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Drivers make unplanned stops at hotels in Colorado's mountains due to troubles on Interstate 70 during snowstorm

Colorado's mountain communities digging out after big snowfall
Colorado's mountain communities digging out after big snowfall 02:55

Colder weather moved into Colorado over the weekend, and Summit County was treated to a big blanket of powder on Sunday. That led to a few closures on Interstate 70 in the high country as conditions went from dry to wet to slippery to dangerous.  

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CBS

Phil and Jennifer Goodrich, who were heading to Wyoming, noticed there was an issue on Vail Pass, having gotten a headstart.

"We left before it started snowing and by the time we hit Vail you could see it coming in, and it was almost immediate, trucks jackknifing, barely made it this far," Goodrich said.  

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CBS

The pair decided Frisco was as far as they would risk it, pulling over to stay in a hotel for the night and wait out the closures and issues with drivers on the road, some of them not fully prepared for the winter driving conditions yet.

Jose, another driver who stayed overnight to wait out the storm, said he's been meaning to get his snow tires on, but it just hasn't happened yet.

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CBS

"I have two, I still need to buy the other two to put on," Jose admitted, noting the conditions he was in Sunday. "Very bad, very slippery, yeah a lot of cars get stuck on the side of the road."

It's one of the first big snowstorms for the central mountains, so it's about that time if you haven't gotten your car winter ready, snow is back on the menu for the mountain passes.

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