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Colorado - Thu. 02/05/26 |
A Free Business Publication from Alpine Bank
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DENVER HOME SALES PLUMMET IN JANUARY, BUT TURNAROUND AT HAND?
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This week, the Denver Metro Association of Realtors released an update which showed that home sales in January dropped to a monthly low not seen since 2008. There were 1,919 homes and condominiums sold last month, which was down 40.6 percent from December’s 3,228 closings. The January sales numbers were down nearly 20 percent from closings recorded in January 2025. However, there were strong showings that a turnaround could be underway as there were more than 3,000 pending sales in January, which was up 47.2 percent from December. Pending sales are homes under contract but not closed yet. Also, January had 4,455 new listings. There were 8,228 active listings at the end of January, up from 7,607 in December and more than the 7,688 a year earlier.
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DIA REPLACING TRAIN CARS, UPDATING TRAIN OPERATIONS
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Officials at Denver International Airport have launched a $148 million project to update the airport’s 30-year-old automated underground trains, which take passengers to and from the terminal to the concourses. The upgrades are projected to reduce wait times by 13 seconds. DIA crews have completed a $78 million partial replacement of the older steel cars which went into operation in 1995 with 26 aerodynamic white cars. The new “Innovia Automated People Mover 300R” trains have improved HVAC systems, gate information screens, larger windows and move at 30 mph. The modernization, including an upgrade of the airport’s signal and control system, will reduce the headway to 83 seconds and the improvement by 13 seconds in wait time results in an aggregated time savings of 44,640 minutes in a month. Officials are targeting moving 10,500 passengers each direction per hour by 2033.
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NY TIMES ON WESTERN SKI RESORTS’ “TERRIBLE” “HORRIBLE” “VERY BAD YEAR”
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Ski resorts in Colorado, Utah and across the West are suffering from the effects of no snow this ski season, with accommodation cancellations, limited trails available and the resulting impact on the local economy, restaurants, retail, etc. In its Travel section, the New York Times did no favors for the resorts with an article titled, “Western Ski Resorts and Their Terrible, Horrible, No Snow, Very Bad Year” by writer David Goodman. The statewide snowpack in Colorado is at 57 percent of average, and Utah’s snowpack is at 62 percent, nearly the worst since reporting began in 1980. Goodman quotes Jon Meyer, assistant state climatologist at the Utah Climate Center, “It seems like a joke, but technically, the Florida Panhandle has seen more snowfall than Salt Lake City this year.”
Goodman also notes the ski patrol strikes in Telluride and in Le Massif de Charlevoix in Quebec as compounding factors. If no snow and strikes weren’t enough, many foreign skiers are not coming to the U.S., with resort reservation agency and analyst Inntopia noting international visitation to U.S. mountain resorts is down 33 percent this winter, led largely by declines from Canada.
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TIME FOR THE SUPER BOWL, THE GAME, THE ADS, THE HALFTIME SHOW & PUPPY BOWL
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Denver International Airport and Denver Animal Shelter will host the 10th DEN Puppy Bowl in the Jeppesen Terminal on Friday, Feb. 6. Following showtime for the puppies, they will be available for adoption at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, at Denver Animal Shelter, 1241 W. Bayaud Ave. in Denver. Puppies will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit denvergov.org for more information about Denver Animal Shelter and adoption guidelines. The event will also be streamed live on Denver International Airport’s Facebook page. Viewers can search social media using #DENPuppyBowl. The Animal Planet Puppy Bowl, from which the DIA event takes its name, will air starting at noon on Super Bowl Sunday with simulcasts on Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max and Discovery+.
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STEADMAN PHYSICIANS CONTINUE 50-YEAR TRADITION OF SUPPORTING TEAM USA IN ITALY
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Physicians from The Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI), including orthopaedic surgeons Randy Viola, M.D., Thomas Hackett, M.D., Leslie Vidal, M.D., and Sonny Gill, M.D., along with Internal Medicine Physician David Kuppersmith, M.D., will travel to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina, Italy, to serve as team physicians for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Traveling to Italy continues the tradition established by late Dr. J. Richard Steadman, whose pioneering work helped shape modern sports medicine and set the standard for medical support within elite winter sports.
Dr. Steadman’s first Olympic Games providing medical coverage for the U.S. Ski Team was in 1976, and since then, Steadman physicians have provided coverage for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes at 13 consecutive Winter Olympic Games, spanning five decades. The SPRI is one of just 11 International Research Centres for the Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health as part of its relationship with the International Olympic Committee.
