Just mentioning the I-70 corridor strikes fear into the hearts of Colorado skiers and riders.
Related: 5 Things Only Denver Skiers Will Understand
It’s a shit show, plain and simple. After moving to Denver for a short stint in 2012, I learned this fact firsthand. Let’s just say the commute from Cap Hill to Mary Jane shouldn’t require sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for over 6 hours.
*So in order to avoid such nightmares, we’ve provided a 6 step program to avoid I-70 traffic. Here you go Frangers…
How To Beat I-70 Traffic In 6 Easy To Follow Steps
1) Pack up the night before
- Pack everything but goggles and boots
Every second counts. So instead of waiting to pack up the car the day of, pack everything except for boots and goggles the night before. This includes setting the coffee timer the night prior and having your iPhone hooked up and ready to rock AC/DC Black In Black the entire way up the hill.
2 )Wake up early AF
- Leave before 630am
No joke, if you leave Denver/Boulder past 630am, you might as well not go skiing. Speaking from experience, leaving at 7am will get you there at 11am– at the earliest. No shit. Ideal departure time is 530am with a 7-730am arrival. Once there, settle down and drink copious amounts of coffee while stretching. Lineup for fist chair typically starts at 730-8am.
3) Right lane FTW!
- Right lane = fast lane
Colorado drivers are some of the worst. Maybe it’s because they’re high on dabs or maybe it’s because they’re surrounded by other bad drivers. Whatever the case, the right lane is the fast lane for some weird reason. Plan accordingly and never use the left lane.
4) Leave before 1pm
- Avoid the jam packed commute
One of the many bummers of skiing off the I-70 corridor is the fact that the ski day ends early due to obscene afternoon traffic back to the Front Range. Unless the snow is good enough to justify the 5 hour, bumper-to-bumper commute back home– leave before 1pm.
5) Buy a Loveland season pass
The best way to beat I-70 traffic is to avoid the Eisenhower Tunnel altogether. With far less people, free parking, 400+ inches of annual snowfall, and an exit that avoids the stop lights on the western side of the tunnel– Loveland Ski Area is an easy choice for Front Range powder hounds. Friends will tell you how stupid you are for not buying an epic pass but they’ll be the stupid ones as they sit waiting for the tunnel to open
6) Live in the mountains
Or you could just quit your day job and move to the mountains…
