We left Telluride around 10am on December 30 to get back to Denver. Ely, the driver, was ahead of us and was going to be leaving about the same time from Montrose. It was a crisp morning, skies were blue and clear. The Dallas Divide was ahead of us – that VERY HIGH ELEVATION that was covered with snow on the trip into Telluride. I knew if we could get over the Dallas Divide (elevation approximate 11,500 feet), everything else would be easy.
We started up the incline and the roads were in great condition. As we made our way to the summit, it was clear – not so much as a snow flake on the roads. Perfect! We moved on through each town – Ridgeway, Montrose, and Grand Junction with no trouble.
Once we merged with Interstate 70 West, that’s when it all started to go crazy. We saw signs on the highway alerting commercial vehicles that “chains are required†at mile marker 180 – The Vail Pass. That was not good news! The pass was still more than 100 miles ahead of us and the weather was clear. That all changed when we got closer to Vail – the weather turned bad, wind speeds increased, and conditions were making it difficult to see. There were accidents happening all around us and the Colorado State Police were around every corner.
We slowly made our way up the Vail pass and about half way up the incline, traffic came to a completely stop – ICY ROADS were everywhere.
And then, out of nowhere, the winds really started picking up blowing the snow everywhere. It made it almost impossible to see and there were times when it was a complete white out – you could see NOTHING a few feet in front of you! The winds were blowing so hard we actually watched cars being blown off the road right in front of us!
We decided to get off the road around 5pm on December 30. We were only a few miles from the Eisenhower Tunnel, the main passage from the west side of the mountain into Denver (elevation 11, 153 feet). We heard that the winds in the jet stream over the mountain were gusting at 125 mph. As we left the interstate, we entered the little town of Silverthorne (elevation 9150 feet). We stopped off at the Burger King to get some food…and the wind just kept blowing harder and harder. Soon, everyone was leaving the interstate seeking shelter – and then the Colorado Dept. of Transportation CLOSED Interstate 70 from the Vail Pass to Georgetown (the east side of the mountain). There was no way we would make it into Denver tonight.
We had already started making calls to area hotels and everything was booked. Soon, more than 4,000 people were stranded in Silverthorne and the Red Cross set up shelters throughout town – churches, schools, recreation centers were all opened to take in travelers. Local stores donated food and water. And we found ourselves sleeping on the floor of the Silverthorne Elementary School for the night. We’ve never found ourselves in an emergency situation that required a shelter but thank God for the Red Cross!
We were sure the interstate would be open on December 31. But, we were wrong. The State Police said that it might be noon. Cars with flashing lights were posted at the ramps onto I-70 to prevent cars from entering.
Noon turned into 1pm then 2pm then 3pm. We managed to get a single hotel room at the Luxury Hotel and Suites (which was anything but – not sure where that name came from) but, at least, it was a bed and hot shower for all of us.
We brought in 2008 with a bottle of Green Apple Sparkling Cider and some muffins! Then we all hit the bed and got some sleep – well before midnight!
HAPPY NEW YEAR – we have it all on video and I hope to get it edited and posted soon!