A-Basin Skiers Got A Bad Black Friday Deal After A Rock Slide Closed I-70

Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
The view looking into Montezuma Bowl at Arapahoe Basin.

Multiple closures along I-70 on Friday made driving through the mountains even more difficult last week.

And Leigh Hierholzer, a spokesperson for Arapahoe Basin, said fewer drivers on the roads meant fewer skiers on their slopes the day after Thanksgiving.

Over the holiday weekend, a rock slide closed westbound lanes near Floyd Hill for several hours on Friday.

“We did not see as much business as we had hoped to see because people from the Front Range weren’t able to get up to the ski area,” Hierholzer said.

But by Saturday, the closure was lifted and business was back to normal.

“We definitely saw more traffic over the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, because they were able to make it up,” she said.

Hierholzer did not provide specific numbers.

Drivers traveling westbound between Beaver Brook and Dumont were turned back Friday. CDOT urged drivers to instead use Highway 285, which also saw significant delays at that time.