Winter's Here, We're Glad It Comes with Skiing

Yes, we have this much snow and more already

I had to go to a conference in Denver last week.  While driving into the city on I-25 at about 6:30pm on a Wednesday night, in stalled traffic backed up for miles, I wondered why the heck anyone still lives like that.  I mean, shouldn't we all be abandoning the chaos and congestion of places like that now that we can literally work anywhere, well some of us anyway.  We've had several clients over the last ten years who have done just that, abandoned the over-stimulating environs of the big city and moved to Durango to take advantage of life at a different pace.  We've reached that critical mass for a community like ours where air service is relatively reasonable and available, arts and culture flourish, and our community is strengthened by a diversity of shops, restaurants and activities.  In other words, there's no reason to live anyplace else anymore.  In fact, I used to enjoy going to the big city because it offered opportunities that simply weren't present in a small community.  Last month I was in San Francisco, and, honestly, the things that used to excite me about San Francisco left me feeling nonplussed and marginally disappointed.  The restaurants are now as good or better at home.  Shopping, well, frankly I've lost my taste for it.  I can't wear anything that smacks of style in my town, so I'm pretty set with the LL Bean and Patagonia catalogues.  In fact, I had to go to some swanky event while I was in Denver, and I realized how uncomplicatd fashion is for me, except when I'm in the city.  Flip flops are pretty much acceptable anywhere (with socks in winter).  We make your average office casual look like a Cotillion.  Durango has been among the top ranked communities in our country for some time for people who can truly telecommute.

There's my stump speach for the month.  

As of December 20th, the resort here has almost a 50 inch base, over four feet of fresh snow has fallen in just a few days, and it's only really begun to fall according to the forecast.  This may very well be the best early season skiing I can ever remember in the last twenty-three years.  If you are considering where to ski this year, consider no more.

I moved into an acreage up in the mountains near the resort last summer, and this is my first winter caring for it.  I'm learning to use a snowblower and a plow to clear the decks and the roughly quarter-mile driveway to the residence.  This storm is testing my resolve, and my ingenuity for snow storage.  If I thought I knew before what it took to care for mountain property, well, let's just say I had an idea, but no real working knowledge. 

Here's a photo of what our office looked like today in the snow.  Come visit us at the Needles Country Square next time you're in the area.  If that time is in the next couple of days, bring a shovel.



Wells Group Mountain Resort Office at Needles


In that spirit, we thought we'd offer you another top ten list.  It's been odd, but apparently some of you are paying attention to our lists, as we've found people with them printed and folded up in their pockets, checking items off as they experience the things we've made claim are top-ten worthy.  Here's our list of top ten ski runs in or near Durango. 

1.  Styx - This river Styx is the frozen kind at the very border of Purgatory's front side.  I've been skiing it since I was a teenager, and I have never, not once, grown tired of it.  The reason might be that it's so undulating, so topographically multifarious, from top to bottom, that one never grows tired of the diversity of terrain it offers.  And I do mean top to bottom.  It's one of the longest runs on the mountain, and many of its sections are deserving of its black diamond rating.  There are even a couple cliff-sized drop-offs for the more spirited and adventurous among us.  In fact, this was the sight of my one and only attempt at the new-fangled style of grabbing a ski in the air.  I launched, I grabbed, I rotated sideways and landed that way from about fifteen feet in the air.  I'm going to stick tothe good old spread eagle or backscratcher from now on. 

2. Boudreaux's - This is also at Purgatory and is a short little black run from the top of lift 8.  This one gets mentioned for two reasons - 1.  Purgatory has a long history of naming runs after people who have either worked at or been associated with the mountain.  Boudreaux was known only by his last name to most, and is recollected by this writer as being one of the most colorful characters in the resort's history.  He used to come into a restaurant where I bartended and order cheese enchiladas every day, every single day.  He was tough as nails on the exterior, but those who knew him knew a kind man with a great love for the mountains.  2. His run is tough as nails, perfectly on-camber (a rarety on Purgatory's backside) and often has a nice kicker at the end that this writer has embarrased himself on many occassions trying (it's right under the lift).  It also has the benefit of not being skiied as much as most of the other runs in this lift pod, so the powder stays longer. 

3. Paul's Park - This is also black, also on Purgatory's backside in the lift 8 pod.  It's the original tree skiing run at Purgatory.  It's the run that my childhood friends used to take me down to scare the pants off me in the deep powder because I frankly was never much of a good skier in deep powder.  Add tight trees to that problem, and walla, it always gets my heart going.  The neat thing about it is that it never seems to run out of powder, or out of ways to wind its way down to the bottom.  It's a little adventure, and you always feel like you may be the only person to discover the particular path you're on.  Beware of tree wells, and go with a friend.

4. Wapiti - The first time you take lift 5 up from the bottom of the middle of Purgatory's backside you think, "Man, this sure is an old, slow lift.  They need to replace it with something high-speed."  And then you take the run that the lift follows back down to the bottom and the lift speed takes on a new meaning.  "Man, I'm glad I have this much time to rest my legs."  This is a great black run.   It starts mellow, just enough to let you get used to the run, has a nice big mogul field in the middle of it (this is where freestyle competitions are often held on the mountain), and finishes with some interesting narrow steeps that offer a great mix of moguls and just plain steep skiing.  It's a bit of a vanity run, as it follows the lift all the way down.  In years past, when I used to ski instruct, I had to take my instructor jacket off on this run so as not to embarrass the entire ski school by flailing down it in uniform. 

5. Tiger Claw - This isn't really a run.  It's the face of a mountain peak at Silverton Mountain.  This is the most afraid I've ever been on skis, or otherwise for that matter.  The lift at Silveron Mountain stops at 12,500 feet and this peak is another 1,000 feet up.  Here's me near the top of it with Aaron Brill, Silverton Mountain's founder.  You can't tell with my back turned, but I'm about to pass out from being out of breath from climbing.  Aaron is saying, "You okay buddy?  You sure you want to do this?":

It's not for everybody.  It wasn't for me.  It made me realize I'm more of a recreationally advanced skier.  That said, if you really want to know what it's like to ski an extreme back country mountain, without needing a helicopter, or being one of the skiers or crew on a Warren Miller film, or climbing it from the bottom, this is your chance.  I chronicled my experience skiing at Silverton Mountain in the following article:

http://www.insideoutsidemag.com/issues/2006/May_June/Unguided_and_Unhinged/

Tiger Claw makes the list because we're not sure there's any place like it North America, and its in our back yard.

