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Independence Pass (Colorado)

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Independence Pass
View across pass from slopes of unnamed peak to the north
Elevation12,095 feet (3,687 m) NAVD 88[1]
Traversed by SH 82
LocationLake / Pitkin counties,
Colorado, USA
RangeSawatch Range
Topo mapUSGS Independence Pass
Independence Pass is located in Colorado
Independence Pass
Independence Pass
Colorado

Independence Pass, originally known as Hunter Pass, elevation 12,095 ft (3,687 m), is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. It is on the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range. The pass is midway between Aspen and Twin Lakes, and on the border between Pitkin and Lake counties.

It is traversed by State Highway 82, making it the highest elevation reached by a paved Colorado state highway on a through road.[Note 1] After Cottonwood Pass to the south, it is the second-highest pass with an improved road in the state, the fourth-highest paved road in the state[2] and the highest paved crossing of the Continental Divide in the U.S.[3] Because of the heavy snowfall at its elevation, it is closed in wintertime,[4] isolating Aspen from direct access from the east during the ski season.

When the pass is open in warmer weather, it is a popular destination in itself. A scenic overlook near the pass allows visitors to take in the alpine tundra environment above tree-line, and offers excellent views of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest peak and the second-highest mountain in the contiguous United States, to the east. Rock climbers have taken advantage of nearby bouldering opportunities, and informal paths lead to nearby mountain summits of even higher elevation. Backcountry skiers make use of the slopes during the late spring and early summer. Since 2011 the pass has been on the route of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.

The pass was formed by glacial action and erosion in the region, and its first recorded sighting was by Zebulon Pike in 1806. Ferdinand Hayden surveyed it in 1873. As part of the Continental Divide, it was the limit of European settlement in the region at the time, with the land beyond reserved for the Ute people. Prospectors who defied governor Frederick Walker Pitkin's order crossed the pass on July 4, 1879, giving its current name and setting up a similarly-named village (now a ghost town) to its west. A toll road was later built across the pass; it was abandoned and neglected after a railroad connection was made to Aspen. A new road replaced it in the 20th century; portions of the old route can still be seen along the western approach.[5] The Independence Pass Foundation, based in Aspen, has been working to repair damage to the pass's environment caused by both roads since 1984.

Geography

At the pass, the main ridge of the Sawatch Range, and thus the Continental Divide, turns from running generally south to more southwesterly. North of the pass slopes rise to an unnamed 13,440-foot (4,100 m) peak a half-mile (1 km) away; a ridge of about the same length connects it to the nearest named summit, 13,711-foot (4,179 m) Twining Peak. To the south the ridge rises more gently around Mountain Boy Gulch to an unnamed 13,198-foot (4,023 m) summit 2 miles (3.2 km) distant; the first named summit in this direction is Grizzly Peak, Colorado's highest thirteener.[6]

A topographic map of the pass showing Highway 82, the Continental Divide and the national forest boundaries in red on a white background with green areas
U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of pass

The terrain is level enough, and the ridge broad enough, to allow for a 500-foot (150 m) parking lot along the south side of Highway 82 at the height of land, which splits it evenly between Pitkin and Lake counties, as well as White River and San Isabel national forests. Boundaries of the former's Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and the latter's Mount Massive Wilderness are near the pass on the south and north respectively; the Hunter–Fryingpan Wilderness is also nearby.[6]

The pass comes roughly in the middle of a 32-mile (51 km) stretch of Highway 82 between the two winter gates, a corridor that is sometimes referred to in its entirety as Independence Pass. Aspen is 19 miles (31 km) to the west, with Twin Lakes 18 miles (29 km) to the east. Beyond Aspen the highway continues down the valley to the mouth of the Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs. East of Twin Lakes Highway 82 continues a short distance to its eastern terminus at U.S. Route 24, 15 miles (24 km) south of Leadville.[7]

On both approaches the dropoff is steep enough for Highway 82 to require a 6% grade and switchbacks: one on the west and three on the east. The former approach uses the narrow valley of the Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado, which rises from Independence Lake west of the pass. Its walls are steeper but shallower than those of the North Fork of Lake Creek, which eventually drains into Twin Lakes Reservoir and the headwaters of the Arkansas River, on the east.[6]

The pass is above tree line, so the surrounding terrain is alpine tundra. Open grassy expanses are occasionally broken by low shrubbery and bare patches of rock, particularly on the steep slope to the north. Snow lingers in some areas year-round. Adjacent to the road and parking area are small ephemeral pools on the southwest, with a larger, permanent one north of the road.

