Late last summer, Breckenridge Mountain opened EpicDiscovery a collection of adrenaline filled activities at the base of Peak 8. This summer, Breckenridge invited me to come up for a weekend and try out all the activities! I was stoked, to say the least.
We stayed at the One Ski Hill Place, a Rock Resort at the base of Peak 8, the center of activity not only in the summer but also in the winter. One Ski Hill place is s comprised of 88 studio to four bedroom owned units. We stayed in a huge one-bedroom two-bath unit that would be perfect for groups or a small family.
The hotel has all the amenities you could need like a large indoor heated pool and huge outdoor hot tub, bowling alley and one of the best après ski bars in the country, The T Bar. The resort is ski in ski out with easy access to two chairlifts, a ski locker for each unit and its own private ski valet.
The BreckConnect Gondola also ends at Peak 8 so it is super easy to catch a ride into town and back. One Ski Hill Place also offers complimentary shuttles into town as well.
Colorado SuperChair
The Colorado Super Chair starts running at 9:30 am and anyone with a ticket can catch a ride up the mountain. This was our first time riding a ski lift in summer! It was kind of funny to stand where you are usually skiing. The views from the lift and the top of Peak 8 are unparalleled, this is a must do on your next visit to Breckenridge.
Alpineer Challenge Course
Ropes course? Yes, please! We arrived at the Alpineer Challenge Course by around 9:45 and had the course to ourselves. This course is a sort of “make your own adventure” where you are in charge of clipping yourself in and out of each activity with no start or ending point. Clay and I took off in different directions and took about 45 minutes to zig-zag around the course. Some parts were super easy and somewhere really challenging.
The adventure course is only 30 feet off the ground at its highest point so not too scary. I think this is a great activity for kids and family’s but for thrill seekers, I think this may be too mild.
Forrest Ranger Guided Hiking
Breckenridge Mountain offers free Forest Ranger guided hikes of Peak 8 every morning. We knew there was a potential for storms that afternoon but we really wanted to climb so we decided to climb earlier in the day and I’m so glad we did because right after lunch we had a quick hail storm!
I highly suggest the forest ranger hike, still! Guided hikes are always a fun way to learn more about the area’s history, fauna and geology. This is something Clay and I would like to come back and do.
Golden Peak Rock Climbing Wall
I grew up climbing at a gym in Atlanta but have only done it a few times as an adult so I was ready to show off my skills to Clay. Climbing walls have really advanced since my middle school days and this wall featured an automatic self-belay system. This is such a great feature as there is literally no learning curve, just put on your harness and you are ready to climb!
Clay and I started on a medium ranked route and both crushed it. We climbed harder and harder routes till we were on the hardest one. I regrettably didn’t complete the hardest one but Clay did! After each climbing at least 6 times we were beat, time for margaritas and hot dogs at Vista Hous.
GoldRunner Coaster
The GoldRunner Coaster is actually one of Brecks oldest thrill rides and runs year round. Clay and I have both seen people zipping by in the winter so this has been on our bucket list for a while! My expectations for speed and well roller coaster scariness were low but this thing was so fast and fun! If your skip to min in the video below you can hear me screaming haha.
Expedition Zipline Course
The big draw of Breckenridge EpicDiscovery is the High Alpine Expedition Zipline Tour. This zipline course spans 10 towers with eight zips and a huge 200-foot long aerial bridge. The course actually zig-zags Peak 7 where Clay and I got engaged last year!
The max size of a tour is six but since no one else signed up for our time slot, we got a private tour! We met our guides at the top of Peak 7 to put on our harness, go over the rules and have a safety check. Next, we went to a demo zip to practice slowing and stopping, learn the hand signals and go over the zipline course in depth. After we passed our safety check we were off to the course.
It took us a little over 2 hours to complete the course and we had a blast. The final two ziplines are very long and you go really, really fast! This was defiantly the adrenalin-pumping ride it was advertised to be! The views from the course are incredible too; you can see all of Breckenridge and even over into Keystone. I have done zippiness all over the world and this was definitely one of my favorites. This is by far the longest and fastest zip I have done as well!
Breckenridge Epic Discovery runs now till September 9th so you only have a few weekends left to zip, climb and fly around Peak 8! There are a number of great packages available for families with kids and also some adult options too. Learn more about the passes and book your trip here. For my Epic Pass readers, you can get 20% off your tickets too! If you are looking to make it a weekend trip like we did, you can also save 10% on lodging – Learn more here.
This post is in partnership with Breckenridge Mountain,Vail Resorts – but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