6. The Plunge to Spiral Stairs - This probably needs no description.  These two runs are perfectly named under Telluride's lift 9.   If you want to ski bump lines carved by true expert skiers in incredibly steep terrain that somehow improbably holds snow, here's your place.  In fact, the entire lift 9 pod at Telluride is first rate for expert (or recreationally advanced) skiers.  Ten runs on this in a day and your legs will look like Eric Heiden's (just showing my age). 

7.  The Waterfall Area - Wolf Creek measures snow in feet, not inches.  They already have an 80 inch (6.5 feet) base, and it's the first day of winter.  When I was a kid growing up in Denver we used to look at the ski reports in the paper daily (pre-internet) and I didn't even know where Wolf Creek was, but I knew that ten feet of snow was not that uncommon and that the place made other Colorado areas envious.  The Waterfall area is a big expanse, bowl like glade skiing where you choose your own path.  It's a place where you'll come to understand the idea of "powder snow" in a way that may make other areas seem kind of pathetic.  It makes the list for that reason alone.

8. Highline Ridge - Taos can be the opposite of Wolf Creek on the snow scale sometimes, so you have to watch the reports.  They also get hammered.  And when they do, this ridge line and all of it's accompanying runs, shoots, and bowls make Alta look like too far of a drive.  Taos offers Purgatory pass holders three free days of skiing.  That alone is almost worth the pass price if the snow is good. 

9. Sally's - Finally a blue run.  This run on the backside of Purgatory is long, meticulously groomed to a fine grade of carpet, and faster than we should go on skis.  You'll find yourself uncontrollably yelling, "whoooooo hoooooooo."  It's that fun. 

10. Upper and Lower Hades - Upper Hades is a blue run at Purgatory that offers a taste of what it might feel like to be a Downhiller in competition.  It's rolling and fast, a perfect compliment for a tuck and some bravado.   Be careful or you'll fly right off the head wall of the Lower Hades if you don't stop in time (not recommended in the slightest).  Lower Hades is a nice steep, diverse, bumpy, roller coaster ride of a black with the nicest little pitch of bumps beneath its last headwall, perfect for working on your bump skiing without wearing yourself out too much, and probably more importantly - without an audience because it's a little remote.  This is run combination is also great for intermediate skiers to share with their more expert companions.  It's easy to separate half-way down and meet at the bottom a few minutes later. 

There you have it.  This, along with the increasing mortgage interest rates, should get your blood pumping.  Did we mention that mortgage rates are going up.  We've been telling you how devastating a 1% increase in mortgage rates is, generally equivalent to a 10% increase in the cost of the home being leveraged.  If a mortgage will be part of your real estate purchase in Durango, Colorado, or anywhere else, it's time to start paying less attention to the national news about prices (Durango's continue to go up), and pay more attention to the inevitable increase in mortgage rates from their historic lows. 
Happy Holidays to all!  We wish you the best this holiday season and beyond.  I started writing this yesterday, and since then we've received another 19 inches of snow.  Thank you Santa!  Speaking of Santa, this is the cutest video we've seen about Santa, perfect for your children:

Top 10 Reasons to Choose Durango (continued)



Looking Toward Electra Lake from Behind Our Office Last Week





Holy smokes!  It's been a busy fall.  We're seeing major indications here that our market has turned, most notably that people like ourselves are smiling again, primarily because we're glad to be busy.  The perfect storm of low interest rates and bottomed-out prices have spawned an animal that once seemed extinct in most real estate markets - Buyers.  We're here to tell you that the once endangered species is apparently alive and well.  They had been hiding out because they kept hearing the sky was falling along with the prices.  There have been 58 closed sales in just the resort market alone in Durango in the last year, and there are 4 more under contract.  This is on pace for a significant increase over the past couple of years.  It's not on fire by any means, and we don't envy our Sellers and the price capitulation process they're going through to make sales, but that light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train.  How did we find the elusive and once-thought-to-be-dead Buyers?  We didn't.  Prices did.  Individual Sellers and developers finally came to terms with what it was going to take to move their properties.  Price capitulation coupled with available and historically inexpensive financing, and some measure of economic upturn finally made the fence a less comfortable place to sit.  This is one reason for our delay in finishing the top ten.  We know you were checking your in-box daily.  "Where on earth are the other five reasons?" you said.  "Why am I not receiving regular communication from my Realtor in Durango?" you thought.  We're sorry for the delay. 



We also went to a sales seminar called "Ninja Selling," for a week.  You'll never see us coming now.  Kris has been wearing all black ever since.  We broke boards in half with our bare hands (this is true).  We have no idea what breaking boards in half has to do with selling real estate.  They were playing the song "Eye of the Tiger" in the background while the boards were being broken.  

Actual photo of us with broken boards



When everyone in our group was done breaking their board (some people took several tries, but Kris and I were obviously born ninjas), we gathered in a circle and sang Bette Midler's "The Rose" while holding hands. Yes, it's the one that goes:  "Some say love, it is a river..."  We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.

And now we're sort of at a critical juncture in our careers, because real estate has been good to both of us for a long time, but we sort of feel that some of the things we learned at Ninja Selling would make a funny sitcom.  We've already named the show "Groupies."  That's what the people who run this program from the real estate company The Group call themselves, and, truth-be-told, sometimes people from our very own Wells Group call themselves that too.  We think perhaps these people may not be familiar with the common meaning of this term, provided here for your convenience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupie.   Our pilot episode is titled "Ninja Selling."  We pretty much feel that we could videotape the seminar and just put it out there without any editing.  At one point the leader of this cultish sales technique implored us all to take deep breaths, close our eyes, and "focus on the tip of your nose" as we prepared to perform ninja feats of strength and concentration.  He kept repeating that --  "Focus on your nose."  Say that to yourself a few times over with your eyes closed while listening to some new-age music in the background and see if you can keep yourself from dying of laughter.  We could not.  "Focus on your nose.  Focus on your nose.  We are going to break this board with the tip of your nose.  You are slowly beginning to feel very very foolish."  Anyway, we'll let you know if we decide to leave Durango for Hollywood, fame and fortune.  For now, we'll stick with what we know, although it's also true that we know that cheesy Realtor-based television programming may be entertaining. 

