Blizzard in Colorado: Bus with 50 skiers stuck on highway overnight

A bus carrying 50 skiers got stuck on a highway Wednesday evening as a snowstorm buried parts of Colorado.

Passengers, mostly retirees or mothers of school-going children, had to wait 16 hours for a bus brought to Vail Ski Resort from skiing on the last day of the season. Colorado Sun.

The skiers who have been riding this bus every winter Wednesday for years don't let it depress them, but are impatient to get out.

“We're in good spirits,” said Mary Wagner, one of the skiers. “But we're tired now.”

The bus returned around 3:30 pm on Wednesday, but 10 minutes after departure, the accidents started. Snow was already falling by the time we had to stop the car as it was standing still.

When the bus attempted to restart, the transmission went into overdrive. A tow truck towed the vehicle a short distance away. So the bus continued its journey till 11.30 pm to change the driver.

About 30 minutes later, east of Idaho Springs, the storm took out all vehicles and the entire highway was shut down. As of Thursday morning, the bus operated by Arrow Stage Lines was still not plying.

“It took 16 hours and we had no sign of any possible movement or departure,” said one of the skiers. “The latrines are full and we have almost no water.”

A lucky few were able to take advantage of the double seats to rest, but most skiers had to make do with a single seat during their interminable wait, albeit with the comfort of a heater.