Red Mountain Pass was closed for less than an hour Monday afternoon after an avalanche covered U.S. Highway 550.

“It was small potatoes for an avalanche,” Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nancy Shanks said. “It was about 2½ feet deep on the center line and about 30 feet wide.”

The avalanche took place at mile marker 85, north of the pass’ summit, and several miles south of the rockslide that closed the pass for about a month beginning Jan. 12.

“They did some avalanche control Friday, but there’s only so much they can get,” Shanks said. “It’s so warm during the day, but then gets cold again late afternoon, which is when stuff starts moving. People just need to be careful.”

Monday’s slide was complicated by a driver who overestimated the capabilities of his four-wheel drive vehicle, Shanks said.

“People need to understand that an avalanche on the road is something hazardous,” she said. “He decided to drive through, and the guys had to plow out behind him so he could get out.”

abutler@durangoherald.com