Now that we've completely discredited ourselves, let's move on to five more reasons people choose Durango.  Remember, these are reasons we've witnessed in our 34 year history with this place.  Did you catch that?  We're trying to distract you with useful information that is outside of the real estate sphere so that you'll identify us as human beings rather than sales automatons.  We really shouldn't let you in on all this ninja stuff, but we respect you.  "Wait a second," you may be thinking in an attempt to deconstruct this message.  "Is letting me in on their crafty sales technique, and then telling me they're letting me in just another genius subterfuge for me to feel closer to them and more likely therefore to purchase real estate from them."  This ninja stuff is so deep the metaphysics of it are infinitesimally complex.  Just remember, if all else fails, focus on the tip of your nose.  Without further ado:






 6. Unbelievable Scenery

I'm just going to shut up about this one and let the photos do the talking for me.



My family at Electra Lake



View of the Needles Behind Our Office



Chicago Basin



Fall View of Engineer Mountain



Color in the Trees on Elbert Creek Trail

  Here's the thing - these were all amateur photos that we took ourselves (okay, there may be an exception or two taken by a friend or acquaintance, and we hope they'll accept our apologies).  These are just the photos we've come across, most of them recently, while living our lives here.  If you scroll down through all of our other posts, we've included photos in this blog throughout that detail some of our own adventures.  And we're couch potatoes compared to most of the people we know here.  It's not like we had to go very far or work very hard to experience this unbelievably accessible natural beauty. 

I was recently driving the length of I-70 to Denver from Grand Junction, which passes through the main corridor of the resort communities where I recreated for most of my youth.  It's also the area where most of the visitors to Colorado go.  I passed Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone and most of Summit County on the way.  The only way to describe the scenery through those areas compared to the Durango area is to use my five-year-old's favorite put-down - boring.  If you've come to Colorado and visited those places and thought they were beautiful, well, you haven't seen the best of what Colorado has to offer, not even close. Don't believe me?  Bam!  Take this:


The View from One of My Favorite Homes We've Sold



7. Fort Lewis College

Durango is home to one of Colorado's best liberal arts colleges.  http://explore.fortlewis.edu/  It's a relatively small school with 4,000 students with incredibly strong Business and Engineering programs, along with very competitive science departments with state-of-the-art facilities.  The college is a perennial national title contender as the reigning NCAA Division II National Champions in Soccer (two titles in the last three years), and the cycling teams have 13 national championship titles.  Perhaps more importantly, the college adds a dimension to the town that is non-existent in most mountain and resort communities in the west.  It contributes to the vibrancy of the economy, the arts and diversity within the community.  The economic impact should not be underestimated.  One of the features of this community from an investment standpoint is its economic diversity.  We mentioned before that the town doesn't open and close with the tourist season, and it is not totally dependent on the tourist economy.  The college is one of the many reasons Durango's economy has been stable even during the recent economic turmoil.  The college offers a wealth of educational opportunities for students of all ages, and workshop programs in a dizzying array of topics. 





8. In the Middle of Nowhere, In the Middle of Everything 

Many mountains towns boast that they're "far removed from the maddening crowds."  If you wanted an endless array of strip malls and super-highways, you'd most likely just stay where you are.  There would be no reason to visit a town like Durango.  Many of the towns that make that claim are indeed far removed, so far that they're genuinely hard to get to.  Drive to Telluride sometime during a snowstorm, or to Aspen, or Crested Butte.  Good luck.  Better yet, fly to any of those places when the weather is inclement.   You won't need to cut your fingernails after the trip we assure you. 

Telluride's Airport - Without Snow

And you want the weather to be inclement, or else some of the reasons you go to those places are diminished.  Snow and inclement weather are just part of the mountain lifestyle.  For most of those other towns accessibility is an issue.  Durango is truly unique in that the town is in transition from the high-desert to high alpine.  Durango itself has relatively mild winter weather for the most part, and you can drive three hours south or west and it's downright balmy most of the time.  Durango Mountain Resort is twenty-five miles from town, and has it's own climate at 8,900 feet with 300 inches of snow per year, the light fluffy kind that skiers love.  There's not a single mountain pass to traverse if you're coming from most directions, and the road to the resort is excellent and well-maintained.  No other resort community can make this claim in Colorado.  The airport is primarily jet-services and is rarely ever impacted by significant weather events.

9. Family Friendly 

This is a family place.  We don't just put some goofball in a stuffed animal suit and coin some silly name for a children's program using a "z" to seem edgy (Kidz Club).  Families come here because their adventures are limitless and they feel at home among the locals in this family-first community.  Check-out the Durango Recreation Center with its monster-sized pool, water slide, climbing wall and splash pad:  http://www.durangogov.org/reccenter/index.cfm.  Or the Durango Discovery Museum, a new interactive science museum just for kids:  http://www.durangodiscovery.org/  Durango Mountain Resort runs an exceptional camp for children which combines naturalist education and adventure.  It's called the Edventure Camp.  Children in Durango have their own mountain bike teams http://durangodevo.com/, BMX club, freestyle skiing teams, and every other kind of sport and adventure available just for them.  The family atmosphere of the town combined with the extraordinary kid-friendly lifestyle is the reason many of us live here. 

The Alpine Slide at Durango Mountain Resort

Children are seemingly welcome and encouraged just about everywhere.  The Durango Arts Center has a program just for children where they can explore a variety of artistic opportunities:  http://durangoarts.org/.  We've been to some places where the old adage, "Children should be seen not heard," seems to be the primary code of etiquette.  In Durango, children are held in high regard for the joy and love they bring to our lives. 

10. The Animas River

"Here on the river's verge, I could be busy for months without changing my place, simply leaning a little more to right or left."  Cezanne. 



