All Images: Courtesy of CDOT | Location: Loveland Pass, Colorado
While avalanches are common on Loveland Pass, frequently endangering drivers and skiers, a major landslide buried the Pass’s famous U.S. Highway 6 this past weekend. Up to 20 feet of mud and rock came down early Sunday morning, June 15, closing the mountain route indefinitely as Colorado’s peak summer recreation season begins, and, unfortunately for skiers, on Arapahoe Basin Ski Area’s 2025 winter closing day.
The slide occurred at 5:30 AM on Sunday at mile marker 226, in an area known as Scottys Curves, about three miles up from the highway’s interchange with I-70 near Loveland Ski Area. The debris field measured approximately 100 feet wide and 15 to 20 feet deep, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. CDOT reported the area above the highway was saturated by melting snow and continuing precipitation. No injuries have been reported.
The closure forced Arapahoe Basin skiers to take the longer route back to the Front Range through Keystone and back through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels. A-Basin had extended its season beyond the original June 4 closing date, capitalizing on an exceptional snow year.
CDOT began cleanup operations Monday morning with more than seven tandem dump trucks, but crews are working with heightened safety precautions due to the unstable slope above. The cleanup will be conducted in two phases according to a CDOT release: first, removing debris from travel lanes while assessing slope stability; then completing final cleanup before the road can be safely reopened. There is no estimated timeline for when Loveland Pass will reopen. This area partially slid in 2003, but it stabilized on its own shortly afterward with no history of movement over the past 22 years.
The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels, which opened in 1973 as an alternative route over the Continental Divide, now handles more than 37,000 vehicles daily and has set new traffic records annually since 2013. The closure creates challenges for hazardous materials transport, as trucks carrying hazmat are normally prohibited from the Tunnel and must use Loveland Pass instead.
With the pass closed, CDOT is escorting hazmat vehicles through the tunnels at the top of each hour, temporarily halting all other I-70 traffic during these operations, so be prepared for additional summer traffic delays for now.
The timing impacts Colorado’s high-country recreation as peak season approaches. Loveland Pass serves as a critical access point for backcountry adventurers in the area. The closure affects access to popular hiking routes, including the “Loveland Double” approach to Grays and Torreys peaks, which gains more than 6,500 feet of elevation and crosses two 13ers before reaching the 14,000-foot mountain summits.
Of course, the pass is also popular for late-season backcountry skiing, famed for its hitchhike-served access. The closure is certainly comes at a poor time, as June is optimal for late-spring ski mountaineering on peaks such as The Professor, the start of 14er hiking season, and summer recreational access to Summit County and other high-alpine terrain.
CDOT says motorists, hikers, and cyclists are urged to stay clear of the area until cleanup is complete, with current road conditions available at the COtrip website.
Stay tuned as FREESKIER will bring you updates on the scheduled reopening of Loveland Pass this summer.
