GoI70

The 2010 Ski Season Begins

In the early part of the week leading up to New Year you can expect good driving conditions from Denver to the Utah border.  A winter storm from the Pacific Northwest will arrive in Colorado high country on Wednesday, leaving 4 to 6 inches of new snow. Roads, which have been dry and clear early this week, may be wet or snow packed on Thursday morning.

Thursday is New Year’s eve and some folks may hit the road to the mountains a day early to catch the new snow. By Friday you can expect ski traffic to pick up in both directions. Traffic volume on I-70 will be heaviest early in the mornings going west from Denver. Coming back, traffic will begin to slow all along the corridor as visitors to the ski resorts call it a day beginning about 2 pm. If you want to avoid slow travel conditions the roads will begin to empty out around 6. If you have an early dinner in the mountains there should be clear sailing into Denver.

Going West to the Mountains

This early in the winter recreation season, weekend traffic is erratic. Good snow equals high traffic volume. New Year’s Day and the following weekend are usually the season’s first high volume ski days. Assuming the storm leaves some new snow, you can expect to spend 30 to 50 minutes longer getting to your destination if you are on I-70 between 7 and 10 am during the three day weekend. If there is a lot of new snow, delays will be longer, they will begin earlier and last later in the day.

East on I-70: Coming Back to Denver

Unless there is a sudden storm or an accident on the road, you can bank on the rule of thumb, “Leave after 6, be home by 8.”  So check our website or mobile app; if the traffic is already building eastbound on I-70, kick back and catch something going on in town. If there is no storm, you can still be home in time to put the kids to bed and catch the news.

At GoI70, we have taken a good hard look at years of highway data in an effort to identify the best travel strategies for getting where you want to go on I-70. At the end of a holiday or weekend of skiing, hiking or sightseeing, you can pretty well count on bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic beginning mid afternoon until 5:30 or 6 pm  After 6, the road rapidly empties out and you can travel at highway speeds on your way home.

Leave after 6 from Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain or Winter Park, most Denver metro travelers will make it home by 8 pm.  If you are coming from Glenwood or points beyond, you can check the weather and make the simple adjustments for the travel time between points. Glenwood is an hour from Vail; Aspen a little over 2 hours, and Grand Junction is 2 ½ hours away.  If you leave Aspen at 4 pm you can be in Denver by 8 and miss the heavy traffic.