5 Min to the Ski Slopes of Beautiful Breckenridge! Hiking at your back door!

12SunnySlope is a fabulous get-away home - close to the Town of Breckenridge for all the charm, dining, activities and excitement and yet away from the high density, parking problems and noise waking you up after a rowdy night in the bars! You come home to total relaxation in a warm, cozy Swiss chalet. Enjoy full kitchen with great cookware and fine place settings for up to 10. Winter is a great value for a group/family ski vacation and in the summer you will feel like you are in heaven on earth with gorgeous views, perfect weather and hiking at your door! There is no one above or below you, you've got the National Forest for your back yard that you can look out over on the upstairs deck, and you're on a major thorough fare where town is 5 minute drive away. The home has two decks, one on each level, a big hot tub and large and small grills. Additionally, you will find a laundry room, wireless and hard-wire high-speed internet, and a genuine wood-burning stove. When I first bought the property, I was in my late 20's, and I rented it out to people who mainly worked at the ski resort. I used the rent money to pay the mortgage and had enough left over to explore the other ski resorts in Colorado. I had a list of the top 21 ski resorts in Colorado that I wanted to visit. When I had skied or visited the Top21 Colorado resorts, I decided to further my horizons to a place called the Alps, the mountain range that extends from Austria to France, with Germany, Switzerland and Italy in between. When I thought of the Alps, I thought of ski racers and steep, steep slopes that would be impossible to navigate. I started in Switzerland because American Airlines had a non-stop flight to ZHR, or Zurich, Switzerland. After that, I went into Austria, then Italy, Germany and finally France. I bought the book 'Ski Europe' by Charlie Leocha a great travel guide on the 75 top resorts in the Alps. My goal was to visit all of the 75 resorts featured in the book, which I'm close to achieving! My most favorite resort was Zermatt. I think that I like it the most because it reminds me of Breckenridge. It was at first a mining town, it is located at the end of the pass, and it has a village at the base of the runs that is in the Swiss-Bavarian style similar to Breckenridge's Victorian style architecture. There are many quaint little restaurants and shops that stay open all year long, not just the ski season. Along the way, I picked up artifacts and pictures from various locations in the Alps. I saved them up for the day I would convert my house from a long-term rental to a place for my young family to have ski vacations in Breckenridge. A short time after Vail Resorts bought Breckenridge, in 1998, my kids were ready to ski, so it was a great time realize my dream of a house for my family and friends to gather and have a great time skiing! Breckenridge opened the slopes up in 1960, after the Eisenhower Tunnel was opened on Interstate Highway I-70. Breckenridge was the last town on the "10 Mile Range", which has 10 mountain peaks from Frisco to Breckenridge, all sequentially numbered 1 to 10. The ski slope started on Peak 8 and was popular from the start. The next year Vail opened as another one of the I-70 resorts. Vail and Breckenridge have always been successful with each other and they have always fiercely competed with each other. I love ski resorts; they are the best place for fun, friends and family, and folly! Breckenridge started out (as Americans know it) being a mining town in the late 1800's. It was a bustling place and even had major railroad lines establishing stops in the county, which is named Summit County, of which Breckenridge is the county seat. Gold was discovered in the area and it quickly became the gold standard for mining towns in the area. It had strict Victorian architectural code requirements, and still has elements of enforcement today. You will notice tri-color exterior painting styles on many of the buildings, particularly in downtown Breckenridge. There are many historical buildings and landmarks. It has maintained the historical mining town atmosphere while it added a significant extremely popular ski resort to it long after it was already established. Vail is what they call a "purpose-built" resort meaning it was built for the purpose of being a resort and that gets highly criticized in the Ski Europe book rating resorts. I never realized how important a town was to the success of a ski resort. None the less, Vail is a real nice Bavarian style Village designed specifically after St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria. I've been there, and it's a great resort, too. And both are better because they have each other as neighbors! So right around the new millennium, or Y2k, and after 911…We embarked on an aggressive plan to renovate 12Sunnyslope. We converted the house from an 'Old West' miners style to a sleek 'High Alpine European' style