Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com in the past week.

1. $17 million Breckenridge home sets real estate record for Summit County

A new record has been set in Summit County’s real estate market.

Bo Palazola, founder of Day Palazola Group, led the sale of a Breckenridge home for $17 million, crushing the last record set in 2019 for a home in the same neighborhood that sold for $10.1 million.

The home at 460 Timber Trail Road is 7,200 square feet and has seven bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. The most notable draw of the property, and the one that sold the home, according to Palazola, is that it’s one of five ski-in, ski-out lots that back up to the base of Peak 8 at Breckenridge Ski Resort.

— Jenna deJong

2. Summit County coroner identifies man killed in Highway 6 crash

The man killed in a head-on crash on U.S. Highway 6 has been identified as 32-year-old Andrew Robert Smith of Keystone, according to the Summit County Coroner’s Office.

On June 21, Smith was driving along Highway 6 near Keystone when he collided head-on with a semitrailer. Smith was traveling eastbound in the wrong lane, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Smith was killed in the crash while the driver of the semitrailer was transported to a Front Range hospital for treatment.

Many details regarding how the crash happened are unknown. The Summit Daily is awaiting more comprehensive reports on the incident from records requests filed with the sheriff’s office, State Patrol and coroner’s office, including a video of the crash.

— Sawyer D’Argonne

3. Mountain Migration Report shows disparities between newcomers and residents of mountain towns

Most people don’t have to be told that the pandemic caused an exodus to and from Summit County. In one aspect, residents began leaving the community as businesses laid off staff. On the other hand, people from metropolitan areas decided to ditch city life in exchange for sprawling views and easy access to outdoor recreation.

Jon Stavney and Margaret Bowes noticed the trend early on and decided to team up and analyze what impact the mass movement would have on mountain communities. Stavney is the executive director of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments and Bowes is the executive director of the Colorado Association of Ski Towns.

“I think early on in the pandemic, those of us that live in these mountain communities were thinking it’s unfortunate where we find ourselves in the world right now, but we’re going to have the backcountry to ourselves and maybe now real estate values might drop just a bit so the average local could get their foot in the door in the real estate market or even move up in the real estate market,” Bowes said. “I think it was even more of a shock when … we saw fewer rentals available and real estate values going through the roof and locals being outbid at every turn on for-sale properties.”

— Jenna deJong

4. Dillon Reservoir fills to 100% capacity

Dillon Reservoir is now 100% full, according to Denver Water, which manages the reservoir.

Nathan Elder, manager of water supply for Denver Water, said it’s normal for the reservoir to be full this time of year, but he noted that the reason it’s full despite an ongoing drought is because the water is carefully managed, and much less water was released from the reservoir to the Blue River than in an average year.

“This year, it’s been dryer than normal, so it did fill a little bit slower, and we released much less out of the reservoir to the Blue River than we typically would to ensure that Dillon would fill this year,” Elder said.

— Taylor Sienkiewicz

5. With $1.3B cash on hand, will Vail Resorts buy more ski areas?

Vail Resorts hunkered down as a company during the COVID-19 pandemic, tightening its belt in various ways.

In a call to investors earlier this month, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz described the company’s efforts as maintaining “disciplined cost controls” involving “operating our ancillary lines of business at a reduced capacity.”

As a result, executives exited the third quarter in June excited about the company’s balance sheet.

— Vail Daily