Breckenridge was certainly the place to be the end of January. The resort town recently drew quite a crowd as it celebrated its 20th year hosting the annual Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships.

Snow and ice sculptors from across the world had been working since 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 26th straight through until 10:00 a.m. Saturday, January 30th - five non-stop days creating their own unique masterpieces. All of which are crafted completely by hand. That's right - no electric saws or other power tools, only hand tools are used to chisel away and turn a 20 ton, 12 foot block of snow into a magical work of art.

Twelve teams participated this year, representing countries from Mexico to China to Lithuania to Canada to Colorado's own Team Loveland and of course, Team Breckenridge. Also representing the United States was Team Alaska, Team Minnesota and Team Wisconsin. This year's event was another great success as crowds gathered Sunday afternoon and awaited in suspense to hear the top three winners.

This year's Gold Medal was proudly awarded to Lithuania for its unique, inspiring piece titled, "Milite Est Vita," depicting the symbol of "Victory." Team Lithuania also received the Kids' Choice Award for this same stunning image.

The winner of this year's Silver Medal was Team Canada for "Memories From My Youth."

Team Mexico took home the Bronze Medal for its display, "The Altar of Quetzolcouti."   

Another award given out each year, which also serves as a fundraiser for the annual event, is the People's Choice Award. Once again for a second year in a row, Team Alaska took home this award, this time for its whimsical piece, "The Last Iceberg."

Other pieces worth mentioning include the following:

"Dance of the Fohn Wind Spirits" by Team USA/Wisconsin

"String Theroy" by our very own Team USA/Breckenridge

"Winter Blues" by Team USA/Loveland.

 A BIG Thank you once again to the Town of Breckenridge and the people of Summit County for putting on another fantastic event. It's certainly all the volunteers within the community and the sponsorships from the local businesses that make this event such a great success. Pictures to follow.

Blog By Christy D. Darling

I met with Jack Taylor at his humble office in Dillon, Colorado where he works on the Summit campus of Colorado Mountain College.  He directs a branch of the state funded Small Business Development Center Network under the guidance of the office of Economic Development and International Trade.  Jack has an amazing resume and skill set and it was clear, as I was interviewing him, that all those skills he learned building that resume were needed at his current position.  Jack helps small businesses get started and stay going.  50% of start-up businesses fail so Jack has quite a job ahead of him; I think he knows it and I think he's a perfect fit for the task.  Below is Jack describing who he is and what he does.

Jack Taylor

Director, SBNC Northwest Region

JMTaylor@ColoradoMtn.edu

970-468-5989, Ext. 2802

www.coloradosbdc.com

I had a chance to meet Rob and Tracy from Resort Sitters.  We sat down on main street in Frisco for a cup of tea and talked about their business and what it took to get them to be the business owners they are today.  Originally from Austin, these Texas transplants have taken up a slice of paradise in Breckenridge and are the owners of Resort Sitters.  Resort Sitters is a quality babysitting referral service providing experienced and reliable sitters to your location.  This is a year round service has a network of pre-selected and qualified sitters to tailor to your children's resort experience.  Rob and Tracy have done the extensive research it takes to build a team of sitters.  The list of credentials it takes to be one of their sitters, as well as, the extensive interview process makes their sitters the top echelon of childcare providers.  These sitters have their own transportation and meals and best of all, they come to your location.  That's correct; they come to your location.  Pre-screened, reliable and in your chalet-- You get the night on the town to yourselves.  But don't take my word for it, listen to Rob and Tracy yourself--

Resort Sitters specializes in group jobs and can easily staff for a number of children.  They ask that you make reservations as far in advance as possible but they have been known to come through in a pinch if you need them to.  All sitters are 21, background checked and CPR certified.  Resort Sitters hires energetic and caring providers for your children; they even bring age-appropriate activities and a fun attitude to your children.  They can take your children out for off-site activities, with your permission.  These sitters can be in high demand, so line up your vacation days early. 

www.resortsitters.com

Summit    970-513-4445

Vail       970-748-3012

Steamboat     970-367-4417

Babysitting@resortsitters.com

po box 7399 PMB 252

Breckenridge, CO. 80424

I spent the weekend with two very funny dogs, meet Sammy and Walker.

They had to learn my rules.  I'm not a fan of getting hounded when I feed them, so I taught them to relax and stay out of the kitchen while I got their bowls out.

Close to the new gondola in Keystone is The Springs at River Run.  These units are equipped with underground parking, ski and bike storage and great rental rates.  I chose to highlight one particular unit as it has one of the largest balconies in all of Keystone, southern exposure and a larger than average footprint.  One of the joys of the Springs is the common ammeneities.  The outdoor hot tub and pool area is blissful and has BBQ grills and perpetual fire pits to keep you fed and warm.  The exercise room is adequate and the theater room is plush.  They currently have a children's center that is in the process of being re-vamped to have a two story chalet playhouse complete with a TV screen for Disney movies.  This unit is a 2 bedroom on the ground floor and comes fully furnished and with three baths.  It sleeps ten and has good rental numbers.

