Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com from April 16-22.

1. ‘A trend that needs to get nipped in the bud’: Postholing hikers are losing the trail — and sometimes their shoes — on Quandary

Late Thursday night, April 13, Summit County Rescue Group volunteers were called to Quandary Peak to rescue three out-of-state hikers. 

One of them was postholing — sinking into the snow past the knees, to the point where it becomes difficult to move — so deep they lost a shoe, according to Summit County Rescue Group member and spokesperson Anna DeBattiste.

But that hiker’s shoe won’t be the only footwear to be found when spring eventually melts the snow atop the most-commonly climbed 14er in Colorado, DeBattiste said. Just a day earlier, a rescue team responded when another hiker on Quandary lost a shoe, she said.

After a lull in calls following a busy Spring Break season, warming weather has led to soft, slushy snow that has the all-volunteer rescue group responding to an increased number of calls for unprepared and postholing hikers.

— Ryan Spencer

2. ‘Anyone can do it’: Silverthorne woman hopes to inspire others to start skiing streak after skiing every month for the last 30-plus years

A case of COVID-19, a surgery, a trip to the intensive care unit and a portable oxygen machine is more than enough for anyone to take a break from their passions and outdoor pursuits.

However, for 66-year-old Silverthorne resident Kim Teot, the health setbacks were just a bump in the slope in her journey to keep her monthly skiing streak alive. 

Teot has kept up her monthly skiing streak for 367 consecutive months — or 30 years and 7 months. Teot started the streak back when she was in her mid-30s after a friend boasted about his monthly skiing streak.

— Cody Jones

3. Man arrested after allegedly flashing gun at another driver twice on I-70 during road rage incident in Summit County

Deputies arrested a driver who allegedly pointed a gun at another driver twice during a road rage incident on Interstate 70 on Monday, April 17, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.

A 27-year-old man has been charged with felony menacing after law enforcement officers took him into custody during a traffic stop, a Sheriff’s Office incident report states.

Deputies reported that they discover a Springfield Hellcat handgun and a box of 9 mm ammunition in his vehicle.

— Ryan Spencer

4. Yet another hassle awaits Rocky Mountain National Park visitors this year

As if there weren’t enough complications when visiting Rocky Mountain National Park — an ongoing timed-entry reservation system and the closure of the park’s biggest campground — it will be harder to get into the park this year even if you have reservations.

A construction project to refurbish the Fall River entrance — one of two main entrances on the east side of the park in Estes Park — was supposed to be finished by late June. Now park officials are saying the project, which limits traffic to one lane in each direction, won’t be finished until late fall due to “unforeseen site conditions and utility coordination challenges.”

As a result, park officials are encouraging visitors entering the east side of the park to use the Beaver Meadows entrance — and to expect “extended wait times” at both entrances — which already is often significantly backed up during peak season.

— The Denver Post

5. How much home you can buy for $200,000 in Colorado?

Since September 2022, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has been above 6%, the highest it has been in nearly a decade and a half. With historically high borrowing costs, many homebuyers are seeking more affordable markets. And in some parts of the country, a relatively modest housing budget goes a lot further than in others.

According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median list price for a home in Colorado was about $286 per square foot as of March 2023. Based on price per square foot, a homebuyer with a $200,000 budget can afford a 699 square foot home, the ninth smallest of any state. A year earlier, the size of a $200,000 home in the state was 1.4% bigger than it is today.

— The Center Square-Colorado