How to Ski From Sunrise Point Townhomes to Peak 9
Upper Warrior’s Mark is the only ski-in/out ACCESS neighborhood in Breckenridge. Breck Mountain Rentals offers two properties in this neighborhood, next door to one another- Sunrise Point and Cloud 9. For our guests or anyone staying on the north end of White Cloud Drive in Upper Warrior’s Mark, we have meticulously created these detailed instructions so you can join the fun of this neighborhood trail.
For shuttle information only, please scroll down to the Upper Warrior’s Mark Shuttle section.
What is the difference between ACCESS and TRUE ski in/out? True ski in/out homes are rare in Breckenridge. They are primarily condos at the bases of Peaks 7, 8 and 9 in one of the resort lodges. There are a handful of single family homes with true ski in/out privilege which all border Peak 8. There are several dozen townhomes that border the Four O’Clock trail on Peak 8 with fairly easy ski in/out (ski down to the Gondola to go skiing, ski home via Four O’Clock which is known to be icy and crowded). Otherwise, the Upper Warrior’s Mark neighborhood is the only other option. ACCESS means the trail starts in the neighborhood, out of ski bounds, not groomed or managed by the ski resort. This is a hiking trail (Burro Trail) in the summer.
These are the most up-to-date details as of 3/1/24 and will be updated as needed for the 2023-2024 ski season. The Upper Warrior’s Mark Shuttle is looping every 15-20 minutes to take guests to/from the UWM neighborhood to Peak 9.
Beware that with each new snowfall, the trail may not be well packed and/or hidden by new powder. Note that with changing snow conditions, the photos in this article can differ from the current day. In-bound trails mentioned in this article are subject to closure without our knowledge.
Instructions below are very detailed, but the trail is really simple and fun if you are up for an adventure! Note that Sunrise Point & Cloud 9 are in the Upper Warrior’s Mark neighborhood. If at any point you need clarity or help with direction, please call or text your host at (970) 968-8005.
Expect to spend 10-20 minutes going TO Peak 9 and plan for 30-60 minutes going FROM Peak 9 back including riding up the Falcon Chair and skiing down a run on Peak 10. The trail in to Peak 9 is short. Getting back may take longer due to the need to check directions on GPS, a bit of poling, and going back up the outdoor stairs at the gate mentioned below.
The ski in/out trailhead and gate are on Sunrise Point Drive. The trail head is marked with a small forest trail sign and a black metal gate in between 31 and 55 Sunrise Point Drive as seen in photo:
This gate is about 30 yards from the front door of Sunrise Point and Cloud 9 townhomes, literally straight ahead out the front door. Walk out the front door, look through the trees for the black gate in the photo above, or veer to your right in the parking lot and you will spy the gate just 30 yards away.
Go through the gate, close the gate behind you and walk down the metal grated stairs. This flight of stairs is long! Keep in mind that you will have to climb UP these stairs if you choose to ski back in. But you don’t have to ski back- there is a quick and easy neighborhood shuttle.
At the bottom of this flight of stairs, lock into your skis or board. You will see the brown sign in the photo below. Go RIGHT onto the flat trail in front of this sign. In about 7 yards, the trail Y’s off to the left, ascending slightly downhill. You may want to wedge down this section.
After this slight ascent, the trail flattens and is narrow through the woods. As you ski, keep an eye out for a sharp left turn where you will cross over a footbridge over a small creek. After crossing the footbridge, you will emerge out of the woods and see Peak 9 straight ahead.
After crossing the footbridge, you will need to remove skis or board and walk about 25 yards to pass a blue mesh fence recently placed by Breck Ski Resort for the Peak 9 learning area. Walk slightly uphill and then past the fence.
Once you have made the short walk past the fence, you can put skis or board back on and ski to either the Beaver Run Chair straight ahead, or ski to the bottom of the hill to the Quick Silver Chair.
The Quick Silver Chair will take you up to the Mercury or Falcon Chairs where there is intermediate and expert terrain. The Beaver Run chair is for beginner, intermediate and expert terrain and for a lift connection to Peak 8.