A River Runs Through It - The Animas in Downtown Durango


The Animas River is a significant body of water that flows from high in the San Juan Mountains right through the middle of town.  Along the way it offers up class-V rapids, gold medal fishing, one of the country's most beautiful valleys and some of the most awe-inspiring views imaginable.  It is the source of the life of our town and of this area.  We raft, kayak and tube down it.  We jump into it from bridges, cliffs and rope swings.  We lay on its beaches to contemplate the warmth of the sun and the sheen of the water.  We take from the bounty of its inhabitants (if only for a photograph).  It tells us about the health of our watershed, and the strength of the snowpack.  It communicates with the town as it flows through it, tells us what the weather is like upstream.  Most mountain communities you can name don't have one, not like this.  Some have little streams.  We have a river, magnificent in its power and beauty. 

There you have it.  We welcome you to challenge our list, to tell us why you choose Durango. 

Also, we would be remiss if we didn't remind you that prices have gone up another 5% in the last twelve months in our real estate market.  

We'd also like to make you aware of our new lodging program.  We purchased a condominium right in the heart of downtown Durango for our clients and other guests.  If you're planning on visiting our area to look at real estate we'll give you a 50% discount on our regular rates.  Not only is this the best deal in town for luxury accommodations within a block of the train station and the heart of downtown, but if you close a property while working with us as your Realtor, we'll refund the amount of your rate out of our commission.  So in essence, if you're planning on buying Durango real estate, you're lodging will be free while you visit our area to investigate it.  That's a tough deal to beat.  Here's a photo of the inside of our two-bedroom condo at The Mears House:

You can view the VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) listing for this property at http://www.vrbo.com/324475 .  And if you don't want to stay in town, we have a condo at the ski resort as well.  We can do the same deal there. 

If your family is larger and requires a house near the ski area, we can also offer special discounts at a property in Lake Purgatory.  Here's the VRBO link to that one:  http://www.vrbo.com/310811

Let us know when you're coming and we'll make the arrangements.

It snowed here today.  We'll see you on the slopes soon. 



Top 10 Reasons to Choose Durango

Ice Lake above Silverton on the 4th of July

We've been at this business a long time.  And by this business I mean - selling people on Durango.  We've been doing that long before either of us ever become actively involved in real estate.  For Chris, a trip here with his Aunt, Uncle and Cousins to ride the train from Durango to Silverton (http://www.durangotrain.com/) when he was twelve was the first time he realized that this town was a good fit.  Kris discovered it as a very young child on family trips from Albuquerque, their favorite home away from home.  In life there are places we go, and places we fall in love with.  Durango isn't for everyone.  No place is.  The two of us have an average of 34 years of experience in and around Durango, and a combined 26 year history in the resort real estate market.  We know Durango, as the slogan goes, and we specifically know the resort community in Durango.  Over the years we've noticed some fairly common themes with our customers, reasons they've chosen to call Durango a home, or a second home.  If you have any of these same interests or characteristics, this town and this community may be a very good match. 

Kris, a sister and her father at Purgatory circa?

1. A disinterest, some would say a disdain, for the see and be seen. 

Some call it glitz and glamour.  Some call it Hollywoodization.  Some describe it as arrogance, high falutin, pretension, self conceited etc... Durango is virtually absent all of the above.  I once contacted a real estate agent in Aspen, someone who I shared an acquaintance with, and suggested that he and I share leads whenever we had someone who might be interested in both towns.  He said, "None of my clients are interested in Durango."  I was a little taken aback, insulted really.  I'd lived in Aspen at one time, and had never thought it superior in the way he obviously did.  I actually had plenty of clients that had looked in Aspen before coming here.  But after these many years, I have to agree that in general people interested in Aspen, that buy property there, tend not to buy property here.  We've had plenty of clients that look at both, that can certainly qualify to buy in both places, but if they buy here instead of there, they generally express to us in some way that they chose Durango because Aspen, or places like it (you know who you are Telluride, Sun Valley, Vail...), just wasn't a good fit.  They say things like, "I don't want to worry about what brand of ski clothes I have on, or how I'm dressed in the market."  And here they don't have to.  Durango was once voted the worst dressed town in America for two years running, and we're kind of proud of it.  Celebrities come sometimes and some live here, but they tend to be the low-key kind.  They like to be treated like everyone else, and they like it here because that's how everyone is generally treated.  Many people trade in their luxury cars for Subaru's after a few years of living here, mainly because all of the cache of having one sort of seems irrelevant here. 

2. Durango is a real town. 

Yes, this is a slogan you see around here a bit, and it fits pretty well with number one.  In some places it's just lip service, but here it's the truth.  The community is diverse.  There's a great liberal arts college, a fantastic emergent technology sector, a vibrant organic agriculture and ranching community, over a million tourist visitors a year, and more restaurants per capita than San Francisco (there are six on my block).  In short, it's a town with more of a purpose than a decorative sensibility, beautiful as it is.  Unlike many mountain towns, Durango doesn't just put on a smile during its "season" and shut down in the "off-season."  Businesses are open year-round and you'll get the same fabulous service if you walk into a restaurant at 9pm in October as you will in the peak of the winter ski season or summer tourist season.  And as a real town, we have more diversity of things to do.  The college has an incredible array of concerts at the Community Concert Hall, we have a vibrant arts community, plentiful shopping that means you can find everything you need within a few miles (Telluride Magazine once published a list of all the things that could not be bought in the Telluride valley, things like toilet paper were on it, diapers, etc...), and the most diverse recreational opportunities of any mountain community.  Real town means real people too.  People in Durango, for the most part, have real jobs, careers, an unusually high level of education, and they generally live here for the same reasons that many people travel here.  If you've heard of Trustafarians, or know any, you're not likely to meet any here. 
We're full of hard working professionals and pretty absent the kind of leisure class that equates with smarmy laziness.  Not that we don't like to have fun or goof off on Friday afternoons every now and then.