A road going through a mountainous area with no trees. On the left is a small pond. On the right is a parking lot with two buildings. A brown and yellow sign in the distance in the parking lot reads "Indepdendence Pass ... Contintental Divide" while a blue one on the very right says "Scenic Overlook" in white with an arrow pointing to the right
Highway 82 and parking lot

West of the parking area is a small maintenance shed; on the east are toilet facilities. Both are maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. A paved walkway system extends to a pair of overlooks 500 feet (150 m) to the south allowing views in that direction over the Lake Creek valley to Mount Elbert, at 14,433 feet (4,399 m) the highest peak both in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, and La Plata Peak, another fourteener and the state's fifth-highest peak. A wide dirt path continues southward three miles (4.8 km) along the ridge to an unnamed 13,020-foot (3,970 m) summit which offers even more expansive views. Across the road a use path leads 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the summits of the unnamed peak and Twining.[8]

History

Like the surrounding mountains, the pass was created by glaciation and erosion over thousands of years. Before settlers arrived, it was in the territory of the Ute Native American tribe. One of the earliest sightings by a European-American was in 1806, when Zebulon Pike, mapping the southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, spotted the gap in what would later be named the Sawatch Range from the upper Arkansas River valley.[3] It was not until Ferdinand Hayden and his team, who surveyed it in 1873. At the time it was known as Hunter Pass.[5]

Three years later, in 1876, Colorado became a state. At the time settlement had pushed as far west from Denver, the capital, as Leadville. There was a variety of metals and minerals in the surrounding mountains, and some miners had become rich from their claims there. Those who had not heard about reports from prospectors of abundant silver deposits further west, over the Divide.[9]

At the time Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin had ordered all settlers to stay to the east of the Divide, as the state and federal governments had still not made peace with the Utes. Nevertheless, some defied the order, drawn by the prospect of mining fortunes. While they sometimes used Hunter Pass to get to Ashcroft, an early camp on Castle Creek above the Roaring Fork, they preferred to take the southern route over the slightly higher Cottonwood Pass through Taylor Park and then back over Taylor Pass to get there, even though this made for a 100-mile (160 km) journey, 40 miles (64 km) more than the direct route offered by Hunter Pass.[3]

On July 4, 1879, a group from Leadville struck gold in the uppermost Roaring Fork valley below the pass. Four miles (6.4 km) to the west, they established a settlement in the upper Roaring Fork Valley that eventually took the name Independence from the holiday on which it was established. The pass, the lake from which the Roaring Fork rises and another nearby mountain all took that name as well.[9] The Twin Lakes and Roaring Fork Toll Company, established to build a road through to the camps in the lower Roaring Fork Valley, improved the original path over the pass sufficiently enough by 1880 that horses could be used for the trip.[3]

Independence grew quickly when more gold was found in the nearby mountains. Within two years of its settlement permanent buildings had replaced the original tents, and a mining concern from Leadville had bought up all the claims.[9] In two years they produced gold worth $190,000 ($6 million in modern dollars[10]), funding the construction of a stamping mill and sawmill.[11] B. Clark Wheeler, an early investor in mines at Aspen, further down the valley, where silver had been found in even greater abundance than Independence's gold, funded the construction of a stage road to Leadville, the first road to cross the pass.[11] It opened in November 1881, with winter already in full swing at the pass.[3]

Saddle horses were charged 25 cents ($8 in modern dollars[[[Category:Pages with errors in inflation template]] 1]) while two-axle stagecoaches were charged twice that.[8] The tolls, collected at three separate gates, primarily reflected the cost of retaining a large crew of men with snow shovels to keep the road open in wintertime; they were able to keep the road open through its first five winters. When the snow was deep enough, sleighs were used instead. During the summer the stages were able to take the switchbacks at full speed, with dogs running in advance to warn other traffic. A typical voyage over the pass required 10–25 hours and five changes of horses.[12]

Two log cabins with metal roofs in the distance down a rolling slope. The remains of another are partially visible closer to the camera
Some of the remaining buildings of Independence, 2010.

The road added to Independence's economy, since coaches often stopped there on the multi-day journey. However, the year of its construction would turn out to be the settlement's economic peak year. Gold production dropped off after 1884, and the decline in population and Independence's remote location and severe high-altitude winters resulted in it losing its bid to be seat of newly-formed Pitkin County to Aspen, located on a larger plain further down the river and growing much more rapidly due to the Colorado Silver Boom. When a rail connection was made to that city in 1888, the stage road fell into disuse, further diminishing Independence's economy. All but one of the remaining residents decamped en masse to Aspen on improvised cross-country skis during the severe winter of 1899.[11] The holdout, J.R. Williams, remained until 1920. The nearby Williams Mountains were named for him.[5]

