fourth Street Crossing developer Milender White, said they are close to getting a final certificate of occupancy to get the market open. While there isn’t a set date, he expects to see a soft opening with seven of the nine tenant spaces in November.

“There’s a couple different general contractors, so it’s really hard to pinpoint when they’ll all be done,” Vollmer said. “By the time that happens, we’re looking at probably doing a grand opening in the month of December.”

Courtesy Summit Daily News.

As record-setting real estate sales continue in Colorado resort towns, buyers are now looking way down valley

 

The real estate growth in “down valley” ’burbs — think Basalt and Carbondale downstream from Aspen, or Eagle down from Vail, or Ridgway down the hill from Telluride — has been strong for more than a decade as more buyers seek homes outside, but near, pricey resort towns. With the explosion of mountain real estate in 2020 and 2021, that down-valley growth has moved even further down the road. Call it the down, down valley.

Prices and deals in places like the West End in Montrose County, the North Fork Valley of Delta County, Fairplay, Rifle, Silt, Kremmling, Del Norte and Craig have peaked in 2021. It’s not just locals cashing out of their longtime resort-area homes, either. These are newcomers, many working from home and discovering the affordability and appeal of areas far from tony resorts.

Courtesy of the Colorado Sun

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Frisco Pedestrian Promenade won’t return next summer

 

While the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, Frisco Town Council doesn’t see a need for the Frisco Pedestrian Promenade to return for summer 2022 with occupancy restrictions mostly in the past. However, parklets might still be a Main Street fixture.

Opinions of the promenade have been mixed from businesses. When it came back for a second summer in June, co-owner of Next Page Books & Nosh Lisa Holenko said she was a fan of the aesthetics and safety it provided.

Later in the summer, Frisco Lodge owner Susan Wentworth didn’t see the value in it past 2020. She said businesses didn’t have the staff to handle the additional seating and the closure negatively impacted her business.

With the Pedestrian Promenade no longer being pursued, parklets — essentially portable decks on town parking spaces — might be the summer compromise. A future work session will discuss how exactly the parklets will be implemented.

Courtesy Summit Daily News.

Breckenridge Town Council votes to hold hearing on Breckenridge Grand Vacations development

 

Breckenridge Town Council voted 6-1 to hold a hearing on the Breckenridge Grand Vacations gondola lot development master plan at its Tuesday, Oct. 26, meeting.

Council member Dick Carleton voted for the hearing because he disagrees with some of the analysis from the Breckenridge Planning Commission, which approved the project.

“This is a really important project, and I think we need to make sure that we have plenty of time to vet it properly,” Carleton said.

Council members Erin Gigliello, Dennis Kuhn and Carol Saade also voted yes, but Mayor Eric Mamula voted no, saying it will be difficult to argue against the planning commission’s approval.

“I would rather discuss this on (a) site-specific (level) when it comes to that or see what planning commission does then,” Mamula said. “ … It is the council’s option to do this, so nobody’s doing anything wrong. We all have different opinions on it.”

Town Council will hold a hearing to review the master plan at its Nov. 9 meeting. The hearing will include presentations from staff and the applicant as well as public comment for and against the project.

Breckenridge aims to improve enforcement of short-term rental complaints

 

The town of Breckenridge has received 121 complaints about short-term rentals this year, and as the town continues to make changes to its rental policies it’s looking to be more proactive in enforcing regulations.

Of the complaints the town received this year, 78 were related to noise, 17 were related to parking, nine were related to trash and 17 were classified as nuisances, which include any complaints not concerning parking, noise or trash.

Brian Waldes, Breckenridge’s director of finance, said the town has implemented new ways to address concerns about short-term rentals over the past few years. He said it started with making sure rental owners are licensed and that their licenses are posted in their advertisements. The town also has a maximum occupancy limit for short-term rentals of two people per bedroom plus an additional four people, which is also required to be posted in advertising materials.

In an effort to ramp up proactive enforcement, the town is adding a third community service officer to its police department to help with enforcement next year. Baird said he sees all three officers working together, with about one-third of their time going toward short-term rental enforcement.