3. Value

 Not only does Durango not have an overblown sense of itself, but prices of everything from groceries, to clothing and furnishings, to real estate will not create the sort of sticker-shock that you get in some resort communities.  I was skiing at a to-remain-unnamed resort last winter where ski lift tickets were over $100, ski school for two kids set me back $300, and lunch was the culinary equivalent of Burger King (no offense to the King) and the price equivalent of Tavern on the Green.  It's not just about being expensive, but it is about feeling like your dollar has a good exchange rate with whatever you're buying.  Some resort communities make you feel like you have to travel to Japan and exchange your dollars for yen to come back and buy sushi.  I don't know about you, but that always takes away from the pleasure of the experience for me.  An adult day pass at Durango Mountain Resort is still less than the day pass price at Vail I had to pay when I was sixteen (I'm forty now).  I grew up skiing at Vail and all of the overcrowded front range places, and I can assure you that a $100+ lift ticket at some of those places doesn't equate to an extra $40 of value.  But they have 1,000 lifts you might say.  They have a million runs!  There are bowls!  They have a $20 hamburger!  People where moon boots that look like:

Just because a place is so big that they can handle the immense size of the lumbering lemming-like masses that populate them doesnt' mean you get value for your ticket.  Can you make more great ski runs in a day because a place is bigger and more expensive?  What makes a ski run great?  Great snow, check.  Long runs, check.  Diverse terrain, check.  Great weather, check (300+ days of sun a year - we never measure the temperature in wind-chill factors unlike just about every other high alpine ski area you know of).  You can buy a whole-ownership slopeside two-bedroom condo at Durango Mountain Resort for under $200k.  Value, check.  If you like luxury, the brand new base area projects are complete and luxurious, and half the price or less of many of their competitors.  They say the days of conspicuous consumption for consumption's sake are dead.  I don't necessarily believe that, but if you're the kind of person who doesn't need to pay double the price just to say you did, Durango just might be your kind of value. 

4. The Recreational Mecca - There's a reason you can't walk down the street in Durango without running into some world-class athlete or other.  There's a reason multi-sport master-of-all-things Shaun White chose nearby Silverton, Colorado as his private training ground (Shaun White's Red Bull X Project in Silverton  - checkout the "Back Country Freeride Video on this site to get a feel for what I mean by "back country").  The reason is millions and millions of acres of the most pristine and accessible back country in North America.  What's your outdoors passion?  Mountain biking, alpine skiing, telemark skiing, snowboarding, four-wheeling, off-road motorcycles, kite-boarding, hiking, snowshoeing, backpacking, kayaking, whitewater rafting, mountaineering, rock climbing, road biking, gliding, soaring, back country skiing and boarding, fly-fishing, trail running, spelunking, bouldering, -- it's all here and more, and it's all the best of the west.  There is no other place like this.

5. The Weather.  No hurricanes.  No heat waves.  No sub-zero temperatures (okay, maybe once in a long while), No tornadoes (in my lifetime that is, no guarantees).  300+ days of sunshine.  We ski in ski vests or sweaters most of the time on 300 inches of light fluffy dry snow a year.  It's 85 degrees and sunny on August 6th as I type, and that's a little hot.  When people are comparing us to certain other towns in Colorado like Crested Butte I only have one thing to say - "Watch the national weather map for a few days in January and compare the two towns."  When I was growing up I remember watching Willard Scott on The Today show.  He often pointed out the coldest place in America, wherever it happened to be on that particular day.  In Crested Butte's case, Gunnison, Colorado, just down valley a little ways from Crested Butte, was often that coldest place (average cold temperature in January - minus 8).  Have you ever skied in -40 wind chill factor weather?  I did a few times growing up, always in Summit County.  Until I came to Durango I always thought skiing involved a certain amount of misery, frostbite, cold toes and such. 

It need not be.  Come to Durango.  The weather is fine.

We'll send the next five out in our next posting.  Last month when we issued the top ten things to do in Durango in the summer, it elicited a little controversy.  We welcome your thoughts, and your business.  If we can be of assistance in helping to make Durango part of your lifestyle, please let us know.  Here's some food for thought on the current real estate market:

Reuters, Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows, August 5, 2010

Note: A 1% rise in interest rates is generally equivalent to a 10% increase in the cost of a home. Even if you think we're not at the bottom yet in prices, we're certainly at the historic bottom in interest rates. Those who wait may be able to tell their friends... they got the best deal by a few more thousand dollars, but their real interest cost will make waiting a poor financial decision.
 
Don't forget to visit us on Facebook or Twitter where we constantly update you on only the best deals (not just our own listings) in the Durango area, and where we post notable real estate market news.

Top 10 Things to Do in Durango During the Summer

Summer is finally here.  We mark summer in Durango with the arrival of Father's Day weekend.  The ski resort reopens with the Alpine Slide, climbing wall, mountain biking, digglers (a cross between a skateboard and mountain bike), and numerous other activities for families to enjoy together.  For us, it means vacation time is over and our 2nd busy season commences (the other is winter).  The photo above is what it looks like around here with everything greening up nicely from our fantastic snow year.  This photo is taken in a wilderness area that's accessible by hiking in from near the resort, or by taking the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge train up to a drop-off point.  Chicago Basin is one of the most incredible backpacking destinations in our nation.  The photo is of Emerald Lake, one of the pristine high-mountain lakes found on the way into the basin.  It's a great place to climb the area's fourteen thousand foot peaks, or just relax in the shade with the friendly and beautiful mountains goats.  The fellow above came right into our camp one morning looking to see if we had any good breakfast. 

Regardless of your interests, there is more to do in Durango in the summer months than any other time of year.  It's simply our favorite time of year here, and the reason most of us choose to live in this area.  Of course, it's nice that winter isn't the shut-in kind with ample recreational opportunities in that season.  But in honor of the first weekend of summer, we thought we'd put a little list together of the things we've enjoyed doing over the years. 

