During the month of January, Colorado got a lot of snow. Snowfall in the San Juan mountains hit 135 percent of average, totaling over 60 inches on Lizard Head Pass by the end of the month. The snow more or less buried towns like Rico, and avalanches closed mountain passes. And 24 hours a day, snowplow operators were busy making sure as little snow as possible accumulated on roads. In Colorado Department of Transportation Region 5, which covers southwestern and south-central Colorado, plow drivers patrolled about 1,750 miles of highway, or twice that if you count both lanes. Snow plow drivers work 12-hour shifts and work straight through weekends when storms come through. CDOT plow driver and lead maintenance worker Kevin Montgomery had had just two full days off over the past 36 days when KSJD interviewed him. But he was more than happy to let KSJD's Austin Cope join him for 23 miles of his patrol, on Highway 145 just north of Dolores.
