Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com in the past week.

1. ‘An extremely rare event’: Safety board says wind twisted chair coming into Breckenridge lift terminal, leading to fall

Blustery winds whipped, making it hard to see or hear much of anything as Brynne Goldberg ascended Peak 8 alone on a chair on the SuperConnect lift at Breckenridge Ski Resort, Thursday, Dec. 22. 

But, suddenly, as Goldberg neared the top, she noticed the chair in front of her detach and fall from the lift.

“The thing I remember the most is when I looked straight ahead and the chair was dangling and twisting around. That really freaked me out because there was somebody on it,” Goldberg said in a phone interview later that day. “Then it just dropped, and he was still in the chair.”

Despite a 13-foot fall, the single rider of the chair was uninjured, according to a statement from the ski resort. The incident happened around 10:35 a.m., ski patrol responded immediately, found no injuries and the guest declined further care, the statement said.

— Ryan Spencer

2. Judge Mark Thompson threatened lawyers with jail time prior to submitting retirement notice

On his second day back after a disciplinary suspension stemming from a disorderly conduct conviction, a Summit County judge threatened a pair of lawyers with jail time, leaving one “frightened” and “fearful,” according to court records.

Fifth Judicial District Judge Mark Thompson made the remarks during a pretrial hearing on Nov. 15, just two days into returning to the bench following a monthlong, unpaid suspension. The Colorado Supreme Court imposed that suspension after Thompson pleaded guilty in January to threatening his stepson with an “AR-15 style rifle” in July 2021.

During the November hearing, Thompson also ordered the jury trial waived and filed grievances against both lawyers, according to court documents. He dismissed the case for failure to prosecute but later reopened it.

In a Dec. 5 order walking back the waiver of the trial, Thompson wrote that he “roundly admonished” the lawyers during the hearing but added that the court is “disappointed in itself for its intemperance.”

— Ryan Spencer

3. ‘This is the big event’: I-70 expected to see heavy traffic in lead up to New Years

Traffic this week on Interstate 70 through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels was likely to be some of the heaviest of the year. 

Data from the Colorado Department of Transportation, or CDOT, shows that more than 243,000 vehicles have already passed through the tunnels going east and westbound between Dec. 20 and Dec. 26. For those same dates in 2021, the total was more than 254,000, according to CDOT data.

If traffic trends for the coming days were similar to last year, tens of thousands of more cars can be expected to hit the road in the coming days. Data for 2021 shows that more than 178,000 vehicles traveled east and west on I-70 corridor from Dec. 27 to Jan. 1. 

— Robert Tann

4. Incoming snowstorm foreshadows an active winter weather pattern for Summit County, meteorologists say

A midweek snowstorm expected to begin Wednesday night could bring between 3 and 6 inches of snowfall to Summit County, with a second storm “hot on its heels,” according to one meteorologist. 

That will likely add to the slightly better-than-expected snowpack forecasts for much of Summit County as it weathers an unpredictable weather pattern known as La Niña — which can have dramatically different effects on Colorado’s northern and southern regions. 

“The north is pretty much just right at or a little above normal (snowpack), while the south is below normal,” said David Barjenbruch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Boulder. 

— Robert Tann

5. Developer unveils 24 multimillion-dollar Keystone townhomes — with a majority already sold

A new development in the River Run Village base area of Keystone Resort has netted more than $58 million after a majority of its units sold months before construction is expected to begin.

The Alcove Residencies at River Run — situated at the southern edge of the base village at the confluence of the North Fork and Snake rivers — is set to feature 24 luxury townhomes priced between $2.4 and $4 million. 

In a statement, Paul Jorgensen — CEO of Replay Destinations— which is developing the project, said “our strategy of focusing on the luxury end of the market in highly sought-after, experience-driven locations with innovative design is proving to be very resilient.”

— Robert Tann