An avalanche on Friday night caused the closure of U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass. The snow was cleared off the road by Saturday morning, so it was business as usual for skiers and riders heading for Winter Park. A rockslide in Glenwood Canyon around midnight on Monday morning was far more severe and will take longer to clean up -- to say nothing of road and bridge repairs.
Some 20 boulders ranging from 3 feet to 10 feet in diameter and tons of additional debris fell onto Interstate 70, created eight craters and dips, exposing the highway's underwiring, taking out a bridge and destroying guardails. Both sides of the highway were affected. In 1995, Aspen writer Kathleen Krieger Daily and her two young sons were killed in a Glenwood Canyon slide. Fortunately, at this late hour, none none came down vehicles this time, but drivers were forced to make a 200-mile detour between Glenwood Springs and Denver or elsewhere on the Front Range and will be for weeks.
According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the massive slide occurred on the west side of the Hanging Lake Tunnels, where two bridges cross the Colorado River and Union Pacific Railroad tracks just west of the Shoshone Dam and the Hanging Lake trail parking area. CDOT says an average of 19,800 use Glenwood Canyon on an average day.
Other than traffic to/from Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and points between, the biggest affect will be on skiers heading to or from Aspen from the Front Range. In summer, traffic can use Highway 82 over Independence Pass between Leadville and Aspen, but that road is not plowed out until May, and traffic must use 82 from Glenwood Springs that dead-ends in Aspen in winter. In addition, as slickrock season begins in Moab, cyclists headed to and from Utah will have to adjust their routes.
P.S. On March 9, the Aspen Skiing Company reminded visitors about access options to making the long detour, which both Gray Line Aspen/Snowmass and Colorado Mountain Express are doing. The trip is currently six hours from Eagle (287 miles) and seven and a half hours form Denver (379 miles) -- but at least someone else is doing the driving. It is also possible to fly directly to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, or to Vail/Eagle County, Grand Junction or Montrose/Delta County.
Amtrak's daily service is scheduled to depart Denver’s Union Station to Glenwood Springs (only 45 minutes from Aspen/Snowmass) at 8:05 a.m. and arrive in Glenwood at 1:53 p.m. The return from Glenwood to Denver departs at 12:50 p.m. and arrives in Denver at 7:18 p.m. As a bonus, it's a simply gorgeous ride. Shuttle services, taxi, rental cars and RFTA public bus are options for the 40-mile trip between Glenwood Springs and Aspen/Snowmass. Shuttle services and taxis are from Denver International Airport to Union Station, RTD's SkyRide (Route AF) goes to the nearby Market Street Station. The Amtrak schedule is such that most visitors will be spending a night in Denver before and another after their ski vacation in Aspen/Snowmass.
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