wo good friends moved to Breckenridge in the fall of 1975. There were no stoplights. There was no Peak 10 or Peak 7 (at least with ski trails on them), no snowmaking, no triple, quad or heaven forbid, double loading six pack chairlifts. Snowboarding was still in the future. Gas was 57 cents a gallon. Main Street was the only paved street in town and indeed, most everyone knew everyone else. Life was good.

The friends financed their lifestyle with various construction jobs while assuring friends and family that their college degrees would eventually be put to use. They put up all their savings to open Blue River Sports in the fall of 1982. A third friend joined the operation in 1993 to launch Mountain Wave Snowboards. All three started families in the 1990's.

Along the way, Blue River Sports became a leader in the industry. It introduced an intermediate level of equipment and developed the first computerized reservation system for ski rentals. It was the first shop in Breckenridge to stay open until 9 pm. It helped long-term employees to buy their first house and it was the first, and still one of the few, to tune each ski and snowboard after every rental.

The three friends have always insisted that their customers be treated as they liked to be treated on their own vacations: good equipment, fair prices and great personal service.

In 2005, Blue River Sports and Mountain Wave Snowboards were recognized as the Breckenridge Resort Chamber's Business of the Year for the quality of their guest service. In 2006 both shops were honored as Summit County's Outstanding Business for their philanthropic contributions to the community.

Blue River Sports celebrates it's 25th season in 2006-07. The three friends are still partners. They will employ over 30 full time people, run over 1,800 sets of equipment and help more than 24,000 guests enjoy the slopes this season. When they grow up and find a real job, they might still put those college degrees to work. In the meantime, life is still good.