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Top 5 most-read stories last week: missing woman, 12.4 million vertical feet of skiing and wildfire smoke

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

1. Breckenridge police recover body of missing woman

The Breckenridge Police Department recovered the body of Texas resident Lezlie Culver on Wednesday, July 14, near her last known location in Breckenridge.

Culver, 58, went missing at about 8 p.m. Saturday, July 10, on Breckenridge’s Main Street. The police department did not provide any details regarding Culver’s death, but there is no foul play suspected, according to a news release.



An investigation is ongoing, according to the Breckenridge Police Department.

Sawyer D’Argonne



2. Lone Tree man skis 12.4 million vertical feet this winter at Vail Resorts

A Lone Tree man and part-time Breckenridge resident recorded 12.4 million vertical feet in 188 days this winter on the Vail Resorts EpicMix application.

The achievement by 62-year-old Brad Blacketor equated to an average of 66,000 vertical feet of skiing per day.

“During ski season I blow off everything,” he said.

Blacketor’s total chairlift rides from Keystone Resort’s Nov. 6 opening day to his final day on snow at Breckenridge Ski Resort on May 16 are astounding: Nearly 40 lift rides each day on hill for a grand total of 7,363 for the season.

Antonio Olivero

3. Colorado mountain towns say they can’t handle any more tourists amid labor, housing crises

Angst over tourism is growing as mountain communities emerge from crowd-restricting pandemic closures. Overlapping waves of visitors and new residents are amplifying an unprecedented labor shortage and housing crunch. And with that seasonal distress comes a growing call to silence the statewide promotion of Colorado as a vacation wonderland.

Tourism is in the crosshairs in mountain towns in Colorado while state economic development champions are offering a total of $10 million to organizers who bring groups and events to the state.

Vacationers are pouring into Colorado resort communities, and overworked and underhoused locals feel the crowds are pushing their valleys beyond capacity. Resort town tourism leaders, who long ago began transitioning away from pure marketing toward resource-protecting destination stewardship, are adjusting their messages to not just the visitors, but also locals.

Colorado Sun

4. Fires from outside Summit County create hazy conditions

On July 10, Summit County sent out a text alert reporting that smoke in the area is from fires outside the county and that there are no current fires within county limits.

According to a Facebook post from the Summit County’s Sheriff’s office, the haze is caused by major wildfires burning to the west of Colorado in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and California. The haze is also caused by the Sylvan Fire in neighboring Eagle County and the Morgan Creek Fire in North Routt County.

Jenna deJong

5. Boaters detail numerous frustrations with Frisco Bay Marina operations

At the Frisco Town Council meeting Tuesday, July 13, a vocal collection of boaters aired their frustrations regarding the town’s flagship attraction: Frisco Bay Marina.

For more than 35 minutes, boaters expressed their concerns, namely those specific to this summer’s “dock island,” which floats several hundred yards offshore. The boaters also detailed other safety, communication and mismanagement concerns they’ve had with the marina over the past two years.

They said the town’s decision to keep several of the full summer slips out on dock island has resulted in inconveniences as well as safety concerns. Each winter, the marina stores the docks out on the lake before bringing them back to shore for the summer season.

“It is nothing more than a mooring,” longtime Frisco boater Aleda Kresge said.

— Antonio Olivero


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