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TWO LUXURY TRAVEL FIRMS: INSPIRATO & EXCLUSIVE COLLECTIVE COMPLETE MERGER
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Denver-based luxury travel company Exclusive Collective completed its $59 million acquisition of Denver-based Inspirato this week. Exclusive announced reaching a deal to buy Inspirato in mid-December after its first two offers were rejected. The deal's closure makes Inspirato a privately held business nearly four years after it went public in 2022 and its shares started trading on the Nasdaq exchange. Inspirato will operate independently and in parallel to Exclusive Resorts, and no changes are planned to its products, such as the Inspirato Pass.
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FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS INTRODUCE RADIO MAP PROGRAM
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At the end of December, the Friends of the San Juans (FOSJ), the nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting safe winter travel in the San Juan Mountains, introduced the San Juan Backcountry Radio Program. The radio program assigns designated radio frequencies, or common radio channels, to areas of terrain in the San Juan Mountains. The designated areas, ranging from north of Telluride almost to Mancos and including Ophir, Silverton and Rico, are available on a map displayed at the FOSJ website, thesanjuans.org/radio-program. The open channels allow those in each backcountry area to communicate with each other, describe conditions, hazards, and call for help from other nearby parties in case of emergency, among other things.
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IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL DANCE: HIGH DESERT SOCIAL DANCE CO. IS GETTING MONTROSE MOVING
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A new social dance group is gaining momentum in Montrose as longtime dancers Chanen Kearns and Larissa Umberger launch High Desert Social Dance Co., a community-focused effort designed to make dancing approachable and fun for everyone. Inspired by seeing empty dance floors at weddings, the duo created low-pressure events where participants can learn line and partner dances while enjoying what they describe as a true “night out.” The group’s first event, a January line dance ladies’ night at Elevation Academy of Dance, drew 45 women and nearly reached capacity, prompting organizers to expand future offerings. Demand has continued to grow, with a Valentine’s partner dance event selling out quickly and leading to the addition of a second session. Organizers say the goal is to build a welcoming dance community centered on connection, joy, and confidence, with plans to host regular monthly events and potentially expand offerings based on interest.
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WANT A MTN. BIKING RUSH? RIDE THE HIMALAYAS
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For those mountain biking junkies, always seeking new trails to ride, there is a movement to build mountain biking opportunities in Nepal. There is also a movement to encourage climbing other peaks to reduce the pressure on the numbers who seek to climb Mount Everest, and the mountain biking development is a grassroots movement designed to boost the economy and especially the local Sherpa people. Sherpas, who work as seasonal guides and porters, struggle to secure stable year-round incomes. Sherpa guides can earn anywhere from 588,000 to 1,765,000 Nepalese rupees (USD$4,000-$12,200) during the two-month climbing season. Against this backdrop, the nonprofit Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, in the small town of Phaplu, is betting that the region's dramatic peaks and pristine forests can attract more than elite climbers.
The club has developed a network of 17 beginner- to expert-level trails stretching some 45 miles in the community-managed Ratnange Forest, with the aim of creating local jobs that young Sherpa residents can design, lead and own. The trails climb to 13,000 feet and offer stunning views of the Himalayas. The Bike Club was founded in 2020 by Ang Tshering Lama and French ex-pro mountain bike racer Tangi Rebours. As the trails have developed, Lama and Rebours have encouraged Sherpa families to open homestays, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in local culture. Bikers can also bed down in the lavish, 10-room Happy House lodge, owned by Lama's family and once favored by legendary Everest mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary.
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HIGHEST INCREASE IN LUXURY HOMES OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS
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In its Wealth Report 2025, global research firm Knight Frank lists the international markets where luxury home prices have increased the most over the past five years:
- Dubai: 224.3 percent
- Tokyo: 115 percent
- Manila: 81 percent
- Seoul: 80.9 percent
- Miami: 80.7 percent
- Los Angeles: 51 percent
- Christchurch: 44.7 percent
- Milan: 38.1 percent
- Gold Coast: 35.5 percent
- Mumbai: 34.6 percent
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MARKET UPDATE - 02/04/2026 Close
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(Courtesy of Alpine Bank Wealth Management*)
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Canadian dollar (per U.S. dollar)
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Mexican peso (per U.S. dollar)
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30-year fixed mortgage rate (Freddie Mac 01/29/2026)
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*Not FDIC insured. May lose value. Not guaranteed by the bank.
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Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado's Western Slope, mountains and Front Range. Alpine Bank serves customers with retail, business, wealth management*, mortgage and electronic banking services. Learn more at alpinebank.com.
*Alpine Bank Wealth Management services are not FDIC insured, may lose value and are not guaranteed by the bank.
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