I didn’t know it at the time that Winter Storm Vexo would shut down Interstate 70 and cancel most of the flights coming in and out of Denver. Vexo dropped a foot of snow at Denver International Airport and a massive 51-inches total in Pinecliffe, CO.
After getting on my snowshoes and the biggest jacket I could find, I headed out to Idaho Springs to cover the storm with Mike Seidel, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel. Idaho Springs is a small town located in the Foothills about 40 minutes from Denver. The town sits about 2,000-feet higher than Denver and the snowfall is much more intense than what falls in the city. We hit the road on Friday April, 15 in the early afternoon incase the road conditions became more hazardous overnight.
We arrived in Idaho Springs late Friday afternoon and the snow was just starting to fall. We were to be live on air at 5 a.m. MT so that meant a long day and an early call time for the crew.
I awoke early Saturday morning to a foot and a half of snow covering the truck and the parking lot. I started dusting the truck off while the Truck Op cleared his dish off. The 4WD Suburban made getting to our shoot location a breeze.
The next two days consisted of covering different elements of the storm: downed powerlines and trees, road and highway conditions, and of course interviewing the occasional skier or snowboarder. All in all it was a cold, but really great shoot. I love shooting for The Weather Channel!
#CameramanLifeHack – Don’t trust any hotel to have coffee at 3 a.m. Go to Starbucks the night before the shoot and order a black coffee and reheat in the morning in a microwave! If sugar and cream are your thing, just pour that in another cup and store in the mini fridge. #Winning