that I was researching on my trips to the Alps. The hotel that I like the most from my visits was the Alex Hotel in Zermatt. It was owned by Alex, and had been the owner from ground level up. He held the philosophy of always renovating the hotel, with projects every year, not every 15 years. The thing he was most proud of was his pool. He stated his 25 meter pool, cost 4 times more that the average hotel completely furnished. It was a great place to stay and Alex's wife would come by in the evening at dinner and talk to us. I will never forget when they came out with a meat fondue dish. In a lot of resorts in Europe, they have what is called 'half-board' that has nothing to do with snow boarding. Included in the price with your room is breakfast and dinner. At dinner, you have a choice of 2 or 3 different options. Well, they came beaming over with a clear glass bowl of meat that we then were supposed to dip into an oil fondue pot. We were impressed at first, but when we eat the meat, it was like stew beef, and we didn't eat but a couple of pieces of meat when my Brother who I was travelling with, apologized profusely to them, and told them we were used to a different kind of meat…it was a cultural difference and just a matter of taste. Well, they weren't amused nor understanding at all. They were kind of aloof from that point on in the meal, but I think they were really embarrassed that their special meal for the American's was not a hit. So this is where I adopted the Swiss Hospitality values. Get the house completely renovated, and then improve it with major projects every year. So after we got the place gutted, we gave the house a total interior facelift. In recent years we have planned out projects to complete and improve the house, just like the Swiss. Some of our recent projects have been: 1) Brand new furniture throughout the entire house. After touring Europe extensively, we got a taste for the European flair and brought it back to 12SunnySlope. We have the traditional exterior of something found in the mountains of Switzerland, Austria or Bavarian Germany and the interior from Italy or France. 2) After that we felt that a hot tub would enhance the pleasure of Rocky Mountain day of skiing, hiking, shopping, golfing, fishing or one of the many activities that can be found in Breckenridge. I thought of Alex and his pool that cost so much, so we bought the most expensive, top-of-the-line Jacuzzi brand hot tub. Our guests thank us many times over for the investment of a large hot tub with numerous features to soothe the body and soul after an active day in the mountains. You have 24 access to a private hot tub just 2 or 3 steps right outside the back door. They tell us they like the size that can fit up to 7-8 people all at one time, and the fact that it is private that you don't have to share with other people they don't know, and many have commented on going into the hot tub after dark, spending hours bonding with their travel companions; and gazing at the stars above. 3) It was hard to come up with an idea that would beat the hot tub, so we had to think a while. Then we heard that a company was installing gas lines for those who wanted natural gas service, instead of propane. The pipeline is all underground, so there is no unsightly propane tank to look out at anymore. 12Sunnyslope is a better place because of it. 4) We had a great idea next for the inside of the house. We know how much better TV looks with the new HD LED screens. With HD-TVs NFL & college football is almost like you are on the sidelines watching, movies are incredibly life-like and everything is better with HD TVs. So we decided to put a 50' flat screen in the living room with a smaller unit in every bed room with a Blu-Ray Player for watching movies. 5) Next, we updated the lighting in the house which requires electrical upgrades, and were able to install outdoor lighting for weary travelers to see the property when they arrive, many times late in the evening. 6) In 2016, we started our bathroom upgrades by adding brand new KOEHLER commodes in both bathrooms. We also upgraded up high-speed WIFI and hard wire INTERNET connection, and now have a BRAND NEW DESKTOP COMPUTER. A Microsoft 10, HP Pavilion, HD 24" Touch-Screen ALL-IN-ONE COMPUTER! PLUS, a printer for printing directions, boarding passes, etc. So, something virtually no other rental unit offers! THIS IS A HUGE PLUS! 7) In 2017, we focused on the outside. We put the hot tub on a concrete pad, which made it easier to enter and is more camouflaged/private. We replaced the entire deck with real redwood decking boards and changed up the color of the house to look a tad more European. It is a touch of Europe in the Rockies! So book your reservation now in the house that is specifically designed for skiers, riders, taking tips from the best resorts around the world, with the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world! 12Sunnyslope is the place to stay…when at Breckenridge to play!