VIDEO: Challenging Mount Evans Snow Clearing Effort Continues
(CBS4) - Normally Mount Evans Road in Colorado's high country is open or close to opening at this time of year, but Copter4 captured some video Friday morning that shows how different things are this year. From above, the road that heads to the top of the Colorado 14er was just a little snaking black line in the midst of a sea of white.
Blowing, drifting snow are making things difficult for the Colorado Department of Transportation crews responsible for trying to clear the state's seasonal roadways. Only one mountain pass that normally opens at this time of year is going to be open for Memorial Day weekend motorists. Guanella Pass between Georgetown and Grant opens Friday.
Otherwise, the following roads are mostly still weeks (or more) away from being open:
- State Highway 5 Mount Evans
- State Highway 82 over Independence Pass between Twin Lakes and Aspen. (Scheduled to open in early June.)
- Trail Ridge Road between Estes Park and Grand Lake (Rocky Mountain National Park)
- Kebler Pass in the Crested Butte area (Scheduled to open late May or early June)
- Cottonwood Pass between Buena Vista and Gunnison County. (Scheduled to open Saturday, June 22)
CDOT asks that any driver traveling in Colorado's high country be ready for potentially dangerous driving conditions. A chilly and wet storm is poised to move into Colorado early next week and that could mean more heavy, wet snow for locations above 9,000 feet.
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