Upper Warrior’s Mark Shuttle: The EASIEST WAY TO GET BACK TO/FROM SUNRISE POINT
The sprinter van shuttle loops every 15-20 minutes from Upper Warrior’s Mark to Peak 9. Just walk to the edge of the Sunrise Point complex and stand near the edge of White Cloud Drive. The driver will be watching for riders.
To get back to Sunrise Point from Peak 9, you can ski to about 50 yards from where the Warrior’s Mark shuttle will pick you up, near the bottom of the Quick Silver Chair. As you get close to the line for the Quick Silver chair, look for an opening in the orange ropes on the right. You can ski through that opening, across the bridge at Maggie Pond, and then remove skis/board and make the short walk to Columbine Road (behind Charter Sports) and stand by the Charter Sports Rentals sign to wait for the Warrior’s Mark Shuttle at bus stop 505.
If you miss that trail, no problem! Ski on down to the bottom of the Quick Silver Chair. Go through the passage way into The Village area just a few yards behind the Quick Silver Chair. Walk towards Maggie Pond and hook a right at the pond, cross the bridge, and continue on to Charter Sports at 655 Columbine Road (see map below or use your GPS). Go through the walkway on the side of the shop and out the rear to Columbine Road. This is where you will find bus stop 505 of the Silver Route for Upper Warrior’s Mark. Stand by the Charter Sports Rentals sign to wait for the Upper Warrior’s Mark shuttle.
The shuttle is a white sprinter van and it stops every 15-20 minutes. It may either say Peak 1 Express or Upper Warrior’s Mark on the side. Once onboard this shuttle, tell the driver you will need to unload at the Sunrise Point stop. It’s a short and quick ride up the hill back to Sunrise Point townhomes (for Sunrise Point and Cloud 9).
To ski from Peak 9 back to Sunrise Point instead of taking the shuttle (advanced skiers only):
As of 3/1/24, ski patrol has closed the Peak 10 trails necessary to access the upper portion of the Flapjack trail and the lower back gate. We do not know why as this is atypical. Nor do we know when they will re-open the trails to access the gate. To see if the trails are open: Take Falcon SuperChair to the top of Peak 10. When you unload the chair, go left and then take the trail to your farthest right (whichever one that is open). The trails to your far right (Black Hawk, Dark Rider or Mustang) will merge at the bottom onto the Flapjack trail. On the Flapjack trail you come upon a “gate” and several signs on your right (see photo below). These signs mark the Ski Boundary with a warning that by going through the gate you are entering the backcountry. “Warning. You Can Die”…. You’re very unlikely to die because the trail is not steep and not in an avalanche zone, but if you are unfamiliar with this trail, go with a buddy.
The trail goes through the woods and although you won’t see houses, you are only about 100 yards from the western edge of the Warrior’s Mark neighborhood. Follow the trail, but when the trail Y’s, go to the RIGHT. You will need to pole uphill to get back onto the flat trail that goes back to the stairs at the Sunrise Point gate. You will know you are on this trail when you see homes where the trail traverses alongside the western portion of Upper Warrior’s Mark. If you miss the uphill trail, you will eventually end up back at the footbridge. If so, you can either walk back uphill to the stairs the way you came down, or ski back to the Quick Silver chair and follow the instructions above for the easiest way back to Sunrise Point on the fast and easy shuttle.
There are a few blue diamond markers on the trees, but otherwise the trail is not marked. You can also track your location with GPS on a smartphone.
The neighborhood trail is out of ski bounds and runs parallel to the Lower Lehman trail, but there is a creek between the two trails so you cannot access the neighborhood trail from Lower Lehman. On one occasion, I missed the Y in the trail going back up to Sunrise Point and ended up in that creek, which was almost entirely covered with snow and ice. I crossed the creek and jumped onto Lower Lehman and boarded the shuttle as above. The snow off trail is hip deep. It required some effort on my part and knowledge of getting myself out of hip deep snow to get back on the trail. If mishaps like this do not sound “adventurous” then I advise you take the shuttle back. For me, it was just another day in the trees where I spent a lot of my ski time LOL.
This is a FUN trail, but you must be adventure minded and up for a little workout going out and back in. This trail is Use at Your Own Risk and no one but you is responsible for your safety if you choose to take this trail.