I recently went to Colorado Springs for nine days to oversee an install for work; most of the time I was stuck beneath a mountain in a computer lab, but I did have one adventure that I wanted to tell. The context is that since I was in Colorado over the weekend, I decided to go skiing at where else, but my favorite resort, Breckenridge.
2:40 - I've been skiing for several hours. My legs are tired, but I'm just starting to get into a rhythm, and get out of the "my first time skiing all season" feeling. I decide to do one more run to get practice on the rapidly forming moguls on Peak 8 before returning to Peak 9 to return my rental equipment. At this point I notice that the snow storm has picked up earlier than the predictions from this morning.
3:35 - I make it to my car in the parking lot after taking the bus back.
4:05 - I have driven the 10 miles to get to from Breck to Frisco to merge onto I-70 West. I quickly notice that the traffic is almost at a standstill. Commercial trucks are instructed to pull off to the side to put on chains.
The drive for the next 13 miles to the Eisenhower tunnel was the most difficult of my life.
4:20 - I pass an electronic sign that states the drive to the tunnel is taking 1 hr and 10 min. Traffic started moving at about 5 mph, over a series of climbs up steep grades. Five to six inches of snow has accumulated on the road and no plow has been able to come through due to the intense traffic. I see a pickup truck spin out and begin to slowly fish tail across the three lanes of traffic. In order to maintain momentum, I have to move to the far left and accelerate past him. My basic strategy was to follow in the tracks of the car in front of me to maintain traction and speed. The problem was cars kept fishtailing in front of me, so I had to continually change lanes to avoid getting stuck and hit. Thank God my Ford Taurus had traction control! I ended up in the right lane at one point and another truck spins out in front of me and goes basically off the road. I then had nothing but untracked, messy snow in front of me and my traction control light started going crazy as I began to spin out. I barely managed to make it over to the left lane. At some point I passed a section where two cars were stalled and only one lane was getting through (double tractor trailers had to merge around them). This was apparently one of the major choke points, as I actually started to get some momentum before slowing down again. I probably saw at least 5 cars spin out, 5 cars stalled on my way up the mountain, and one SUV with a guy pushing it from behind!
6:00 - I made it to the tunnel and the last major up hill section!!! The sign was wrong; it took over an hour and a half to get this far. At this point we are starting to move downhill which is a welcome change, and I can barely make out snow plows far ahead of me.
6:30 - I make it to the town of Georgetown. At this point my next crisis arrives; my windshield wiper accumulates enough ice to not actually wipe my windshield and it's beginning to get hard to see. Luckily all I'm focusing on is the headlights in front of me, but I'm getting nervous again. There is nowhere to pull off except for a small shoulder covered in deep snow. So of course I pump up the defrost to 90 degrees and then proceed to drive while reaching out my window and knocking of the ice when the wiper comes close enough (thank God for go-go gadget arms!). I manage to clear enough off to have a partial view.
7:00 - I come to a complete stop outside of Idaho Springs. I think I'm in the clear once we start moving again, but there are two more tough sections remaining. First another steep uphill, although this time traffic is moving at about 30. Again a few cars can't make it and stall or spin out, so it gets interesting but it was piece of cake compared to before. Finally a series of long, ride your brakes, down hill sections, to keep my nerves on edge.
7:45 - I see the sign: one mile to I-470. Finally a new road after almost 4 hours! I start the 26 miles on I-470. I ignore the common courtesy to only pass in the left lane because damn it, the left lane is the one most clear of snow and ice. I'm moving about 40 mph now, but a few SUVs are flying by me on the right.
8:30 - I make it back to Denver and merge onto I-25 S. I contemplate stopping to relieve my steadily numbing driving leg, but decide to push on. The going is relatively easy as there is not much snow falling at this point and the road is pretty clear. I probably average about 50 mph (the normal speed limit is 70).
9:45 - I see the Arby's sign two blocks from my hotel, and decide that man cannot live on trail mix alone. Only the drive-thru is open, so all feeling in my leg is lost.
10:00 - I pull into my hotel with my beef and cheddar and curly fries in hand. I hobble to my hotel room. Total drive time is just over 6 hours. I vow to stay in my hotel room all day Sunday!