I met Liz at a the Tea Bar and Next Page book store on Frisco's main street.  She has been in the survey industry for 23 years and has worked at most major survey shops in Summit which makes her one of the most experienced surveyors of all aspects of the business.  She even ventured to Vail for three years to learn more about her profession when she felt they could teach her aspects of survey she could not get locally. 

With all of her experience she started her own company, Schmidt Land Surveying.  Liz is soft spoken but don't let that fool you, she is meticulous in her efforts to provide the best product available. In addition to the expertise she has to offer, she is the sole employee of her company for all but the busiest months of the year; that means she answers the phones when you have a question and because she did the survey, she can answer that question herself.  This lack of run-around is a pleasant change from other businesses that provide the same services.  Liz does all types of survey.  Most people only think about the ILC- Improvement Location certificate, but Liz also does topographic mapping, construction layout, subdivision and condominium platting.  She works with realtors, title companies, builders and architects. She can help with legal descriptions and ALTA surveys;  an ALTA survey is for the American Land Title Association and requires more and stricter requirements than the typical survey.  Below is Liz talking about her experience as a surveyor.

Schmidt Land Surveying Inc.

Liz Schmidt

PO Box 5761 Frisco Colorado 80443

LizSchmidt51@msn.com

970-409-9963

I met Bonnie Norling-Wakeman at a mansion at the Highlands in Breckenridge.  Bonnie is an artist who specializes in transforming the blank walls in your home into works of art.  When I walked in this home, I was greeted by a grove of aspens that towered up the foray wall and wrapped itself around the entryway.  Stunning and inviting are two words to describe this piece but most magical was the fact that it simply belonged on that wall.  Take a look-

Bonnie and her husband are long time locals in Summit County and have established themselves as premier artists of murals, fine art, decorative painting and bas relief sculpture.  They have been blessed with the ability to create images that fit a rooms style and construction as well as keep the scenic themes of our mountains seamlessly flow throughout a home.  Bonnie has her art on the walls of homes, businesses, offices and schools.  Below is an interview I did with Bonnie on the site of her latest creation.

Bonnie has much of her work, and her husband's work on line at-

www.norling-wakemanstudios.com 

PO Box 1027

Dillon, CO. 80435

Work Phone: 970-468-8392

Cell Phone: 970-470-2370

Email- nwstudios@comcast.net

You’ve got to wonder. The economy hit the skids hard in 2008. Markets in most parts of the country are down significantly. And Summit County is no exception. Our total volume of real estate transactions was down 42% in 2009 vs 2008. And it would have been much worse had not a couple of large projects that mostly went under contract in 2008 completed construction and closed in 2009. Hard numbers to swallow. Yet, savvy investors, with both the money and the foresight, have always come out of market depressions stronger and more financially capable of meeting the future. 

Typically, they know that, if you can catch the market at or close to its bottom, and acquire property at those low values, the market then offers a lengthy upward trend. Most statistics, and pundits, are now arguing for the uptrend. December, for example, was the one month of the year where sales exceeded those in 2008. Most of our active Realtors are reporting increased activity, from leads earned on the websites, to visitors actually looking at property with a serious intent to purchase. And they are writing more contracts. In December, we also had our largest single residential sale in history – over $8 million, or about $2.5 million over the previous high sale. So, indications are certainly looking up. 

Commercial sales typically follow residential. Developers and investors have hunkered down, and that is reflected in reduced building permits, and very few new developments coming on line. Nevertheless, those who are building report that they are getting construction bids, and securing construction contracts, that reflect a 30-to-40% reduction in cost from the same time a year ago. Material costs have also come down comparatively. Finally, our community development departments are not overburdened, allowing them the ability to more quickly review plans. And they have exhibited a willingness to consider and approve more easily. 

So, if you can catch the lower end of the market, get designs approved quickly, and secure much lower construction costs, it makes perfect sense to invest in the market now. And your project should be finished about the time that the market is ready for it.  

Oh, I should also mention that development properties, because of the lagging market, have also come down in price. Take, for instance, a prime property on Main Street in Frisco. These two lots, purchased together, have been reduced from $4 million to $2.750 million. The Summit Daily News currently occupies the building on these 1.3 acres. And while, of course, the two lots are available with the building, I’d anticipate that the only use a developer might have for the building is to lease it out during the interim needed to get approval of development plans from the Town of Frisco. The News will eventually re-locate, but a prospective purchaser might talk to the publisher about doing a lease-back during that period.

The acreage would support a number of commercial models, but it is known that the Town of Frisco is encouraging more beds for the community, and a small hotel would be an ideal use. Of course, since the property is within two blocks of the center of Town, and most fairs, festivals and street-level activities (which tend to attract 10,000 or more visitors), start at the intersection of this property with Main Street, retail development that attracts pedestrian traffic could also be considered. That could be combined with upper level residential condos or apartments for a mixed-use development. The Town was an early adopter of green building standards, and we can recommend architects versed in green, sustainable design, as well as local builders known for quality and on-time delivery.