This summer, we spent time with Daniel Kreykes and Ashley Upchurch, two community members who have called the Gunnison Valley home for more than a decade. Their housing journey reflects the challenges many young working professionals face in building a life here and becoming homeowners.
From a Short-Term Adventure to a Life in the Valley
When Daniel and Ashley moved to the Gunnison Valley at the end of 2014, they had just finished hiking the Appalachian Trail and had recently gotten married. They didn’t know anyone in the area, didn’t have jobs lined up, and had never even heard of the valley before.
Daniel found a job teaching skiing at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, and for the first couple of years the two worked a mix of seasonal jobs in retail and ski instruction. “We really thought we’d only be here for a few years,” Ashley said.
As they settled in, both found full-time jobs and started immersing themselves in the community. “At some point, it became, ‘Maybe we’ll stay here longer than we expected,'” Daniel said.
By early 2020, they had decided it might be time for a new adventure. They told their employers they were leaving and had already hired their replacements when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly, the move was off.
Today, more than eleven years later, both have become deeply involved in the community. Ashley serves as Director of Philanthropy for the Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley and is President of the Crested Butte/Mt. Crested Butte Rotary Club. Daniel works as Development, Marketing, and Communications Manager for the Crested Butte Nordic Center and serves on the Board of High Country Conservation Advocates.
Life in 500 Square Feet
Like many valley residents, Daniel and Ashley’s housing journey included a variety of different living situations. Their first home in the valley was a motel room at The Seasons in Gunnison. Eventually, they moved into an accessory dwelling unit in Crested Butte South. Thanks to their supportive landlords, Mike and Christy, they remained there for more than a decade.
“They could have made way more money, but they wanted to help locals,” Ashley said. “They never nickel and dimed us.”
While they were fortunate to have a stable rental situation, living in a small space came with its challenges, especially during the pandemic when both were working from home.
“There were days when I was working sixteen-hour days, and we really didn’t have a wall separating work from life,” she said. More than anything, they worried about what might happen down the road. “What if they sell? What if they need the space back?” Daniel remembered thinking.
Meanwhile, they watched friends and coworkers leave the valley after losing housing or being unable to find a place they could afford. “That’s been one of the hardest parts,” Ashley said. “So many people we cared about left, and we haven’t seen some of them in years.”
Stuck in the Missing Middle
In late 2020, Daniel and Ashley started looking to buy a home. Over the next six years, they applied for numerous affordable housing opportunities while also pursuing homes on the open market. The tricky part was, they found themselves caught in the middle – making too much to qualify for many deed-restricted opportunities, but not enough to compete in the increasingly expensive and competitive open market.
Application after application required hours of paperwork, tax documents, and financial information. “We got really good at housing applications,” Ashley joked. Still, many opportunities came and went. “You’d put a lot of hope into something and spend hours pulling everything together, only to find out you didn’t get it,” Daniel said.
“There were definitely times we talked about leaving altogether,” Ashley said. “It would have been much easier somewhere else.”
Finding their Home Base
After many years of searching, Daniel and Ashley purchased a deed-restricted home in 2026. And even still, the process wasn’t straightforward. After getting their offer accepted, they began learning more about the deed restrictions attached to the property. “Some of those details really took us by surprise,” Daniel said.
The staff at the Town of Mt. Crested Butte helped walk them through the restrictions and explain what ownership would look like over time. “There were moments where we almost backed out because it was a lot to understand,” Ashley said.
In the end, they moved forward and achieved their dream of homeownership after more than six years. But as they honestly point out, owning a home didn’t make the challenges of living in the valley disappear.
Property taxes, utilities, and other costs continue to rise, while local wages don’t always keep pace with the increasing cost of living. “It didn’t fix all our problems,” Ashley said. “In reality, it added a few new ones. But we’re grateful to have a home.”
Looking Forward to More Pathways to Homeownership for Others
For Daniel and Ashley, finding a home meant finally having the opportunity to feel stable and settled in the community they both love. They also hope to see more opportunities for friends and colleagues to do the same in the years ahead.
“We’ve had friends find stable rentals, and that’s important,” Ashley said. “But it’s really nice to find something to own, and that’s not always easy.”
Daniel and Ashley’s story is a reminder that stable housing is more than a roof over your head. It’s about preserving the relationships, organizations, and community leaders that make the Gunnison Valley function and thrive. By creating more pathways to stable housing and homeownership, we help ensure that people who shape our collective experiences have the opportunity to remain part of its future.