There is a bill in Colorado that will charge a $5 toll at the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70. This tunnel runs right through the Continental Divide and is Denver’s link to various ski towns (Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, etc.). There is a bunch of opposition about it, but I feel that something needs to be done to relieve congestion. Is it a toll? Is it through taxes? I don’t know the best way to take care of this, but I do remember the awesome talk about the monorail a few years back, and that definitely isn’t the solution. Although it would have been cool to be on a monorail that goes like 90 miles per hour up and over the continental divide (which is a ridiculous concept).

I’m a ski bum, so I’ve driven through that tunnel a bunch of times, plus having lived in Vail for a while. My parents moved to Winter Park a few years back and Winter Park is now my new mountain home base.

The good news for me is that Winter Park is not right on I-70 and our exit there comes before the proposed toll area. The bad news for me is also that the Winter Park exit is before the tolls because this will probably add a lot of skier traffic for me. Winter Park is only about 75 miles from Denver, making it one of the closest ski areas – and their season pass cost (this year was $319 or $349) is much less than say, Vail’s ($1600).

I feel if this gets passed, I’ll be spending a lot more Thursday and Sunday nights up there, just to ensure that I’ll have an easier drive back to D-town.