DENVER—Whiteout conditions on icy, snowpacked roads slowed heavy traffic to a crawl on Interstate 70 near the Eisenhower Tunnel, before officials closed the highway in both directions Sunday from Vail to Georgetown.
The American Red Cross said about 860 people were staying at four shelters that it opened in the mountains for stranded travelers, while others were staying at Copper Mountain Resort and Dillon Community Church.
Colorado Department of Transportation officials closed several other highways around the state, with some closures, including the ones on I-70, expected to last through Monday morning.
“We’re getting snow, but right now the biggest problem is the wind,” CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane said. “We’re pretty much down to zero visibility.”
The National Weather Service had forecast gusts of up to 50 mph. Meteorologist Norv Larson said one gust of 65 mph was recorded Sunday afternoon at about 10,500 feet, near Steamboat Springs.
Westbound lanes of I-70, the main route between Denver and many of the state’s major ski resorts, were closed from Vail all the way to Floyd Hill, about 10 miles west of Denver’s outskirts.
P.J. Bailey, 24, left Breckenridge to head home to Denver around 1 p.m., but nearly four hours later, she was no further than Georgetown.
“I was told it would get better, but a mile east of Georgetown, there were whiteout conditions. You couldn’t even see the front of your car,” she said. She pulled onto a shoulder for about 15 minutes but finally decided to head back to Georgetown for the night after watching ambulances drive past.
She was searching for a hotel room Sunday evening. The Super 8 Motel was already sold out.
“You should see this town. There’s people stopped everywhere,” she said.
Hunter Miller left his home in Grand Junction around 10:15 a.m. with tickets for a Denver Nuggets game Sunday night, but got caught in stop-and-go ski traffic and snow around Vail Pass. It took about five hours to go the 52 miles between Vail and Georgetown, he said.
He and his wife decided to spend the night in Georgetown.
“The weather was so bad, and I’d been in the car so long,” said Miller, 25. “I didn’t want to drive any more. I didn’t want to risk it.”
Closures included U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass over the Eisenhower Tunnel until Monday morning.
U.S. 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass and also Berthoud Pass was closed due to poor weather and accidents. The National Weather Service issued a heavy snow warning for the Steamboat Springs area. Steamboat Ski Resort reported 17 inches of fresh snow Sunday.
Snow, ice and accidents also closed Colorado 134 at Gore Pass, Colorado 14 near Walden and U.S. 160 near Walsenburg.
Highways leading to Wyoming were closed for several hours due to adverse weather conditions there before reopening late Sunday.