1.  Telluride Bluegrass Festival - Okay, it's not really fair that we start off a top 10 in Durango in the summer with a festival in another town, but every year this is a pilgrimage we all try to make.  It's a world-class four day music festival in arguably the most amazing location a stage ever resided.  And it's only a short drive on one of the most storied highways in our nation, the famed Million Dollar Highway, to Telluride.  This year's lineup includes Allison Kraus and Lyle Lovett.  Check it out here: Link to Telluride Bluegrass Festival Site
2. A Raspberry Wheat beer or three on Carver's back patio.  This is really an event.  If you like your drinks cool and refreshing with a little punch, this one's for you.  Don't be afraid of the pink tinge of the drink.  Order a spicy Navajo Taco as company for your beer and you won't regret it.  See Chris' article on southwest Colorado micro brews here:  Four Corners Beer - Colorado, in Inside Outside Magazine 
3. Purgatory Flats Trail - This is an annual requirement for us.  The trail is right across from the entrance to Purgatory (Durango Mountain Resort) and leads down into the Animas River basin in the shadows of the magnificent Needles Mountains.  You'll rarely run into more than a few people down there.  Fishing is exceptional in three separate drainages, and the backpacking and day-hiking opportunities are limitless in some of the most pristine wilderness our country has to offer.
4. Lime Creek Road - This forest service road leaves US 550 just north of the ski resort and meanders it's way to base of the Needles with extraordinary views of the surrounding peaks.  It's a mild drive for a four-wheel drive road in the mountains, though I'd recommend a suitable all-terrain vehicle.  Every time I'm up there somebody is driving in a vehicle that looks like it should be on-road only, but they seem to manage fine.  Once the road reenters 550 you're only a short drive to Silverton. We always pull into town, shake the dust off and saddle up to the bar at Handlebars Saloon for a cold beverage and buffalo burger with swiss and mushrooms.  Try the Rocky Mountain Oysters for a fun trick to play on your teenage children or unaware friends. 
5. Hermosa Creek Trail.  This is a mountain bike ride that isn't necessarily for the novice, but it's a wonderful day-long ride that starts behind Purgatory and ends up in Hermosa traveling only through backcountry single-track of a very high quality right along Hermosa Creek.  Bring a fishing pole.  Bring your strong legs, plenty of water and get ready for the hills at the end.  It feels like everything is heading downhill until you get closer to the end of the trail, where naturally your legs are beginning to really get tired.  At the end of the road there's a little secret place in Hermosa called Mama's Boy right where the gas station is.  This is where the original Mama's Boy started without even a sign to mark their existence.  Durangoans would drive out to Hermosa to get their excellent pizzas and calzones as far back as I can remember.  After a ride on Hermosa Creek, you'll have plenty of hunger for one of their superb creations.

6.  Dinner at the Boat House.  This is a true local gem and one you'll likely never hear about unless you meet a local who doesn't mind letting you in on one of the deepest most wonderful culinary secrets in town.  Electra Lake is hidden from view off of US 550 just south of Purgatory and as such most people don't even know it's there.  Electra has served as a summer retreat for Durangoans for many generations.  See the photo below.  The Boat House is only open for dinner in the summer months and it sits at the end of the lake with some of the most amazing views this area has to offer.  You bring your own wine, sit close to the open-shutter windows listening to the lake lap gently against the moorings and have an incredible meal prepared by the proprietors.  You'll make it an every summer occasion after the very first trip. 

7.  A bicycle ride through the Animas Valley.  The locals call it "the loop," and it's a wonderful combination of old county roads that bypass the major highway the leads north out of Durango through the Animas River Valley.  My favorite way to ride it is to start north on CR 203 in the morning sun and connect to CR 250 with a short stint on US 550.  Then you head back into Durango knowing that the bakery called Bread awaits at the end of the ride.  You've earned that oatmeal cookie and it may be the best you'll ever have. 

8. A round of golf at The Glacier Club.  It's now open for play if you stay in one of their units.  This is one of the finest mountain golf courses in the world, and only about eight miles from Purgatory.   The scenery is so breathtaking on the course, that you'll hardly mind the difficulty, and your balls travel farther at altitude which makes lowlanders feel like their driver suddenly picked up some power.  See the course at:  The Glacier Club.  When you're on their site, check out the real estate section.  The Glacier Club has become affordable in many ways.  One of those ways is memberships starting at $15,000 for DMR and Tamarron owners.   This is compared to their previous membership hurdle of $70,000.   Let us know if you have interest, and we'll send further details.  We'll be happy to help you discover them.

9.  Fishing at Andrews Lake.  This little mountain lake sits near the top of Molas pass north of Purgatory.  The setting is truly one of the most expansive and gorgeous of its kind and it's easy to get to right off the highway.  It's been outfitted with a nice little doc and sidewalk on one side of the lake which makes access for the less ambulatory among us really great.   Fishing in the late summer in the early morning is really quite good, but the setting will have you totally unconcerned with your fishing luck.  Bring a cooler of something nice to sip on, a good book, and some sunscreen.  You might not leave until the sun starts to set behind the stunning peaks.  There's a photo of Andrews below.  If you're really ambitious, you can hike to Crater Lake, also pictured below.  The trail head starts at Andrews Lake and really gives you a chance to see all of the surrounding mountains on an exquisite high-alpine trail.

10.  Schoolhouse for Pizza and Ska Pinstripe Ale.  The Olde Schoolhouse is a Durango mountain institution of higher learning about local color.  Cast your inhibitions aside ye who enter there.  It too may not be for the novice, but we wouldn't feel like summer was complete without several trips to School.  Of course, I can see it out of my office window, which makes it much harder on us.  They have local food of such tremendous magic and care, local beer, and local hijinks.  We couldn't ask for more. 

Sure there are other more well-known Durango attractions, not least among them being the train, or historic downtown, or rafting the Animas etc.  We hope the above list just adds to the great diversity of your Durango experience. 

How's the market?  That's the question I get asked the most.  Here's a pretty good summation.  The Wells Group puts together a tremendous annual forecast each spring and our clients have access to its contents.  If you can attend the presentation locally next year, let me know and I'll send an invitation.  The forecast has been formulated for the last ten years by a third party and it's designed to help buyers and sellers navigate the data and provide some predictions.  This year we're predicting that homes in the $600,000 or above range, and properties in the resort area will see tremendous, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, value opportunities for buyers.  The inventory is already starting to get depleted in the area with buyers entering and taking advantage of the unprecedented deals across all categories.  To view our forecast go to our website at http://www.wellsgroupmountainresort.com/ and click on "Wells Group Forecast 2010."  You'll need to let me know you want to view the forecast because I'll have to provide the password to you.  Write Chris at cbettin@wellsgroupmountainresort.com or Kris at daly@duranglive.net. 