By then Aspen, too, had begun to fall on hard times due to Congress repealing the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in response to the Panic of 1893, which took the largest buyer of the city's silver out of the market. Aspen began a period of steady decline known today as "the quiet years" as mines gradually closed down. Although its population had dropped below a thousand by the late 1920s, in 1927 the state replaced the stage road with what eventually became Highway 82.[5] Unlike the stage road, it would be closed during the winter months. While most of the old route was used for the new road, a portion of the original grade remains three miles below the pass on the east side. It includes the foundation of the gatekeeper's house and the remains of the gate.[8]

During the Great Depression, another large public works project involved the pass. The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) oversaw the construction of the Twin Lakes Tunnel, which diverted water from Grizzly Reservoir, on Lincoln Creek, a southern tributary of the Roaring Fork, to Twin Lakes, where it was used for irrigation purposes by beet and watermelon farmers in the Rocky Ford and Ordway areas. Starting in 1935, 50,000 acre-feet (about 61.7 million m³) were made available this way.[13]

A view of mountainous terrain with a forested valley at the bottom rising to bare slopes with snowfields higher up. In the center one peak stands higher than the others.
View of La Plata Peak from the pass

Another WPA effort recognized the pass as a scenic attraction. A travel guidebook for automobile touring produced by the Federal Writers' Project gave as one route the trip along Highway 82 from Twin Lakes. It noted the distinctive landscape of the pass:

The highway rises in a series of loops and curves towards the Continental Divide. Thinning pines, gnarled and stubby from their fight for existence, give way to bare boulders, hardy grasses and the alpine vegetation of a world above the clouds. The road along the sheer face of the mountain, while steep, is one of the safest traversing a pass in Colorado.

A stone monument and several small lakes mark the summit of Independence Pass, the highest and probably the most impressive automobile pass in the state. An arctic meadowland overshadowed only by the topmost notches of the Sawatch Range, it rises far above the peaks that towered high when viewed from the Lake Creek valley.[14]

After World War II, Aspen began to grow and prosper again due to the establishment of a popular ski resort, an annual music festival, and a relaxed lifestyle which attracted many celebrities and corporate executives to the city. Visitors to Aspen generally had to take Highway 82 up from Glenwood Springs or fly in, as few wanted to drive over the unpaved pass road. In 1967 the State Highway Department remedied this by paving the road over the pass. It has since been designated part of Colorado's "Top of the Rockies" scenic byway by the state and federal departments of transportation.[5]

Environment

The alpine biome of the pass extends below it on either side to an elevation of approximately 11,500 feet (3,500 m), or about the altitude of the Linkins Lake trailhead on the western side, Highway 82's uppermost crossing of the Roaring Fork. Below it is a subalpine zone where lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, subalpine fir and aspen dominate the forest. A few patches of those trees persist above that elevation, but they are mostly stunted krummholz.[15]

A grassy yet barren landscape with a small pond in the right foreground and distant ridgeline and mountains in the background
Alpine tundra and pool south of the pass

Tree growth above those patches is curtailed by the alpine climate of the pass. It is characterized by severe changes in temperature, high winds and the deep winter snow that has forced the closure of roads over the pass during that season since 1886. The resulting short growing season is further attenuated by the thin soil.[15]

The most predominant plant species in the alpine zone around the pass are the grass species adapted to the harsh climate. Other alpine flora, such as moss and lichens on the rocks, and wildflowers in season, make appearances. Shrubs that survive among them include strawberry, snowberry, willows and bog birch. Animals in the alpine zone include ptarmigans, small burrowing species like pika, marmots, and pocket gopher, and mountain goats.[15]

Geologically two types of rock are found in the pass and its vicinity. Quartz monzonite forms many of the cliffs, while the crags are biotite gneiss. The glaciation, which dates to as recently as 12,000 years ago, smoothed much of the rock to the point of it being slippery.[16]

Visitor attractions

A small paved area encircled by a guardrail with wooden posts and ropes. People are standing in it looking at high snow-capped mountains in the distance
Scenic overlook with view southeast

Many of those from outside the region who drive through Independence Pass stop at the parking lot and walk the paved path to the scenic overlook. In clear enough weather it offers views east of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest peak at 14,433 feet (4,399 m), and La Plata Peak, the state's fifth-highest at 14,336 feet (4,370 m). To the west more fourteeners—the Maroon Bells, Snowmass Mountain and Capitol Peak—stand out among the mountains.[17] A trail with Braille interpretive plaques is available for visually-impaired visitors.[18]

