BRECKENRIDGE BY THE NUMBERS
• 2,908: skiable/boardable acres
• 187: ski/boarding runs
• 31: ski lifts
• 4: terrain parks
• 9,603: feet above sea level: Town elevation
• 12,840: feet above sea level: The Imperial
Express – the highest ski lift in North America
• 5,000: year-round population
THE LOCAL SCENE
“Breck has an incredibly rich mining history,” says
Jake Sklanka, a veteran of 13 Breckenridge winters.
“Walking the streets of town, you’re surrounded by it.”
Like many Breck locals, Sklanka is a transplant.
“I wanted to go to the mountains before getting a real
job,” he says. “And I’m still here.” He arrived shortly
after graduating from the University of Connecticut in
2007 with degrees in Physiology and Neurobiology. A
few years later, he joined the Breckenridge Ski Patrol,
widely regarded as one of the most challenging ski
patrol venues in North America.
After heavy snowfalls, the percussion of explosives from
a small-caliber howitzer—the “Ava-launcher”—echoes
through town, all part of an ongoing operation intended
to prevent large avalanches by way of triggering smaller
ones. If left unchecked, unstable cornices and snowfields
become prone to suddenly giving way and sweeping
away whatever lies in their paths.
• 350: inches of average annual snowfall
• 300: average annual days of sunshine
• 78: restaurants and bars
• 1: distillery – the world’s highest at 9,600 feet
• 2: hours driving time from Denver International
Airport to Breckenridge
“Ski Patrol isn’t a job for everyone,” Sklanka says.
“You’re handling explosives in some of the worst
conditions imaginable. The wind is whipping. You’re
keeping an eye on all of your partners. You’re getting
blown around and working up a sweat. Five minutes
later you could be doing CPR.”
Sklanka lives in downtown Breck which has its own
vibrant local scene, with original Victorian-era buildings
that are now home to taverns and restaurants.
“It’s an atmosphere that immediately connects you to
the town’s mining past,” he says. “And I love it.”
It’s a widely shared appreciation among the locals.
“I would fly out to Breck, spend some time, and get
emotional when it came time to leave,” says Becca Spiro,
a Breckenridge local since 2014. “I’ve been a vagabond
for much of my life. I’ve now lived in Breckenridge
longer than anywhere else.”
Like Sklanka, Spiro also joined Breckenridge Ski Patrol
when she first moved here, describing the experience as
“a job I couldn’t be more proud of.”
After two seasons, she decided to start her own business.
Having a background in the arts, she opened a mobile
arts studio that caters to private events, showing patrons
how to create various kinds of jewelry, beauty products
and etched wine glasses.
She also decided to immerse herself in the community—
the Breckenridge Creative Arts in particular—which
seeks to develop Breck into a major destination for
artists. The organization receives 80% of its funding
from the town, Spiro says.
The town also chose to invest in the historic buildings
that lined many of the streets. Some were merely in
disrepair. Others were on the verge of collapse, teetering
under heavy snow loads. In 2011, they began investing
millions into preserving the historic mining character of
the town.
“It’s the town’s way of retelling its past,” Spiro says.