{"id":794991,"date":"2019-04-19T13:54:38","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T19:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=364659"},"modified":"2019-04-19T13:54:38","modified_gmt":"2019-04-19T19:54:38","slug":"longtime-breckenridge-local-c-j-mueller-speaks-to-resort-towns-high-alpine-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/longtime-breckenridge-local-c-j-mueller-speaks-to-resort-towns-high-alpine-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime Breckenridge local C.J. Mueller speaks to resort town\u2019s high-alpine journey"},"content":{"rendered":"
Breckenridge\u2019s C.J. Mueller holding a tucked position during a speed run. Mueller credited a tightly clinched tuck for his ability to reach speeds as high as 137 mph.<\/strong>
Courtesy Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At his mountain home perched at 9,800 feet just outside of Breckenridge\u2019s downtown, the recurring dream C.J. Mueller has been having brings him back to the place where he\u2019s found the most thrills in his 67-year-old life: Breckenridge Ski Resort\u2019s high-alpine terrain.<\/p>\n

In the dream, Mueller skis down from the top of the hike off of Breckenridge\u2019s above-tree-line Imperial SuperChair. He\u2019s there, same as he ever was, christening a new day with first tracks in this legendary section of the Tenmile Range.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the run is always a little bit longer,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cThe snow is always a little bit deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past few decades, Breckenridge Ski Resort has evolved from the family-centric mountain known for its smooth groomer runs on Peaks 8 and 9 to a truly expansive skiing and riding experience with myriad options for thrill-seekers. If you ask longtime locals like Mueller, the resort\u2019s high-alpine terrain spread across its five peaks serves as the crown jewel of it all \u2014 the pulse of the iconic ski town\u2019s year-round ethos.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be on the Falcon Chair on Peak 10 and look to Peak 6 and see all that access,\u201d Mueller said. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s just \u2014 it\u2019s really fun to see people that I don\u2019t even know, I\u2019ll be riding up the lift, and you see people coming down up there, and people are having the time of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days in Breckenridge \u2014 whether it be as early in the year as October or as late as May \u2014 the heartbeat of the adventurous, outdoors-crazed community centers around the kind of backcountry and in-bounds, high-alpine skiing many locals adore. For some people, a day does not begin without first having skinned up in the backcountry or on one of the resort\u2019s runs.<\/p>\n

Nearly a half century ago, when Mueller first came across Breckenridge\u2019s high-alpine skiing community in 1972, there was no super-light ski-mountaineering gear. There were no splitboards and there certainly were fewer rules and regulations with regards to above-tree-line skiing. But there definitely was an above-tree-line community that permeated Breckenridge, particularly on Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

During the summer of \u201972, Mueller\u2019s first full summer in Breckenridge, he and a friend decided to hike up to the 12,998-foot summit of Peak 8. Once they got there, they looked across the valley to Peak 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere there were all of these people partying,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cSo we walked all the way over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the ensuing years, Mueller would join that annual Fourth of July ski party again and again, becoming a fixture in Breckenridge\u2019s skiing community all while being in the conversation for \u201cfastest man on skis\u201d as a racer.<\/p>\n

Unlike most ski racers, Mueller took the opposite route: from ski bum to ski racer. His journey paralleled the resort\u2019s so much that when Breckenridge decided to name and map its above-tree-line terrain north of Peak 8\u2019s summit, Mueller and his ski buddies were the consultants. Hence runs such as \u201cDebbie\u2019s Alley,\u201d \u201cY Chute\u201d and, of course, \u201cC.J.\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year when Mueller was shown an early edit of Breckenridge Ski Resort\u2019s \u201cAbove Treeline\u201d documentary, he was joyed to see the filmmakers used quite a bit of his vintage footage of skiing with his friend \u201cLarry The Lump\u201d at what is now the resort\u2019s Peak 7 area. It was during a 1-foot powder day in the \u201970s and back then it was far more common for locals like Larry and C.J. to have the area to themselves.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Mueller says powder weeks have become powder days, which have become powder hours. Still, he commends the resort\u2019s ski patrol and workforce for taking on the challenge of expanding operations.<\/p>\n

The process of creeping northward to today\u2019s lift-serviced, above-tree-line Peak 6 terrain might have been slow. But, in Mueller\u2019s mind, it was carefully accomplished the right way. Thanks to pioneers like him and Breckenridge\u2019s management and on-mountain workers, resort visitors are now provided with the opportunity from November through April to ski what is seemingly endless above-tree-line terrain.<\/p>\n

Taking it all in, Mueller is unsure if even the most enterprising of skiers could hit it all in one day. Alas, wherever they end up, Mueller knows that being above tree line at Breckenridge means they\u2019ll be in quite the playground.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have just discovered it,\u201d Mueller said of high-alpine skiing. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a really great way to spend your day \u2014 spend your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breckenridge\u2019s C.J. Mueller holding a tucked position during a speed run. Mueller credited a tightly clinched tuck for his ability to reach speeds as high as 137 mph.Courtesy Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame At his mountain home perched at 9,800 feet just outside of Breckenridge\u2019s downtown, the recurring dream C.J. Mueller has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-794991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 17:48:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/794991\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=794991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=794991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}