Crews clear the road in time for hill climb

from the pikes peak international hill climb. but before the race can happen, drivers must pass safety standards. krdo newschannel 13’s angelica lombardi explains. :00 before they are off for the races… each driver must pass an inspection. :07 “we’re checking the cars for safety features. seat belts, fire extinguishers, making sure the cars are up to par.” this year, the road is the biggest safety concern. and you can see why – this is what the summit of pikes peak looked like less than two weeks ago. :21 “usually we have a little rain or hail storms but in a day or two we get it under control. so this has been a challenging year.” david schmit is competiting for his 25th time and says he’s never seen the weather create such challenges. :30 “i grew up here and never seen that much snow this time of year.” :42 “now that the roadway is cleared, the countdown for the race for the international hill climb is on.” “we were able to get most of it plowed. we did plow devils playground for them with a snow blower. about four to five feet in the parking lot.” the next focus – making sure drivers are equipped. “sometimes they don’t even think to look at the safety suits or helmets or gloves, they look at their car. so we look at those and make sure they’re good.” once drivers pass that, they will race their way up to the top. “we should have a good crowd it’s going to be a good race and there’s a lot of excitement building up on it.” “one year i finished second so it’s been up and down but the biggest thing is as long as you get to the top and get a checkered flag you’ve beat the mountain, you don’t want to let the mountain beat you.” in colorado springs, angelica lombardi krdo news channel 13. race day is this sunday. the gateway opens to the public starting at 3 in the morning. you can find a link with the schedule of events leading up to sunday morning’s race on krdo.com. just look under the hot button in the