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

1. Arapahoe Basin Ski Area won’t require reservations this winter

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area Chief Operating Officer Alan Henceroth announced in a blog post Sept. 10 that the ski area will not require reservations for season pass or day pass holders for the 2020-21 ski and snowboard season. The number of passes sold will be limited.

Henceroth said access details are still to be determined for Ikon and Mountain Collective passholders.

Single-day lift tickets will be available for purchase in advance online. The number of tickets sold each day will vary to reduce visitation during peak periods.

The ski area might request that skiers and riders voluntarily avoid peak visitation periods. 

— Antonio Olivero 

2. The aging brain: Exploring the connection between neurology and elevation

In Colorado, an estimated 76,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s dementia, and that number is expected to increase 21% to 92,000 by 2025, a 2020 Alzheimer’s Association report states. As of July 2019, 14.6% of Coloradans, or about 840,000 people, were 65 or older, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. 

While it’s been shown that living in higher elevation communities can lead to a more active, healthier lifestyle and even prolonged life, it’s less clear how living at high elevation correlates with degenerative brain diseases. 

The answer is complicated and not well researched.

“As far as I know, there isn’t a lot of evidence one way or another about high altitudes versus low altitudes for Alzheimer’s disease risk,” said Dr. Huntington Potter, director of the Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. “… We can’t say one way or another whether high altitude is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.” 

— Maddie Vincent, The Aspen Times

Read more on The Longevity Project here.

3. ‘It was just crazy’: Summit County businesses fare well over holiday weekend

Locals and visitors brought a high volume of business to Summit County stores and restaurants over Labor Day weekend.

One Breckenridge business owner reported higher sales than previous Labor Day weekends with mostly visitors in the stores while a new Dillon business saw mainly locals. Restaurant owners that don’t have access to outdoor seating say indoor capacity limits have been a difficult barrier.

Erin O’Brien, co-owner of Saved by the Wine, which hosted its grand opening Aug. 15, said the wine bar and bakery was slammed Friday, Sept. 4, as people came into town after a long drive in Interstate 70 traffic. 

Mary Pappas — bookkeeper and office manager for the local souvenir shops Mountain Tees, Arctic Attitude, The Christmas Store and Cabin Fever — said the weekend was “amazing” and had been one of the best Labor Day weekends the store has ever had. 

— Taylor Sienkiewicz 

4. Food Network show ‘Restaurant Impossible’ to feature Millonzi’s Restaurant in Fairplay

The Food Network program “Restaurant Impossible” will film at Millonzi’s Restaurant, located in Fairplay, at the end of the month. The show has host and chef Robert Irvine save failing restaurants in two days with $10,000.

Reservations are available to be one of the first to dine at the newly renovated space. The grand reopening will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at 501 Front St., Fairplay.

— Summit Daily staff report

5. Public health works with ski areas on quarantine and isolation plans for the upcoming ski season

As ski season rapidly approaches, local ski areas have gradually released some details on how operations will work this year. Public health is working on systems for managing outbreaks and imposing quarantine and isolation protocols in Summit County with winter approaching and several local ski areas planning to offer employee housing this season. 

Brian Bovaird, Summit County director of emergency management, explained that he is currently working to identify how quarantine and isolation needs might be different once the ski season starts compared to what needs have been since the pandemic began. He added that while he is covering the topic broadly, employee housing is a huge piece of the puzzle. 

“There’s so many different factors or circumstances that could lead to public health having to do a quarantine and isolation order,” Bovaird said.

— Taylor Sienkiewicz