I-70 Avalanche Jan 10, 2017

[Pat Donnelly]

VAIL — Westbound Interstate 70 at Vail Pass has reopened as of 12:35 p.m. Tuesday following an avalanche early this morning.

Eastbound lanes remain closed.

The closure began at 3:20 a.m. Tuesday. Three semis were caught in the slide but no injuries are reported. A photo from the Colorado State Patrol shows a semi truck with its cab partially buried.

The slide occurred in the area known as The Narrows, four miles west of the summit. Crews are on scene trying to clear the roadway.

Crews were reporting 4 feet on snow on the roadway in some areas with as much as 15 feet of snow on the road in other areas. The slide primarily covered the westbound lanes but made it into the eastbound lanes as well, CDOT spokeswoman Tracy Trulove said.

The closure begins eastbound at the main Vail exit and westbound at Copper Mountain.

I-70 is also closed in both directions between Georgetown and Silverthorne as of 10:40 a.m.

Prior to the avalanche, Vail Pass was closed on and off in both directions starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday as a winter storm pounded the area.

[JRAZZ]

 

nuff said

[Dusty Bottle]

One of the semis caught in the avalanche was a friend!  He said he could hear it coming!  Then it hit!    Said it took hours to get out!

[big mario]

I 70 closed at g-town due to avy's,  sounds like hermans gulch slid onto the highway, its gonna be a bit before 9 opens with all of the mitigation they are going to have to do.

[lordmetroland]

45 minutes ago, big mario said:

its gonna be a bit before 9 opens with all of the mitigation they are going to have to do.

Had that same thought, with all that wind, piles must be pillowing up under the ridge. It's one of the cruel ironies of life that the most tempting things are often the most dangerous. 

[Pat Donnelly]

 

Avalanche danger is stretching CDOT thin as up

to 2 more feet of snow heads for Colorado’s mountains

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/10/avalanche-danger-cdot-snow-traffic-colorado-mountains/

 

Edited January 11, 2017 by Pat Donnelly

[JRAZZ]

I finally made it back home after almost 4 hours of driving.

Rt 40 was closed until 6PM.  125 to the north was closed as was Rabbit Ears and Camron Pass.  Had to drive to Silverthorne via Kremmling.  Not complaining tho, BP closed about 20 minutes after I passed it in the morning.  The mountain was virtually empty and packed with pow.    Totally epic day.