Plows encounter 8-foot drifts on Colorado mountain road after summer snow

A high-elevation road that traverses the Rocky Mountains in northern Colorado is closed after a rare summer blizzard left ice and deep drifts.

Snowplows were back at work Monday clearing Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, a popular drive that reaches 12,183 feet above sea level.

Plow operators encountered drifts as high as 8 feet near the Gore Range Overlook on Trail Ridge Road.

Park officials said it would reopen once weather and road conditions improve but they didn’t say when that might be.

Wintry weather that extended through the spring and into summer has kept the road closed longer than normal this year.

The highway opened for the first time this season on June 5, about a week later than usual. Park officials closed it Friday after another late-season storm left snow drifts up to 5 feet deep.