The ski area opened Oct. 31. The next day, floodwaters tore through the region, washing out highways, triggering rock and mudslides and isolating communities that have since faced lengthy detours. More than a week later, CDOT is working around the clock to restore access before winter sets in.

Officials said Tuesday they hope to reopen parts of U.S. 160 over Wolf Creek Pass to limited traffic as early as this weekend, using alternating one-lane operations through damaged areas.

"In some places we have 6 to 8 feet of rocks, mud, debris on the highway that crews have been working on getting rid of," said Julie Constan, CDOT's southwest regional transportation director. "Some of those locations are a couple hundred feet long."

Davey Pitcher, CEO of Wolf Creek Ski Area, said the closure has effectively halted operations at the resort, and many of its employees have spent the past several days helping CDOT with recovery work.

"Our focus has been working with CDOT on getting the water off the road. The culvert systems were overwhelmed," Pitcher said.

Pitcher, an equipment operator himself, said seeing the devastation firsthand was shocking. "I went down and took a look and was mortified," he said.

The resort's heavy haul equipment and skilled workforce quickly became part of the recovery effort. Pitcher said crews have used the machinery to remove roughly 20,000 tons of mud that was blocking the road's lanes.

Constan praised the ski area's response, noting that Pitcher "mobilized some of his crews out there to start removing material and debris. It's been a huge effort, but the ski area has definitely been a part of that."

The cleanup remains extensive. Pitcher said crews are still hauling large boulders and rockfall more than a week later.

"We've come up with a ton of rock that's cascaded off the mountain, big giant boulders, and we're constantly loading them on these trucks that are going to priorities that CDOT have," he said.

CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew said progress is being made. She said the Federal Highway Administration's emergency "quick release" funding has already been committed to the project, along with state transportation money, so resources are not a barrier to completing the work.

"Our highest priority right now is to get the temporary repairs in place so that folks across southwest Colorado have full mobility in the winter," Lew said.

Beyond Wolf Creek Pass, officials expect Colorado Highway 151 to reopen before Thanksgiving, restoring another route between Pagosa Springs and Durango. Work is also underway to replace the washed-out bridge over the Piedra River on U.S. 160, where officials currently estimate a temporary bridge could be installed sometime in January.

For Pitcher, the recovery effort is about more than reopening a ski resort and getting his staff of 400 people back on the job; it's about helping the entire region get back on its feet.

"We're hoping to get open and get rolling and build everybody's confidence not only in the ski area, but in the highway systems," he said.

For information on the latest projects and road closures, visit codot.gov/projects.