Cheers summer.  Wish it were with us all year, but we'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Sarah Palin Talks About Durango Real Estate on Larry King Live

I thought I'd try out a little innovation in the way we communicate some of our blog messages with this video of Sarah Palin and Larry King talking about our market.  I hope you enjoy it!

Click Here to Watch Movie

Ski lessons, life lessons, and the annual market update

This photo was taken last Sunday.  It was my son Dylan's first day of skiing on the "big mountain," as he calls it.  He's five.  He's been skiing, if you can call it that, since he was two.  He kind of abandoned the sport for a couple of years, truth be told, and I do realize he may have given up all hope for the Olympics as a result.  He's been on the "big mountain" before, but the last time was when he was three, and there wasn't any picture taking because of all the crying.  It didn't seem particularly cold that day two years ago as we ascended the slopes on the high-speed lift.  But by the time we reached the mid-point of the mountain it started snowing, and then blowing.  By the time we were at the top it was downright cold, and I started to get that queasy feeling in my stomach that you get as a parent when you feel like you're responsible for your child's discomfort.  It was all I could do to get him off the mountain without a complete meltdown.  Needless to say, skiing wasn't Dylan's favorite outdoor activity from that day forward.  And I was fine with that.  When I was in college I was a ski instructor, predominantly for children, and I watched many parents encourage their children into the activity long before the child was mentally or physically ready for it.  They were on ski vacations, and had committed thousands of dollars to the laudable effort of creating a life outdoors with their families.  By the time the skis had been loaded, the arduousness of traveling had been completed, and the family settled, it was a little late to wonder if little Johnny was really ready for the slopes. 

I remember my own childhood experiences in Summit County.   I started skiing at age six, and I quit lessons after a half-day.  My parents wanted me to go back in the afternoon for obvious reasons, but I refused, and I was willing do just about anything to get them to acquiesce.  "I'll show you I can ski without lessons," I said.  And I marched over the bunny hill lift before they could get of their own skis to stop me and skied down a run called Checkerboard at Keystone.  I pulled it off out of the sheer will of not wanting to go back to the dreaded ski class.  That half day was the only ski lesson of my life.  I taught myself from watching others, as my parents were learning right along with me.  I don't recommend it.  Seat belts weren't a requirement then either. 

It's funny how your kids sometimes travel in your footsteps even when you don't want them to.  I tried to get Dylan into ski school a couple of times and he took one lesson.  He showed enthusiasm for trying to ski again this year with all of his little Durango friends telling tales of their adventures, and I told him I'd take him myself as long as he listened to me.  Yeah, right.   There's another thing I don't recommend-- teaching your own children to ski.  They'll listen to some college kid who hasn't yet figured out how to pull his pants up long before they'll take the simplest instruction from you.  That certainly hasn't changed since I taught.  But I had to give him the benefit of the doubt and trust that he'd stand by his word that he'd take some direction from me.  When I woke up Sunday morning it was with a little bit of dread.  It had snowed five or six inches the night before, and the last thing I really wanted to do was get Dylan's gear together, dress him in his ski clothes (don't forget the mittens, hat and helmet), make sure we had enough snacks and water and make the drive up to the mountain where I invariably would have to carry everything what seems like 100 miles from the parking lot to the lifts.  "You sure you don't want to take a ski lesson with the other kids," I said, selfishly thinking about the powder runs I could take without him.  He did not.  Eventually, after the arduous lugging and slogging of gear and Dylan we stood on a beautiful and relatively warm day at the top of Purgatory Mountain.  "Do you remember how to turn?" I asked.  He didn't.  I tried to stifle the exasperation in the tone of my voice and restrained myself from suggesting the lesson again.  It was going to be a long way down.  Maybe I shouldn't have started up here today.  How could I make the same mistakes I'd been warning others against for over twenty years?  He was much heavier than when he was three, when I had literally carried him like a baby in my arms all the way down.   But there we were.  I gave him a couple of tips.  It seemed like he was paying attention.  It seemed like there were little sparks of remembrance coming to him as he showed me what a pizza pie and french fries looked like in ski-form.  I skied down a hundred feet or so while he waited and then beckoned him to come to me.  And then it happened, a little miracle.  He started down in his pizza pie straight for me, and suddenly turned left.  Then he turned right, this time somehow transitioning out of the pizza and into french fries.  He then came to an easy stop right in front of me.  "How was that Poppa?" he said.  I was speechless for a few seconds. 

"Wow," I said.  "You were turning."
 "Yeah," he said, "I know how to turn." 

And that was the end of the lesson.  He followed me all the way down.  He fell once.  He laughed when he fell.  We went fast down a pretty steep part.  He laughed then too.  The euphoria of the experience of watching my son enjoy skiing for the first time swelled in my chest, literally made me a little teary-eyed.  I told him I was proud of him and that he was doing great so many times that he finally said, "Poppa, you already said that a bunch."  When our day was over I couldn't wait to go skiing with him again.  I realized that we now had a lifetime of doing this together in front of us, and I couldn't wait to get started.  I knew now why my Dad was willing to carry my skis the miles from the parking space to the slopes at Copper Mountain (they invented the parking lot tram about six years into my skiing career by the time I would have been able to carry my own stuff).  And why my parents bought a condo in Summit County, Colorado so we could spend most of our winters skiing together, and playing board games with hot chocolate in our hands in front of the pine wood fire at night before we passed out from our exhaustion.  "The family that plays together stays together" was something amazing to live by.  It has been our great fortune to have these experiences together in our lives, and I'm grateful for the time ahead with Dylan joining our skiing family, even as I recognizing how his childhood has already flown by. 

The rest of this posting is about numbers, but they all really pertain to what was written above.  If you're reading this you already have made a mountain lifestyle your lifestyle, or you're considering it.  We've been telling you that the market is shifting, recovering in Durango, a town that didn't feel near the impact of the changes in the real estate markets over the last couple of years that much of the rest of the country did.  The most recent data simply supports our previous postings, and reaffirms our feelings about the market. 

