Due to heavy spring snowfall, the opening of Trail Ridge Road could be delayed in 2008.

(Published on May 13, 2008 - from news reports)

The last few weeks of snowy weather has meant delays and additional costs in the process of clearing the winter snows off of the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The continued snowy forecast is about the last thing that plow drivers on this continent’s highest contiguous road want to hear. The park service’s plow drivers are trying to get Trail Ridge Road open in time for Memorial Day weekend and there is some doubt that it will happen by this nearing deadline.

Trail Ridge Road is the only direct connection between the east and west sides of Rocky Mountain National Park.  This paved road reaches elevations of  12,200’ and without guardrails to keep autos from plunging into the precipitous canyons below, complete snow removal is necessary for auto traffic or bicyclists to have the right of way over this airy motorway. 

Each spring season, the snow blowers work their way toward each other from both sides of the Continental Divide.  As of Friday the 9th of May, they were within 50 feet of making the connection near the top of the divide.

RMNP snowplow operator Arnie Johnson was quoted on May 12th, "We were as far a High Point, which is another 3 miles, just like 3 days ago.  But then the storm on Saturday came in."

Johnson apparently said that Saturday's (May 10th) storm blew in drifts as much as 9 feet deep in spots and that now there are 7 miles of snowdrifts to clear to get back to where they were 3 days ago.  

At the Loch Vale ice area on May 10th, we found new snow from Friday night piled up more than a foot deep with another 4-5 inches added during our time there and today the 13th, there is likely another foot of new snow being added to what has been an excellent spring snow season.

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                                Joanne Helmuth skiing on Trail Ridge Road in March conditions

Snow plow drivers have been clearing Trail Ridge Road for more than 70 years, and they are fully aware that at 12,000 feet above sea level, a spring blizzard or two can set the effort back weeks or more.

As usual, plow drivers say there are more areas where there's not much snow at all (due to the winter winds) and then areas where the drifts seem bigger than normal, also due to the above normal winds we experienced this winter.

RMNP plow driver Johnson said yesterday, "(I) figure if they say 4 to 12 inches in the foothills, we could have drifts anywhere from, you know, outside edge of the road, 3 feet, to as much as 8 feet in the middle of the road.”

When the visibility gets too bad, a serious danger for drivers is that they could drive off the edge of the road, so in poor visibility they have to stop.

If we get less snow in the weeks to come, RMNP visitors should be able to plan for a high-alpine drive over Memorial Day weekend to kick off summer.  Otherwise there could be a bit of a delay which will be a disappointment not only to visitors, but also to the businesses in Estes Park and Granby who rely on the three million yearly tourists to fuel the local economies.   A delay on Trail Ridge road could result in millions of dollars in lost revenue.

In the fall, Trail Ridge Road usually closes the end of October as the first snows of winter close the road to all but snowshoers and skiers who use the snow covered road for their winter access to the high peaks in this part of the park.

Apparently, on the average, it takes about 42 days to plow the road clear of snow. In 1995, it took 55 days to complete this daunting task.  It usually costs about $36,000 to clear Trail Ridge Road.  This could be a more expensive year as a result of this “normal” spring weather.  

RMNP typically receives most of it’s snowpack in the months of March, April, and May and this is also the best time of year for couloir climbing and ski mountaineering as the cold snow of winter transforms into a more stable snowpack that is conducive to climbing and skiing activities.