On February 15, I-70’s Glenwood Canyon experienced a huge rockslide resulting in a road closure of more than a week for cleanups and repairs. Meanwhile, AHS students, parents, and visitors to Aspen struggled to get in and out of the valley.

During the I-70 closure, AHS teams and individuals had to take long detours to get out of the valley. Sophomore Nordic racer Chelsea Moore and the AVSC Nordic team had to take a seven-hour drive just to get to a race in Minturn.

“I was pretty mad about this because it usually takes us less than two hours to get to Minturn, and this took us nine hours. And because we went through Steamboat to get there, I had to miss an extra day of school so I could get to my race on time,” Moore said.

The AVSC Alpine team and the boys’ hockey team also had to take the alternate route. The ski racers had qualifiers for Junior Olympics in Loveland, and the boys’ hockey team had games in Summit and Vail.

Along with AHS students, some of AHS’s guests coming for state skiing championships had to go on long detours to make it into Aspen.

“I had to go on a five hour detour to get here (Aspen). My mom told me that maybe I just shouldn’t go if it would take so long to get over here, but I told her, ‘It’s States and I’m not going to miss it’,” said Summit High School ski racer Rachel Smith.

Although the canyon is no longer closed, AHS travelers will still need to plan extra time.

“There will still be delays,” said CDOT spokeswomen Amy Ford.

AHS parent and this writer’s father Andy Clauss drove through on the first day the road reopened, it took him three hours to follow the pace car through the canyon.

The Model UN club knew there would be delays on their way to the airport for their New York conference and, therefore, prepped in advance for their long trip to Denver International Airport.

“Our flight takes off at 10:15 in the morning on Monday, but because of the delays we are leaving at two in the afternoon on Sunday,” said Jordan Fox, a Model UN participant.

As of February 28, the road is still not completely open. CDOT reports, “I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is open to traffic 24/7 with a pace car configuration. 10 ft. width restriction will still be in place for this area.”