Winter continued to hammer the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado last week, with 36 inches of snow and 50 mph winds forcing the closure of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. 550 north of Durango, Colo., on Friday and Saturday, the Farmington Daily Times and Durango Herald reported over the weekend.

The Colorado Department of Transportation ordered the shutdown late Friday morning after heavy snow and high winds led to several natural and human-triggered avalanches on the pass, the Herald reported.

Zero visibility on the pass prevented highway crews from performing the necessary avalanche blasting, CDOT spokeswoman Nancy Shanks told the Herald.

"All of this snow is not bonding with the old, crusty layer that is underneath," CDOT Deputy Maintenance Superintendent Kyle Lester said in a news release.

Highway crews expected to have the pass reopened once avalanche crews were able to blast away potential avalanches and when unstable snow was cleared from the highway, according to the Daily Times.

According to the CDOT winter road conditions Web site this morning, the pass has reopened but is said to be icy in spots. 

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