Colorado Avalanche January 2007

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Life is full of the unexpected...

Yesterday I was going to go skiing at Mary Jane, a Colorado ski resort. From my front door to the base of Mary Jane it takes about an hour.

Half of the drive is on Interstate 70 and the other on Highway 40 which goes over Berthoud Pass.

Because I have a season pass to Mary Jane I usually leave Evergreen about 9:30 a.m. so I don't get caught in the morning traffic rush.

However, yesterday, some other business came up and I ended up staying home.

That's when I received the first call. A friend from Wyoming called to see if I was okay.

"Did you get caught in the avalanche?"

Then another call. "Were you near the avalanche?"

Here's a news clip from TruthNews.com covering the slide.

"Officials say a huge avalanche in Colorado has buried at least two cars on a busy mountain highway and may have sent others tumbling over the edge of the road.

The avalanche took place on Berthoud Pass, 11,000 feet high, about 60 miles west of Denver.
Reports say there are at least seven survivors and one person has been taken to a hospital. Officials say parts of the highway, U.S. Route 40, are closed while they attempt to rescue other people who were caught in the avalanche.

Some officials say this is the largest Colorado avalanche they have ever seen.

The avalanche comes during Colorado's third huge snowstorm in as many weeks. Forecasters say as much as 20 centimeters of snow are expected to fall on the city of Denver Saturday. The new storm is carrying winds of up to 30 miles an hour. "

I just got home from a trip to Mary Jane today.

We passed over Berthoud Pass at the exact time the avalanche hit the day before. From my Toyota you could easily see the 15 foot high wall of snow that had been cleared in two sections.

It makes you stop say "Thank you"

Thankful...not to have gone up yesterday...thankful that no one got hurt.

It also makes you stop and contemplate the power of Mother Nature.

A 100 foot wide by 15 foot high wall of snow, ice, trees and mountain debris answers to no one.

It goes where it wants to go.

Man can build walls, highways and tunnels...yet Mother Nature has the ultimate say.

On the way home two giant (trust me they were huge) tow trucks were pulling up the vehicles that had been forced off the road.

I shot the picture above with my cell phone as we drove by.

Take a look at the car.

As I said...grateful and humbled.