You may not like this answer
1st read rainman's post - it all depends on the weather
2nd -- you may just want to take 285 to highway 9 to breckenridge then 9-70-vail.
Breck to Vail = 30 minutes in good conditions.
From Salida to Breck in good conditions can be done in about 2 hours. Who knows what to add in the winter

The good part about this route is all the ski traffic from Colorado Springs to summit county goes this way the roads are much better than 24. Leadville can seriously suck and Battle Mountain is a scary pass in the winter.

I've ridden that on a motorcycle..only time I've been scared while going fifteen miles an hour...especially going back down on the outside edge..

A few years ago, I took my in-laws up to Evans in my Integra Type-R. My MiL actually peed her pants. She's still pissed about it.