Howdie folks of the midwest. I'm from Los Angeles and will be going to CO for the first for thanksgiving. We will be flying into Denver Wed morning to pick up our rental car to go to aspen. Can some of you local folks give me the best route to take from Denver Int'l airport to aspen? Also, I'll be going back to denver airport from aspen on Sunday (flight is at 5pm) is there traffic that I should worry about? What is a good time to depart from aspen to reach the airport by 4pm? Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

DG Coupe (Nov2002)

 

It will be very nice in Aspen this time of year. At the same time, it can also be very tough driving conditions.

Since your from California, hows your winter driving skills?

To get there from DIA, get to I-70 and head west to Glenwood Springs. Turn south on Hwy 82. That's it -- since Independence Pass is closed, there is no better way to go.

As far as drive time, it depends on the weather... if it's clear and traffic is not heavy it'll take about 3 1/2 hours to cover the 200 miles.

Leave yourself plenty of time on Sunday to get back. You will be competing with skier traffic and Thanksgiving is traditionally the first big weekend for that activity. If it starts to snow and drift, it can take some extra time. How much -- it depends on a lot of factors...

Drive carefully and you'll get there. Of course take along some good cold weather clothing. It's zero today where I'm at and see it's -7 in Aspen right now.

To get the current road conditions in CO, see C-DOT's web page at:

http://www.dot.state.co.us/

Have fun!





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Thank you Selle. I looked up that website, it's quite informative. I've taken a few trips to Mammoth so have some experience driving in the snow. So independence pass is close? That's a bummer coz' I've heard a lot about the great view there and wanted to check it out. But man -7? I hope my calif. **** can survive that temp! haha...

DG Coupe (Nov2002)

 

Yeah, they close that pass every year. Pretty narrow and fairly steep in parts. You'll just have to come out in the summer and try it out.

There will still be plenty of scenery on your trip though... If you get a chance take the ride over to the Maroon Bells area outside of Aspen. Am sure you've seen it in pictures, but it really is pretty to see in person. Glenwood Springs has some nice hotsprings if your into that. Of course your condo or whatever may have that taken care of.

The temps, well when it's cold it's just plain cold. Not quite the bitter midwest type of cold though -- thoughts of growing up in Minne-snow-ta come to mind.

The temps are fickle out here. One day it's zero or below the next it can be 30. Still need some sunscreen if the sun is out while your skiing...

Later...