Breckenridge ski resort Virtual Tour

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Gold Dust to White Gold - Breckenridge, Colorado
by ALOHA DEAN


Open Breckenridge Ski Map in High Resolution Image		Download: \| QuickTime \| DevalVR \|Flash Some facts about "Brecken", The country's highest-capacity lift and first double-loading six-passenger chairlift, the Quicksilver Super6 opens at Breckenridge, replacing the world's first high-speed quad. For a second straight year, Breckenridge is the most-visited resort in the US, tabulating 1,441,000 skier visits. For more information on the heritage and history of Breckenridge click here

Prospectors entered Summit County during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of 1859, soon after the placer gold discoveries farther east at Idaho Springs. Breckinridge was founded to serve the miners working rich placer gold deposits discovered along Georgia Gulch.		QTVR \| DevalVR\| Flash
Placer gold mining was soon joined by hard rock mining, as prospectors followed the gold to its source veins in the hills. Gold in some upper gravel benches north of the Blue River was recovered by hydraulic mining.		QTVR \| DevalVR\| Flash
Gold production decreased in the late 1800s, but revived in 1908 by gold dredging operations along the Blue River and Swan River. The Breckenridge mining district is credited with production of about one million troy ounces (about 31,000 kilograms) of gold.		QTVR \| DevalVR\| Flash
The gold mines around Breckenridge are all shut down, although some are open to tourist visits. The characteristic gravel ridges left by the gold dredges can still be seen along the Blue River and Snake River, and the remains of a dredge are still afloat in a pond off the Swan River.		QTVR \| DevalVR\| Flash