That's why my rule is to never ski west of the Eisenhower tunnel on a Sunday. Too many excruciating drives home. If i ski on a Sunday, it's Loveland and leave before 2:00 PM.
Did you buy a lottery ticket?Monday, skied Vail. Got a late start and arrived 10:30. Eighty miles from our place in Evergreen took 1.5 hours. Left around 2:45. Got home in 1.5 hrs. No complaints at all.
Ssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh!That's why my rule is to never ski west of the Eisenhower tunnel on a Sunday. Too many excruciating drives home. If i ski on a Sunday, it's Loveland and leave before 2:00 PM.
There is no "possibly" about it. Front Range skier visits are up. But so are regional visits. I see far more out of state license plates this year, and DIA traffic is down 50%.^^^
Possibly a big shift from people staying at the resorts to people commuting to ski? So even lower capacity actually winds up with more traffic?
Last weekend was the end of President's Day week, a week that many school districts have off. Hence visitation is one of the higher periods of the season. Possibly a lot of out of state visitors heading to the airport.Yesterday was one of the worst Sunday drives home I've seen without weather.
I don't understand how traffic could be so bad with capacity limits at the ski areas due to COVID. Can anyone help me understand?
Yes, it was almost a powder day (2-5 inches). Yes, there is pent-up demand from the crummy start to the season. But shouldn't reducing the number of people at ski areas reduce the traffic?
We usually wait until traffic subsides to hit the road, and it never did (at least in time to get the kids to bed for school). That usually only happens when there are accidents due to weather, and even then, it's not that often. Yesterday was bad.
The line of cars over Loveland Pass was still there when we finally got to the other side of the tunnel at 8 pm!!!!!
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There is no "possibly" about it. Front Range skier visits are up. But so are regional visits. I see far more out of state license plates this year, and DIA traffic is down 50%.
As far as "lower capacity," I don't believe it.
At Vail the parking lots are full, as is the Frontage Road, and the lines for Gondola One have stretched all the way to the Covered Bridge.
And at Loveland, the lots are FULL every weekend and some weekdays!
It sure looks like ski areas are surviving this season just fine.
Agreed.Yep, lot at LL was packed yesterday (Monday) when I arrived at about 10:30 a.m. I was really surprised. The world has changed.
Agreed.
But will it change back?
Snow at LL yesterday was simply sublime, wasn't it? And the weather did not suck
Enquiring minds want to know how you did it.Finally back in the white jacket after 30 lbs. dropped.
Perhaps apply for a position with Disney that comes with a costume?I too would like to get back to how I looked in my avatar (in the yellow sweater).
Enquiring minds want to know how you did it.
I too would like to get back to how I looked in my avatar (in the yellow sweater).
I checked traffic at 3, and I-70 was clear sailing from 40 to Denver. Berthoud was backed up from Empire over the pass. I-70 and Loveland Pass were a mess with cars backed up past A-basin and the tunnel approach past Silverthorne.Little puzzled by @tball's I-70 experience on Sunday. I was at Mary Jane and left around 2. By the time I got to 40, there was a steady line of traffic from WP skiers leaving slightly earlier. By the time I got down to the last hairpin at Berthoud Falls, the traffic was at a near standstill, with speeds ranging from zero to 20 all the way to Empire. Past Empire it cleared up completely, suggesting the Empire 35 mph zone is the choke point, but I-70 was a breeze all the way to the Evergreen exit. Given it was after 3 on a Sunday, I was amazed at how open I-70 was.
I left ABasin around 2:15pm. Drove past LL at 3:45pm (over the pass). Seeing the line of cars from the abasin lift snaking through the mountain at a standstill prior to 2pm left me dumbfounded.
I must have missed a memo somewhere, but what is the story with the westbound toll lane which does not appear to be in use (at least in the very early morning when I'm usually on I-70)?
I think there was a big rush last fall to get it finished, and that the work to get it done caused really big disruptions to I-70 traffic, but it seems as if the fruits of that work aren't being enjoyed by anyone.