Rocky Mountain National Park’s Trail Ridge Road back open

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. – The high-elevation road through Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park is back open after a rare summer blizzard left ice and deep snowdrifts.

Trail Ridge Road opened Tuesday after plows were able to clear drifts up to 8 feet (2.4 metres) deep.

The popular highway, which reaches 12,183 feet (3,713 metres) above sea level, had been closed since Friday.

Wintry weather that lasted 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 brought deep snow, high winds and below-freezing temperatures.