WINTER PARK, Colo. — Berthoud Pass was closed for hours Tuesday afternoon south of Winter Park due to a snow slide that was blocking the roadway.
U.S. 40 was closed between Henderson Mine Road and Robins Roost from about 1:20 p.m. until just after 5 p.m. Workers with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) were on scene clearing snow from the road.
Drivers stuck on Berthoud Pass tweeted out photos of the traffic backup along U.S. 40, blaming the 65-degree temperatures in the area for triggering the traffic-stopping avalanche.
Matt Moniz was stuck in the traffic, tweeting out pictures of the backup. He said he spotted a drone in the air over the slide.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, there's a considerable threat of avalanches in most mountain areas of the state, especially at mid- and lower-elevation slopes.
Some slopes can produce wet-slab avalanches, when meltwater flows through snowpack and the snow can lose cohesion, CAIC says on its website. Dry avalanches can be triggered on easterly facing slopes.
The Fraser Winter Park Police Department shared a photo of the slide:
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