VIDEO: March Blizzard 2009: The battle of Monument Hill

ABOARD SNOW PLOW 3891 -- The battle of Monument Hill started at 11:30 a.m. when the first flakes started falling and the first cars started spinning.

Four plows from the Colorado Department of Transportation, armed with 12-foot wide blades and nine tons of sand and salt, made circuits over Interstate 25, fighting their way through the blizzard that was dropping 2 inches an hour.

At noon, plow driver Brad Bauer saw the whiteout hit.

"Now the real fun begins," he said, with one hand on the wheel of his six-wheel drive truck and his other hand on the joy stick controlling the plow.

The goal is to keep the hill open for as long as possible so commerce can weather the storm.

But Mother Nature, out-of-control drivers and chain-reaction crashes make it an uphill battle during the biggest storm in at least six years.

Chains were required for truckers on the hill starting at 1 p.m. The storm's growing intensity reduced visibility at times to 20 feet as the afternoon continued.

Bauer blasted the road with sand and salt, turning the snow into something resembling a chocolate shake.

"Chocolate is good. That's the best stuff to drive in," Bauer said.

Bauer started work at 6 a.m. in anticipation of the storm, readying trucks and loading sand.

Bauer said they'll keep working until the snow stops flying, catching catnaps on a cot at the snowplow garage to keep alert.

"Night shift gets difficult, it's hard to stay awake. The big thing with nights is there's a lot less traffic, it makes our job easier," Bauer said.

Daytime drivers on Thursday followed Bauer's plow like he was leading a parade. Cruising at 35 mph, the plow rumbled and tossed up a whirlwind of powder in its wake.

Communication is key in the snow-plowing business. Bauer's truck is equipped with a computer that tracks the truck's progress, from where its plowed to how much sand has been spread.

Plow drivers chatter on the radio, alerting each other to trouble spots and coordinating their efforts so every inch of highway is covered.

"My guys are pumped up for this," Bauer said. "It's their Superbowl."