A powerful winter storm moved across the Colorado high country Monday, stranding students, travelers and skiers overnight in blizzard conditions along Interstate 70.
Disaster volunteers from the American Red Cross set up shelters to serve motorists in Silverthorne west of the Eisenhower Tunnel and in Empire on the east side. A third shelter was at Frisco Middle School for stranded students.
More than 100 people had taken refuge at the Silverthorne Recreation Center after I-70 was shut down by a number of accidents, and then a Greyhound bus pulled up with dozens more.
Silverthorne Police Chief Joe Russell, who also was stuck at the recreation center unable to get to his home in Eagle, advised people they could be stuck there all night.
“Get used to it; it’s going to be a great night,” Russell said, alluding to the fact that the roads were hazardous and that people were better off inside. “For right now, this is a great place to be.”
John and JoAnn Kubik had been gambling in Black Hawk when they saw the snow building up and decided to hightail it to their home in Glenwood Springs. They made it through the Eisenhower Tunnel but then were diverted off the interstate in Silverthorne.
“I had to leave a hot (slot) machine,” John Kubik said. “If I stayed with the machine, I knew I was going to be there all night.”
The Kubiks are retirees who’ve lived in Colorado for decades.
“We’ve never encountered wind and snow like that,” JoAnn Kubik said.
The interstate was closed for 70 miles. Semi trucks were bumper-to-bumper on I-70 in the Silverthorne area, some of them jack-knifed or spun out, said Rod Mead of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Traffic Operations Bureau.
I-70 was closed in both directions from Vail to Idaho Springs at 3:35 p.m., and the closure was extended on the east side to Floyd Hill at 4:20 p.m. Berthoud Pass on U.S. 40 was closed at 3:30 p.m. because of a snowslide, he said.
U.S. 40 and parts of I-70 were expected to remain closed until early this morning, when crews can check avalanche danger areas, highway officials said.
Mead said three things needed to happen before the interstate could be reopened.
“No. 1, we need Mother Nature to clear things up; No. 2, we need to clean out the vehicles that are stuck out there; and No. 3, once we clear out that traffic, we’re going to have to run the entire area with plows,” he said.
The storm was a welcome sight for ski-area operators.
“It has been dumping and a whiteout up here all day,” said Loveland Ski Area marketing director John Sellers. “We were definitely busier than usual for a Monday. And once the snow starts falling in Denver, it will convert those last few remaining people who were still holding on to summer activities.”
As of late Monday afternoon, Loveland Ski Area had more than 32 inches of snow in 72 hours, Copper Mountain saw upward of 38 inches, and Breckenridge saw 36 inches.
“Today really pushed us over the edge” in terms of snow conditions, said Copper Mountain spokesman Carlos Garcia. “There were definitely people up here playing hooky from work.”
At Breckenridge, Corry Mihm, executive director of the Breckenridge Resort Chamber, said: “We’re hopeful this storm will jump-start our season. It’s great to see this kind of snow in November.”
Winter Park and Mary Jane plan to open for skiing Wednesday, said Winter Park’s Darcy Morse.
“We can blow snow, and Mother Nature has offered her help,” Morse said. “I think it’s going to be great.”
The slopes have received about 29 inches of snow since Saturday, Morse said.
Vail opens Friday.
Denver-area residents can expect less than a half-inch of snow on the ground by breakfast, according to the National Weather Service.
Staff writer Julie Dunn contributed to this report.
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com.
