October 2006

Breckenridge, GENUINE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

As the 150th birthday celebration approaches in 2009 Breckenridge continues to develop its heritage tourism program. The town is looking at forming a separate non-profit organization that can develop and implement ideas around the concept. The strategy is that the events and promotions developed around the Breck 150 celebration should be created with an eye towards a long-term attraction. Funding is being anticipated for this coming budget year and over forty ideas have been brought forth.

The Fourth of July Art Festival for now is no more. Much opposition came from Main St. retailers because they felt there was enough traffic in town and it drew visitors from the town’s core. The initial plan is to move it to another date in the summer that would become a draw in its own right.

Vail Resorts continues to be a leader in the industry when it comes to conservation. Recently the company purchased enough wind power credits to power all their operations, including all lifts, restaurants and lodging rooms. Now they are starting a program to add a dollar to lift tickets and hotel rooms to fund forest conservation programs. The donation will be voluntary for the customers but the hope is education will bring support. So you might be inclined to donate, the program grants money to non-profits like the Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness and the Continental Divide Trust for such things as trail maintenance, improving wildlife habitat and stream restoration. Money collected at the Colorado resorts will stay for projects in the White River National Forest while that collected at Heavenly Valley will go towards projects around Lake Tahoe.

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

ALL THE GOOD NEWS…

Last month more than 100 people came together in Carter Park for a fundraiser to assist Rachael Taitano with her medical bills. In addition to the donations for the food and drink items from county businesses were bid on at a silent auction. Rachael has undergone four rounds of chemo in addition to bone marrow transplants. Needless to say the bills are huge. All together over $12,000 was raised. These kinds of events are almost commonplace here in Ski Country.

Ski resorts from around Colorado are really setting a trend by purchasing wind power generated electricity. This is part of an overall campaign to walk the walk when it comes to reducing global warming. They also mentioned energy independence for America as a motivator. So far Crested Butte has credits for 27,000 megawatts, Aspen 22,000 megawatts and Vail leads the way with 152,000 megawatts.

Good news for skiers this winter, a new express route will return to our bus system. The revived route will take skiers directly to and from Breckenridge and Keystone/A-Basin without having to go through Frisco and change busses. This could shave 15-30 minutes and some serious hassle off the trip.

Speaking of A-Basin, the Forest Service has given preliminary approval to opening up the Montezuma Bowl on the backside to lift served skiing. This would add about 175 acres of great powder skiing and 22% more lift capacity to the mountain. If final approval is given it could be open by the ’07-’08 season.

The Summit Tigers football team won its home and season opener Labor Day Friday with a come from behind effort against a top ten team. Trailing 6-0 at halftime the Tigers came out of the locker room fired up and scored two touchdowns and two conversions in the third quarter. Both TD’s were passes from Sophomore QB Talon Roggasch to Senior Ryan Eberhart. RB Drew Crangle controlled the ground game with 93 yards and helped keep the Eagle Valley offense off the field the second half.

Ground breaking has finally occurred on the long awaited Swan Mountain bike path. The last section of a circumnavigation of Lake Dillon is under construction. The first section will lead from Summit Cove and connect with Swan Mountain Road near Lowery Campground. Completion is expected for mid-summer of 2007. The funding is in place for this first section, many more fundraising activities and lobbying will be needed to complete the last two sections. More info or to make a donation: www.swanmountainrecpath.com.

TRAVEL TIPS ~ THE COLORS ARE OUT!

#1. Always at the top of my list is the trip from Crested Butte to Glenwood Springs over ….Pass. The first half of the trip is a dirt road leading out of the west end of town over the pass. There are lakes and spectacular peaks as you travel to treeline. Down the other side of the pass you wind through miles of towering aspens draped in gold and red, shimmering in the sunlight, the shadows and sunlight in a rapidly changing kaleidoscope pattern on the ground. The trees are an archway of colors like some mideavel cathedral with painted ceilings. This is a great area to camp if you want to break the trip up here. You will eventually end up in the sagebrush of lower elevation and desert ecology but don’t be discouraged because as you pick up Hwy .. and head north over ….Pass you will come to one of the largest expanses of aspens on earth. The entire bowl of the pass is like one large grove, in fact the largest organism on the planet lives here and it’s an aspen tree. This area is not to be missed. You can jog over for a night of glitz in Aspen or continue north to Glenwood hot springs for a relaxing end to your day.

#2. Twin Lakes to Aspen is one of the prettiest drives, spring, summer or fall. The Highway 82, which leads over Independence Pass, is only open from Memorial day to November 1 or so, yet the scenery is the epitome of The Rockies, cascading creeks, miniature alpine flowers, cragged peaks and ghost towns. As if Twin Lakes isn’t pretty enough with Mt. Elbert draped in a golden blanket and usually wearing a white chapeau, the trip over the pass is more like a dessert than a beauty competition. It’s just another reason to give thanks for a place like Colorado. Take your time and stop and get away from the car along the way. There is so much to see and the trip isn’t that long that you can’t smell the flowers. The town of Independence on the west side is a fascinating history lesson. You can’t help but wonder if you would be tough enough to live like the miners in the 1880’s.

