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Avalanche closes major highway in Colorado mountains

Wind-whipped snow and avalanche danger closed the main highway through the Colorado mountains, stranding thousands of travelers as they headed to New Year's Eve celebrations.

Portions of a 97km stretch of Interstate 70 -- the main route between Denver and some of the state's biggest ski resorts -- were shut down in both directions from around 5pm on Sunday until about 4pm on Monday.

The long delay had some travelers contemplating the prospect of welcoming the new year on a cot in a shelter. More than 2,000 spent Sunday night in shelters, but the Red Cross closed all its shelters on Monday after traffic started moving.

Doyle Peterson told Denver's KUSA-TV that it took him two to three hours to drive home to Denver once the highway was opened.

"I was thinking I was going to have to spend New Year's Eve in my pickup truck," Peterson said. "I just opened up a beer in celebration and said `Yeah, finally I get a warm shower.'"

Liquor stores did a brisk business after the highway shut down.

"We've definitely seen a rush," said John Will of Antler's Discount Liquor in Frisco. "People are coming in complaining that they are stuck" or caught in slow-moving traffic.

High winds piled deep snow into more than two dozen narrow ravines in the mountainsides -- known as avalanche chutes -- raising the danger of deadly avalanches cascading onto I-70. Blowing snow reduced visibility to nearly zero.

Authorities cleared out that snow before letting traffic through again.

Wind gusts at the Eisenhower Tunnel, where the interstate passes under the Continental Divide at 3,352m above sea level, reached 112kph.

The section of the highway that was closed carries as many as 39,000 cars on Sundays during this time of year, officials said.

I-70 is the main route between Denver and many of the state's major ski resorts. The closing of the road could hurt ski business during the lucrative holiday season.

In Utah, an avalanche at a trailhead on Monday swept away a man whose snowmobile had broken down, authorities said.

"Two people went to help, and my understanding is the slide triggered 400 yards [366m] above them," said Lieutenant Jeff Winterton of Wasatch County Search and Rescue. "The other two were able to swim out of it."

Rescuers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the man before he was airlifted to a hospital in Provo, Winterton said. His identity and his condition were not immediately released.

Authorities had warned of the danger of avalanches in Utah's backcountry, where thousands of people were expected to ski, hike and snowmobile on New Year's Day. Avalanches there have already claimed two lives this season.
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