Editor’s note: Stories in this list received the most page views on SummitDaily.com for the past week.
1. Keystone Resort’s Hunki Dori parking lot sold to developers with big designs
Vail Resorts announced on Monday that it has agreed to sell 4 acres at the base of the River Run Gondola, which includes the Hunki Dori parking lot. The deal could land a new hotel, about 95 residential condominiums and more than 12,000 square feet of commercial space where a parking lot currently sits. The One River Run project, as it’s been coined, has been envisioned as part of the Keystone Planned Unit Development for more than two decades now and represents “a critical piece” of Keystone’s base. The developer — One River Run Acquisition LLC, a Colorado-based development team — is proposing a full-service, 107-room RockResorts-branded hotel. RockResorts is a subsidiary of Vail Resorts and already manages various properties in Summit County and beyond. The new hotel would come with a spa, restaurant and banquet space.
2. Snowboarder, 20, dies after attempting jump at Aspen’s Snowmass
Twenty-year-old Tyler Hamm of Snowmass Village died last week attempting a jump at a Snowmass Mountain Resort terrain park in Aspen. He was not wearing a helmet, an Aspen Skiing Co. spokesman said. According to Hamm’s Facebook page, he was a cook at Lynn Britt Cabin, which is a restaurant on the mountain just above the terrain park. He was from Charlotte, North Carolina, and moved to Colorado in 2017.
Jacquelyn “Jaci” Vincent welcomed her daughter into the world on Jan. 17, just not quite the way she expected. The Leadville resident went into labor as her mother-in-law, Tracy Vincent, was driving Jaci to her obstetrician in Vail. Realizing the baby was not going to wait until they climbed up over Vail Pass, nor for the 10-minute ride east to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, Tracy made a snap decision to pull into Copper Mountain’s ski clinic and seek help there. The clinic had just closed but the remaining nurses, physicians and staff sprung into action, preparing the young mother for birth. Within minutes, Jaci had a healthy 5 pound, 7 ounce baby girl in her arms. To recognize the amazing birth story and to pay tribute to the folks who helped make it happen, the baby got a very fitting middle name. Welcome to the world, Mackenzie Copper Vincent.
4. Mikaela Shiffrin responds to criticism by Vonn, Miller
The Associated Press reported last week that ski racing megastars Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller both questioned Mikaela Shiffrin’s decision to skip a Alpine super-combined and downhill race at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Are, Sweden. “She could have won everything,” Vonn said of Shiffrin to AP. “I’m a racer and I want to race in every single race that I possibly can.”
Shiffrin responded on Instagram, in part writing, “My goal has never been to break records for most (World Cup) wins, points or most medals at world champs. My goal is to be a true contender every time I step into the start.”
5. Frisco man sentenced in child pornography case
Kenneth Scott Casey, 62, who was found guilty of sexual exploitation of a child during a trial in September last year, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 days in jail during a hearing at the Summit County Justice Center on Monday afternoon. Casey was arrested in 2015 after hundreds of pornographic images involving children were found on his personal computer. He was living in Frisco at the time of the discovery. Chief Judge Mark Thompson sentenced Casey to 90 days in jail, though 60 of those days are suspended, meaning that Casey will only serve the whole 90 days if he violates the conditions of his sentencing. Casey was forced to pay almost $7,000 in fines, and must also complete six years in Colorado’s Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Program.