Did you know that Copper Mountain’s Super Pipe was the first to open in the country this season?  In fact, it is the 4th season in a row that they have been the first to open. 

This Thurs-Saturday the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix will be hosted at Copper.  Here is the schedule Thursday, Dec. 11
10:30 a.m. – Women’s Halfpipe Qualifiers

Friday, Dec.12
9 a.m.- Men’s Halfpipe Qualifiers

Saturday, Dec. 13
11 a.m. – Halfpipe Finals
7 p.m. – Paul Mitchell Progression Session (night exhibition event)

This is going to be a very exciting competition with athletes from all over the world.  It is supposedly going to be of Olympic caliber.  Come on out and cheer on the U.S. Team. This competition is going to be very competitive.

These athletes  are just a few names  of several of the famous competitors that will be competing – Mason Aquirre, Tommy Czeschin, Steve Fisher, Scott Lago, Gretchen Blieler, Hannah Teter . 

The snow is great at Copper right now and we are expecting a major storm today!  Hope to see you at the games.

Remember if you are in looking for that piece of property to call your own, give me a call 970-389-6367 or email me leah@leahbaxter.com.  Also don’t forget to check out my website www.leahbaxter.com to view all properties in Summit County, Colorado!

Bad weather and holiday crowds created the perfect storm of awful traffic Sunday. Here, cars try to merge onto a packed I-70 in Silverthorne. Special to the Summit Daily/Thomas Zieba

Winter has officially arrived in Summit County Colorado this past Saturday and Sunday.   It turned out to be quite the adventure on I-70, especially on Sunday, the end of a Holiday weekend.

I don’t understand why people don’t plan on spending the night on Sunday or leave a day earlier, or plan to come a day earlier.  Why not take that extra vacation day and save your sanity and be safe?  Why not plan to leave on Monday morning early?  I realize people have to work on Monday or go to school, but it is only an hour drive to the West side of Denver when there is no traffic or weather.  Combine traffic, weather, and a Holiday and it spells wasted time on I-70.  Now you are talking a 5-7 hour drive to get back to Denver.    Even if it doesn’t snow, just plan on spending the night or leave at 8am on Sunday.    A regular commute back to Denver on a  Sunday night could take you 2-4 hours without any weather related problems or a Holiday. The reason traffic is so congested is that everyone leaves the various ski areas at the same time, Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mtn. Loveland, Winter Park.  All of these ski areas funnel into I-70.

I-70 did end up closing until 10pm on Sunday night and several of the stranded motorist ended up camping out at the Silverthorne Rec center, which seems to be acting as a Holiday Inn more times that it should. 

 We had quite a winter last year, and even though it seems to be clear in Denver, it is another story in the mountains once the weather moves in.  Combine that with people that have front-wheel drive cars or who have never driven in snow and you end up with multiple accidents.  I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t like to end up in traffic for hours on end after a wonderful weekend in the mountains. 

 I did end up driving to Denver on Monday morning for some appointments and it only took me 1 hr 30 min. This was with snow packed roads and some traffic . So what is the solution?  Why not purchase that mountain condo as an investment, or a rental and a place your family can enjoy.  It will be a better investment than the stock market.  Our prices are stable right now.  Rest assured you won’t be one of the thousands of stranded motorist on I-70. 

 The interest rates are below 6% now.  Why not enjoy life, come to the mountains and have fun, and relax!  Check out my website www.leahbaxter.com or call me 970-389-6367.

Ski season has begun in the Rockies!  Last Friday, November 7th Breckenridge, Copper Mtn. and Keystone officially opened for business.  A-Basin and Loveland opened a few weeks ago.

So far the ski areas are making snow and it has been snowing a little bit each day with predictions of precipitation for the rest of this week.

 Copper Mtn. is having their 4th Annual Opening weekend festival called the  Lift Off.   This is a festival that kicks off the season with a Movie Tour Pub Crawl on Friday night, with raffles, après parties and drink specials at each location. There is a concert Saturday night featuring  the musical acts of  Boombox and Brother Ali , doors open at 8 p.m., tickets are $12. Anyone who rides the American Eagle lift on Friday or Saturday will have  chance to win great prizes like lift tickets, season passes, gear and much more!

If you are looking for a deal in Real Estate at Copper Mtn. the lowest priced property is a studio for  $189,000 which is  located in the Center Village At Copper.  This is a fantastic deal!  This condo sleeps 4.  Call Leah at 970-389-6367 or visit my website www.leahbaxter.com to view more properties like this.  See you on the slopes!