10 cars buried, no injuries after avalanche hits Berthoud Pass as storm continues to pound Colorado mountains

An avalanche Sunday morning buried 10 cars on Berthoud Pass, which is west of Denver, but no injuries were reported, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. 

A major winter storm continued to pound the high country with snow and high winds with many highways snowpacked or facing closures because of accidents. 

CDOT said it responded to a “bank slide” on U.S. 40 about 11:20 a.m. Sunday and 10 vehicles were caught in the avalanche. The road is the main route to Winter Park ski area. The road was closed, and other roads in the high country have seen closures through the weekend, including Interstate 70.

On Saturday, U.S. 50 over Monarch Pass was closed for much of the day, and Monarch ski area did not open. Several ski areas have closed lifts over the weekend because of high winds. 

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has avalanche warnings in effect for most of the high country and backcountry travel is discouraged for the next few days. 

Some mountain areas might see up to another foot of snow by Monday evening.

“You can easily trigger avalanches large enough to bury you, and you can expect many of these avalanches to release naturally,” according to CAIC warnings. “The very dangerous avalanche conditions will continue through the end of the day Monday.” 

For those traveling during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, CDOT is encouraging motorists to check ahead and to be prepared for safety closures “sometimes on quick notice.” Avalanche mitigation work is expected on high country highways over the next few days and into this week, officials warned.