Andy Colwell, special to the Colorado Sun
Driving on Interstate 70 up to Colorado’s mountains on a winter weekend can be its own kind of hell.
You spend a lot of time in traffic. You might do some screaming. And if you’re especially unlucky, you’re stuck alongside Loveland Ski Area near the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnels watching people ski and snowboard while you pound your fists.
But now you can let someone else experience the boiling rage of I-70 ski traffic: a Colorado Department of Transportation bus driver.
The inaugural run of CDOT’s new Snowstang bus service last month to Colorado ski areas, as experienced by The Colorado Sun, delivered a lot of firsts. In all, 70 people caught rides to or from Loveland, Arapahoe Basin and Steamboat ski resorts. Many were from out of state. Some had never seen snow, or been on skis or snowboards, let alone experienced winter driving.
Sarah Oshana and Mouna Chanhin, both visiting from Illinois, on Friday night bought $25 round trip tickets to Loveland from Denver Union Station, then watched the scenery — and the heavy snow falling — on Saturday morning from the cozy comfort of front-row seats in the motorcoach. Their experience is exactly what CDOT is hoping for.
Read more via The Colorado Sun.
The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported news organization dedicated to covering the people, places and policies that matter in Colorado. Read more, sign up for free newsletters and subscribe at coloradosun.com.