#3. Another easy day trip if you are in Breckenridge for the Oktoberfest or the Film Festival is Boreas Pass Road. From the stoplight at the south end of town turn east as if you are going to the ice area. Proceed twenty some miles till you hit Hwy 285 then south to Fairplay where you can take Hwy 9 north back to Breckenridge. In between you will be riding the old railroad grade, the main supply line to town in the 1800’s. Just off Main Street on Boreas Pass Road are a couple of locomotives like the ones that used to run over the pass. At the top of the pass are the remnants of the old halfway station where engines and crews were rested and refueled. The rest of the route is filled with groves of aspens and views of some spectacular Fourteeners. If you are hungry there are great little diners in Como and Fairplay, skip the Fairplay Hotel though. If you want to go the opposite direction the Fairplay tourism office has a little guidebook that explains historical markers along the way.

I have a variety of properties for sale from very affordable building sites to luxury homes, all with views for a lifetime. If you want to discover Twin Lakes for a few days there is a charming historic hotel that’s been around for 130 years or so, now known as the Twin Lakes Nordic Lodge. Call Charlie for a room at: 719.486.1830. If you want a lifetime of memories in Twin Lakes call me, Tom Driemeyer at Keller Williams Mountain Properties, 877.799.1910, or www.RockyMountainDreamHome.com .

Keystone has put itself and all of Summit County on the mountain biking map! The addition of the new “Drop Zone” with drop offs up to 14 feet, rock ledges, a rock garden and a suspended bridge has gotten rave reviews. Additionally the resort has tabletops, ladders, teeter-totters and a skills park. The talk is the Keystone has perhaps the best downhill mountain biking in the country. The forest service has approved the addition of seven new trails including “two experts only” trails opening soon. The park closes September 17th but put it on your list of must do’s for next summer.

Keystone also made news with the approval to expand its snowcat skiing. The forest service has opened up 270 acres of the bowl at the top of Jones Gulch with pitches approaching 50% and predominantly north facing slopes this puts Keystone on the map for some unbeatable powder skiing. The snowcat skiing will only be open three to five days a week so call ahead and make reservations.

Recent numbers reveal that outdoor recreation generates $300 billion in retail sales and that much again in related sales. From campers to mountain bikers the impact is huge. The industry supports about 6.5 million jobs with annual tax revenues of $88 billion. This is without counting big ticket items such as RV and boat sales and vacation home purchases. Nearly 75% of Americans take part in some sort of outdoor recreation.

Think snow, always!

*IN THE EYES OF A NATIVE, By Ian Bennett*

Summit County Football

Playing football for Summit High School were some of the best times of my life. I still have dreams sometimes about going back in time and playing again. I’m either back in High School or just pretending to be seventeen again just so I can play. I guess I cherish those dreams so much because it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to playing again. I mean, I’m a decent athlete but in reality I’m no where near where I would need to be to play at the next level. If I only knew then what I know now. Isn’t that what everyone pretty much says about everything? I have no regrets on how I played, yet there are so many things I would have done differently. So many things that I wouldn’t have taken for granted. I would have worked harder, listened better, played smarter and hit harder. But, you can’t change the past. You can; however, help the new, young kids realize that once it’s over, that’s it.

When I took off my helmet for the last time that one beautiful Friday night in October back in 1999, it didn’t hit me then that that was it. I mean deep down I knew it was over but I just couldn’t stop thinking about all the hard work over the last seven years was over so fast. When you’re growing up it seems like it takes forever but right then it seemed like it was all a flash in my life and I would never experience that feeling of camaraderie of being part of such a great bunch of guys and so many memories again. I was too pumped up to cry but I was too sad to smile. I knew that was the last time I would step foot on a football field again as a player.

So, I decided, if I can’t play, I want to help others to. That’s right. This fall I am going to be the Defensive Backs coach at Summit Middle School. It will be my first time coaching but you have to start somewhere. And what better place to start teaching kids how to play football than in Middle School. When they’ll actually listen to you. When they don’t already know everything. I mean come on; when I was in High School I knew everything, didn’t you? No, seriously, I am going to preach to those future stars of our county how important it is to learn from the people that have been there and wish they could do it again. If you get that engraved in their heads than I believe they will play as hard as they possibly can and leave everything they’ve got out there on the field. I’m sure it’s not going to be easy but once I figure out how to coach them the best I can than I think not only will they be the best they can be but also I will get the satisfaction that I was able to help them be the best they can. So, wish me luck and, please, whenever you can come out and support any Summit County sport it makes the kids feel a sense of pride and makes them play even that much harder. At least it did for me.

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