These employees are not state-certified police officers, and they mostly focus on code enforcement throughout town. Baird said during the pandemic the town has been a bit lax with some of its code enforcement, such as sign restrictions for businesses on Main Street, and this new officer will play a role as the team brings back heavier, proactive enforcement efforts.

Courtesy Summit Daily News.

Home Sales Jump as Buyers Aim to Beat Rising Rates

 

Existing-home sales rebounded in September as buyers may have felt a sense of pressure as mortgage rates started to inch up. Existing-home sales rose by 7% in September compared to August. All major regions of the country posted increases last month, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday.

“Some improvement in supply during prior months helped nudge up sales in September,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Housing demand remains strong as buyers likely want to secure a home before mortgage rates increase even further next year.” The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.90% in September, but rates are rising.

Despite last month’s uptick, total existing-home sales—completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops—were down by 2.3% in September compared to a year ago.

Home prices continue to rise as inventories remain constrained. Housing inventory is down 13% compared to a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 2.4-month supply at the current sales pace, NAR reports.

Keystone Resort opens today with 40 acres of terrain

 

The resort announced via social media Thursday afternoon that it would open the following day at 9 a.m. with “40 acres of terrain and nearly 2 miles of trail.”

While Keystone didn’t beat its opening day rival Arapahoe Basin Ski Area to the punch — A-Basin opened Sunday, Oct. 17 — the resort will meet its goal of opening in October.

The resort’s opening day runs will be Schoolmarm and Silverspoon, which will be accessed by the River Run Gondola and Montezuma Express chairlift, according to a news release. Skiers and snowboarders will make their way down the runs from the top of Dercum Mountain to the bottom of the Montezuma Express lift and will return to the base area by downloading via the gondola.

#breckenridge #colorado #realestate #coloradorealtor #breckenridgerealestate

Breckenridge Grand Vacations gondola lot development passes final planning commission hearing

 

The master plan for the Breckenridge Grand Vacations development on the Gold Rush and North Gondola lots passed its final hearing with the planning commission and is now moving onto Breckenridge Town Council for approval.

Changes from the plan’s third preliminary hearing Sept. 21 were simply to remove language from the master plan for items that the applicant and commission agreed were more appropriate for site-specific planning.

The commissioners and the applicant also discussed the latest updates to the master plan’s point analysis, a system used for reviewing development applications. Town staff and planning commission award positive points for aspects of planning projects that contribute to town goals and negative points for those against town goals or code.

Breckenridge Heritage Alliance restores historic railroad snowplow

 

The Breckenridge Heritage Alliance is starting a restoration project that is years in the making.

The High Line Railroad Park’s historic rotary snowplow, which was an engine used to plow train tracks, is being repainted. Executive Director Larissa O’Neil said this isn’t your ordinary paint job, as most painters wouldn’t take on the task because the snowplow was originally painted with lead paint.

“Not only is it a unique structure to paint in the first place, but it requires a full lead abatement process. … Most painters, contractors I reached out to wouldn’t touch this with a 10-foot pole,” O’Neil said, noting that in order to complete the project, the painter is required to have a lead paint certification.

“That railroad was quite an adventure,” Knapp said. “… It was always known as the high line because it went over the two highest-traction railroad passes at the time, Boreas and Fremont Pass. … Prior to the plow coming in, the tracks had to be plowed with the plows attached to the front end of the locomotives, which was a very dangerous thing.”

In the early 1890s, the Denver Leadville Gunnison Railway Co. purchased a Leslie Plow.

The plow operated with a locomotive engine, a pilot, an engineer and one to two men responsible for stoking the fire that drove the plow. Knapp pointed out that the rotary plow that sits in Breckenridge never worked the high line route and actually worked in Alaska but that it is a Leslie-designed plow.

“I lovingly call the plow the savior of Breckenridge and Leadville simply because the locomotives were just not able to remove the snow,” Knapp said. “… In my estimation, had it not been for that plow’s existence, it’s quite likely that Breckenridge would not have seen the success that it did as a gold mining town.”

Community members provide input during town hall about Summit County’s new short-term rental conversion program

 

Display boards were up, the survey was live and comment cards were sitting at the ready inside the Summit Board of County Commissioners’ meeting room at the Summit County Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 14.