Link to Durango Area fourth quarter and 2009 annual real estate statistics

If you look at the link above you'll see that prices rose in a couple of the major segments of the Durango market in the fourth quarter, particular in residential single family homes and condos in-town, as well as in rural homes.  This area has historically led the resort market, and you'll see that prices continued to soften in the resort.  Land throughout the county is extremely soft, and still offers the most value of all segments for buyers.  The year as a whole shows price reductions in most segments, as well as reduction in the number of sales.  Durango condos actually showed an increase in median price.  But each quarter in the year, as we've noted in our analysis, has demonstrated continued strengthening. 

The report linked above begins with the statement, "The 4th Quarter of 2009 had a greater number of transactions, higher volume, and a higher median price than the 4th quarter of 2008. The statistical data is suggesting a likely bottom of the real estate market in La Plata County occurred in September of 2009."

We certainly concur with this suggestion.  If you, or someone you know, are interested in property in our area, this may be the best opportunity we'll see for our buyers.  Affordability is at over a twenty year high with rates beginning to make their expected creep back upward.  Those who wait and buy later will do so with a likely loss of thousands in either price or interest expense.  Sellers hang in there, the tide is turning and we're expecting price appreciation across all categories with the exception of vacant land in the next twelve months. 

In some of my recent calls to long-time clients, I've noted some confusion over the role of our new company.  I've been asked if we can sell the ski resort properties on numerous occasions.  The answer is an emphatic yes!  The brokers operating at the resort, like we once did, are independent just like we are.  There's no difference in cost to the buyer in working with us verses working with a resort broker.  They are brokers who represent buyers, not the seller, just like we do.  Commissions are identical in either case.  Our skills at negotiating and our experience is our most valuable asset to our customers beyond our customer service, but most importantly we have no pressure whatsoever to sell one developer's project over another, or one community over another.  We're focused on finding the best property for our buyers without exception.  Additionally, a significant component of our efforts and business model are focused on listing and selling resale property for individual sellers.  Don't make the mistake of working with a broker who's focus is project first rather than customer first.

Of Real Estate and Philanthropic Opportunities (Together Again, Naturally)

The holiday season went by in a flash.  If you ask me, good riddance to 2009.  May it never darken our doorstep again.  As anticipated, the holidays would tell a tale about the market in Durango.  It's traditionally a very busy time for those of us who work in the mountain and resort communities in the Durango real estate market.  This was one of the busier years. 

There was a flurry of activity last week with four offers at Peregrine Point, the newest completely whole-ownership slopeside condominium development at Purgatory (Durango Mountain Resort).  Additionally there were two new whole ownership contracts written at Purgatory Lodge, the flagship of Purgatory's new base area development.  Since this market had been stagnant, we're encouraged by the activity.  It didn't hurt that both developers lowered prices beyond anything we had predicted, and buyers have begun to take note.  The train is leaving the station.  If you're interested in getting the purchase of a lifetime in mountain or resort property, you've perhaps got six months left.  Case in point - At one point there were about ten homes in the resort market that we would have considered priced below replacement cost.  There are three left.  Inventories are not being replenished, because builders have taken such a hit in the last couple of years.  That spells prices going up when those last three are sold.

I spent the holiday doing a lot of stuff like the photo below when I wasn't working.  This photo was taken on the Silvershield trail in Ouray, Colorado. And no, I did not descend upon snowboard directly off the side of that cliff. In fact, I couldn't ski for another thousand feet up because the mountains there are too rugged for my abilities down near the valley.

There's some amazing backcountry skiing up near Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray. We had a little taste of it on New Year's Day. It was a fine way to usher in the New Year.

As another way to celebrate and be mindful of the New Year, one of the exciting things we get to do in our new company is give a portion of our commissions to worthy charitable organizations.  One of the values of The Wells Group is its support of the local community organizations.  A portion of every commission earned at The Wells Group goes into a community fund.  Each broker is able to spend that money how he/she sees fit throughout the local community by donating to community organizations and charities.  Additionally, The Wells Group selects three organizations to donate to as a company at the end of the year.  Here's a copy of the letter sent out to our clients:

As The Wells Group completes its 25th year in real estate in southwest Colorado, the brokers, owners and staff of The Wells Group wish to extend to you and your loved ones, Season’s Greetings and the very best for the New Year. It’s because of clients, supporters, business associates, and friends like you, we have been able to assist people in their real estate needs through the years.


Again this year, The Wells Group would like to acknowledge your patronage by making a charitable contribution to a local organization on your behalf. Our brokers have identified the following local charitable organizations to be recipients of this year’s contribution:



1. The Family Center
2. Riverhouse Children’s Center
3. Project Merry Christmas

Please choose one, contact me, and a contribution will be made in your name.

Thank you for your continued support of The Wells Group. We look forward to serving you for all your real estate needs in 2010 and the years to follow.

Just like the letter says, if you've worked with us in the past and you want us to make a contribution in your name, simply pick one of the above and we'll affix your name to the donation.  Please respond by January 18th.  After all, it's you who make it possible for us to give.  This is another reason we both feel great about our partnership with The Wells Group. 

Don't forget to check us out at our new Facebook and Twitter locations (links provided in this sentence).  We're using these social media outlets for one very specific purpose to help those interested in real estate in this region.  We're posting the very best deals in the market that we see.  For example, today we posted an amazing deal on a ElkPoint Townhome slopeside in the Purgatory base area.  It is priced at $895,000 fully furnished.  This price is relevant to the original pricing on the project circa 2001.  It's a resale and it's not our listing, but we don't care.  Our goal is to keep you informed of the really good opportunities.  So far, our postings have sold pretty quickly, which should come to no surprise.  So, sign up for either our Twitter or Facebook updates, and get instant information on the "can't miss" properties in the market.

The Wall Street Journal recently compared real estate affordability to the market after The Great Depression, or better.  Check it out here.

And in case you missed it last time, we think our customers have the most to say when it comes to why you should choose The Wells Group Mountain Resort Brokerage if you're interested in Durango real estate.  Here is the link to our testimonials.

We wish you a wonderful year.  Let us know if we can help you make Durango part of it.