The Snow Was Great at Winter Park...and Then Skiers Tried to Get Home

The cold snap and snow Colorado experienced over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend canceled flights, burst pipes and shut down schools in metro Denver. And even though skiers enjoyed plenty of fresh powder at Winter Park, things weren't exactly a picnic when it came time to leave Denver's own mountain resort.

“We've stacked up another NINETEEN INCHES since yesterday morning!” Winter Park Resort posted on Facebook on January 15. “We're excited for the snow but be sure to check COTrip.org if you are traveling today — traction laws and road closures are in place — including Berthoud Pass.”

But even those who heeded that second sentence got stuck in the parking lot that Colorado’s roads became on January 16, as hordes of skiers and snowboarders tried to make it home to Denver.

That was the case for Barbara Macfarlane and Pete Marczyk; it usually takes an hour and twenty minutes to get to their Denver home from Winter Park, the ski area they frequent. Today that drive will take at least five times as long.

The couple drove to Winter Park on January 12 to ski with their son on his birthday, and got stuck there an extra day when Berthoud Pass, which is on U.S. Highway 40 between Winter Park and Denver, closed January 14 after an avalanche buried ten cars. There were no casualties, but cleanup is taking a long time.

“Berthoud is still not open, so all of us who need to get back to Denver are here on the road,” Macfarlane says. She and her family took the recommended detour to Kremmling and then Silverthorne before getting completely stuck in an hours-long jam of other travelers headed for Interstate 70 mid-day on January 16.
According to Elise Thatcher, a communications manager with the Colorado Department of Transportation, the state had crews working around the clock to make Berthoud Pass safe for travel again, pulling resources from everywhere it can. “That closure has continued because of avalanche danger,” Thatcher says. “In other parts of U.S. 40 and other roadways, we have longer chutes, or avalanche paths, above the roadways.”

Progress was difficult not only because of the tricky structure of the chutes, but by the inch of snow falling every hour. As CDOT crews cleared the roads and triggered mini avalanches to clear off the top of the slope, they also had to contend with fresh snowfall.

At first, when people heard that Berthoud Pass was closed, they embraced the chance to stick around and ski more rather than brave the much longer alternate route back to Denver.

“We’re living up to our name this weekend,” Winter Park & Fraser Chamber - Colorado wrote on Facebook. “WINTER Park is expecting heavy snow to redevelop tonight and continue through Monday. …Bundle up, get cozy in our local businesses, and Stay Safe!”
Patrons took the advice to heart, with giant lift lines most of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The weather was also a culprit there, according to Jen Miller, spokesperson for Winter Park. "We had to put several of our upper lifts (Panoramic Express Lift, the Wild Spur Express, the Olympia Express, Sunnyside Express) on hold because of high winds and extreme temperatures," she says. "That meant that fewer lifts were operational to move guests up and around the mountain. Winter Park has received 62 inches of snow since January1, with 47 inches coming in the last seven days. It was a big storm even for us, and it had operational impacts."

It had impacts on the skiers, too. “I've never seen lines like that, and we have been skiing Winter Park for years and years and years,” Macfarlane says. “They were winding their way up the mountain. The snow was good, but it took a lot of patience.”

And patience is required for those who couldn’t stay yet another day and finally succumbed to the drive back to reality today.

“We're all in this together,” Macfarlane says. “Every other car here is built for the mountains, with rocket boxes on the top, skis on the top. I pity any poor local that went out for a case of eggs, and now it's taking them six hours to get home.”

Macfarlane and Marczyk had friends who had to leave Monday, and reported that it took them three hours to get to Kremmling and then another three hours to get to Denver, so they were prepared for a delay. Also, Macfarlane notes, the roads are still icy — so it's not just traffic making progress slow.

And they knew how to get back home, unlike some people they encountered on the slopes who tried to use Google and Apple Maps to find backup routes. “One person was asking her phone for directions,” Macfarlane says. “It sent her up through Wyoming to Laramie.”

The Kremmling route is usually the fallback when Berthoud Pass is closed; Hatcher advises using CO Trip to pick the best alternative.

“What's really important to keep in mind is not to try and use Google Maps or Apple Maps, because if those send you onto a county road or some other roadway that's not a state roadway, there's no guarantee that road is open or that it's safe for travel, especially during a heavy winter storm,” Thatcher says.

This past weekend, there was another alternative: the train. But even those who took the Winter Park Express Train operated by Amtrak had a difficult time getting home yesterday. The January 15 return trip that normally arrives by around 6:30 p.m. didn't pull into Union Station until around 2:30 a.m. the morning of January 16 because of a stuck rail plow — among other catastrophes. (Amtrak has not yet responded to Westword's queries.)

Before the weekend, Winter Park & Fraser Chamber - Colorado took to Facebook to encourage people to take Amtrak to both decrease traffic and reduce the resort’s carbon footprint. The booster group wasn't alone: Governor Jared Polis had ridden the train on its inaugural 2024 journey to Winter Park just two days before, on January 12.

“The Winter Park Express Train is a great service for Coloradans and the millions of visitors who come to Colorado to enjoy our world-class skiing, snowboarding, and winter activities,” he wrote on X. “I encourage everyone to ditch the drive this ski season and ride passenger rail!”

Polis has also been touting the possibility of more passenger rail through Colorado, including up to Steamboat; the feds recently awarded the state funds to explore that route.

In the meantime, the Winter Park Express Train will be making runs to the resort Friday through Sunday through March 31. It also runs on two holidays, the first of which was January 15.

And despite the very delayed return trip on MLK Day, skiers just might want to take their chances on the train next weekend, since the Colorado Avalanche Information Center has extended its warning for the area until 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

“An Avalanche Warning is in effect for the Front Range, Summit County, and northern Sawatch Range,” the agency notes. “Very dangerous avalanche conditions continue after the storm. You can easily trigger avalanches large enough to bury you.”

But as of late Wednesday, January 17, Berthoud Pass is open.

“Our crews have been out doing everything they can to keep the roads open as much as possible, but there are times where the roads need to be closed due to conditions or avalanche danger,” Thatcher says. “We certainly empathize with those who are waiting for roads to reopen.”

This story has been updated to note that Berthoud Pass has reopened and to nclude information from Winter Park's Jen Miller.