The town hall was one of two where community members had the opportunity to give input on the aims to incentivize owners of short-term rentals to convert their properties into long-term housing.

The first town hall was held Thursday, Oct. 7, at the Summit County Library’s north branch in Silverthorne, where 39 community members showed up to ask questions. The second town hall welcomed 42 attendees.

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Arapahoe Basin Ski Area to open this weekend

 

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area plans to open this weekend.

A-Basin announced it will open at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 17. While A-Basin won’t be the first in Colorado ) it will be the first in Summit County — that is unless Keystone Resort has a trick up its sleeve.

A-Basin will open with its Black Mountain Express lift, bringing opening day skiers and snowboarders to its single opening day run: High Noon, which is intermediate. The ski area plans to stay open into June 2022.

Market Research Shows 54% Unprepared for Wildfires

 

US consumers said they were least prepared for wildfires and earthquakes in comparison to all types of natural disasters, and those who were involved in natural disasters feel like they could have been more prepared. The survey was commissioned by the consumer market research group Qualtrics and Value Penguin.

The survey also details information regarding preparedness for emergency evacuations and the financial impacts of disasters. CAR has a partnership with several like-minded organizations through Colorado Project Wildfire (CPW), which provides REALTORS® and homebuyers with a toolkit and resources to bring education and awareness, as well as access to resources directly to residents in their local communities.

Get to know more about Colorado Project Wildfire at

https://www.coloradorealtors.com/projectwildfire/

Snow in Summit County’s forecast this weekend

 

#breckenridge #colorado

Summit County has two rounds of possible snow on the way.

It began yesterday,  Friday afternoon, Oct. 8, off-and-on rain and snow showers are expected and will continue through Saturday evening, Oct. 9, according to National Weather Service meteorologist David Barjenbruch. While the majority of accumulating snow is likely to fall north of Summit County, the area could see a few inches.

“We’ll see a few showers around Summit County,” Barjenbruch said. “Some of them will be rain showers initially below about 11,000 feet, snow level above that. And then the snow levels will gradually lower to about 9,000 feet and even 8,500 feet as we head into (Saturday) evening. So maybe a dusting down in the valley, maybe a couple inches up on some of the local ski areas.”

According to the National Weather Service’s Frisco forecast, temperatures are expected to dip to 36 degrees Friday night, 25 degrees Saturday night and 22 degrees Sunday night, Oct. 10.

Barjenbruch said there would be a break in the weather Sunday, aside from a few morning flurries. Monday, Oct. 11, is expected to be warmer with a high of 58 degrees and dry before the next storm system rolls in, which is expected to be more powerful — although it is too early to predict snow totals.

The storm will come in Tuesday, Oct. 12, into Wednesday, Oct. 13, and again favors areas to the north, but it could bring some snow to Summit. Tuesday’s high is expected to dip to 47 degrees.

Summit County finalizes incentive details for its short-term rental conversion program

 

What’s been in the works since June is now finalized: Summit County staff recently wrapped up details on the county’s short-term rental conversion program that aims to transition units into long-term housing. The program will officially launch Friday, Oct. 15.

The last of the details were wrapped up during a Summit Board of County Commissioners’ work session meeting Tuesday, Oct. 5. Summit County Housing Director Jason Dietz proposed various incentives for the first few phases of the program, all of which had unanimous support from the county commissioners.

The first phase of the program will last until Dec. 15 or until the program gets 15 conversions, whichever comes first. This phase offers the highest dollar amount in incentives, mainly because the county is striving to get units converted as quickly as possible before the beginning of ski season.

Dietz said winter typically relies on a larger workforce than any other time of the year, so it’s crucial to get at least some units converted before the season kicks into high gear.

According to his presentation, incentives are based on six-month and yearlong leases. For a six-month studio lease, the incentive starts at $5,500 and goes up to $13,000 for a three-bedroom or larger. For a yearlong lease, the incentive starts at $9,000 and goes up to $24,000 for a three-bedroom or larger. All of these payments will be split into two payouts. The first will be given in the first 30 days of the lease, and the second half will be given at the end of the lease.

Once the initial rollout of the program is complete, the incentives drop. Dietz said this move is strategic.