Question for Denverites -- condition of I-70 and Hwy 6?

[johnnash]

We're flying into Denver this Friday night around 7:00 pm, planning to drive to Keystone. We've done this a couple of times before with no real problems, although the last time in early December during moderate snow, the drive to Copper was a bit slow and hairy, but definitely do-able. But I'm now reading forecasts of 5-7 inches for Friday -- not comparable to the 2 recent blizzards, but more than a dusting -- and I'm wondering if we should plan to spend the night in Denver and do the drive to Keystone Sat. morning. This would be unfortunate, since I've paid for the Keystone condo, but it's better than getting stuck!

Any advice from experienced Denver skiers? How good is the Colorado hwy dept at keeping this road clear?

 

[Killclimbz]

John,

Generally CDOT does a great job keeping I70 open and you should be able to drive up after you arrive. That being said, there is a chance it will be a "white knuckle" drive up. Blowing winds can really knock the visibility down, and driving at night when it's snowing sucks anyway.

For what it is worth, the snow really isn't supposed to take off in town until Saturday now. Flurries through Saturday morning is what is forecasted at this time. So you may just dodge the bullet and not have much in the way of weather issues. The mountains are supposed to see more action out of this one than Denver.

 

[TeamSummit]

I agree with Killclimbz, the roads in the mountains are typically much better taken care of than here in Denver. The mountains are supposed to get more snow through the weekend but actually be warmer than Denver so that's great for you! If you have internet access (like a laptop with wi-fi) I would suggest looking at cotrip.org to see any restrictions and look at the cameras. By the time you head up much of the Friday night traffic should have cleared but probably not all.

Have fun, Keystone is one of my favorite mountains here but I'll be coaching at Copper this weekend.