Other outdoor recreation opportunities exist at and near the pass. The Roaring Fork Valley between it and Difficult Campground, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Aspen, has many popular rock climbing areas, some with grades up to 5.12 under the Yosemite Decimal System.[19] The Grotto Wall across from Lincoln Gulch campground is the most popular. Closer to the pass itself are Instant Karma Cliff and Putterman's Dome. A pair of rocks along either side of Highway 82 on the east approach to the pass have also become a popular bouldering spot.[20]

On the days after the pass reopens in the spring, backcountry skiers often take advantage of the remaining snow on the slopes. They have been attracted by powder that has been described as "nipple-deep". In the years following heavy winters, skiing has been possible into July.[21]

Two shirtless men in dark shorts stand with their backs to the camera. Behind them is a large area with rocky cliffs and deep water. Across it several other people similarly attired are standing
Swimmers at Devil's Punchbowl

Water-based recreation is available near the pass as well, particularly on the Roaring Fork side. At the Grottos climbing cliffs eight miles (14.4 km) to the west, a short trail leads to an area along the river known as the Devil's Punchbowl, with high stone cliffs on either side and waterfalls. It is a popular swimming hole due to its deep and cool waters.[22] The river is popular with anglers casting for trout as well, and some even make the hike from the pass up to Blue Lake for its lake and cutthroat trout stocks.[23]

Four miles (6.4 km) west of the pass is the site of Independence, the village whose establishment on July 4 led to the pass's current name. It is has been a ghost town since the early 20th century. In 1973 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of its buildings were cannibalized for their building supplies, but a few log cabins remain. The Aspen Historical Society, in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service, has established an interpretive trail with plaques.[11]

In 2011 the USA Pro Cycling Challenge bicycle race around Colorado was held for the first time. A 131-mile (211 km) stage from Gunnison to Aspen was routed over both Cottonwood and Independence passes. Spectators were allowed to camp at the pass; the impact on the pass's environment led to a ban on camping within 10 miles (16 km) of it for the following year's event. The Forest Service posted signs reminding spectators at the pass of the fragility of the surrounding tundra[24][25]

Travel advisories and restrictions

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has imposed some restrictions on the use of Highway 82 through the pass. Most significant is the winter closure. The road is typically closed after the first significant winter snowfall, or by November 7 at the latest. CDOT tries to reopen just before Memorial Day weekend in late May, the traditional beginning of summer in the United States, when enough of the accumulated snowpack has melted to make it possible to clear and repair the road.[26] Some years, after light winters, the pass has reopened as early as May 12.[21] Two gates, just east of Aspen on the west end and west of the remaining buildings of the stage stop of Everett on the east, prevent motor vehicles from passage. When the road is closed, Aspen is isolated from the east and Highway 82 up the valley from Glenwood Springs becomes the only vehicular access to the city during its busy ski season.

A sharply curved section of road, viewed from above, in a steeply sloped area with large evergreen trees
Switchback on east approach

Even when the pass is open, not all vehicles may use the road. Oversized and overweight vehicles are prohibited from the pass, as are all vehicles or vehicle combinations longer than 35 feet (11 m) regardless of weight or size. This precludes use of the pass by tractor trailers, buses and recreational vehicles.[26]

Some truck drivers have used the pass despite the prohibition. They are generally either unaware of the restriction and following routes plotted by their GPS devices, or aware of it and willing to risk the fine for the sake of the time and distance saved. This has led to accidents that have forced the closure of the pass. CDOT has put in larger signs advising drivers of the ban and worked with GPS device manufacturers so their software notes the restriction. Fine increases have been suggested as well.[27]

A snow-covered road next to a rocky cliff face on the right with only fog visible on the left. Ahead is a temporary traffic light showing red.
Snow, single-lane sections, and steep dropoffs are among the many hazards encountered on Highway 82 through the pass

Drivers who do use the pass are advised to remain alert due to a variety of other hazards. Both approaches require 6% grades due to the height of the pass, and require navigating hairpin turns with speed limits of 10 mph (15 km/h). On the approach from Aspen in particular, some sections have been narrowed to a single lane 12 feet (4 m) wide with temporary traffic lights due to rockfalls, and these have also forced temporary closures after heavy weather along the Twin Lakes approach. Other vehicles frequently enter the road unexpectedly at the many parking areas for campgrounds and other recreational attractions, and bicyclists make frequent use of Highway 82 as well.[26] Lastly, the weather at the pass can be unpredictable and vary considerably from conditions in either Aspen or Twin Lakes. There may be thunderstorms on otherwise clear days, and snow can occur at any time of the year.[28]

Visitors coming to the pass for outdoor recreation are also advised to take precautions when traveling outside their vehicles. First among them are the effects of the high altitude. At 12,000 feet (3,700 m), there is significantly less oxygen in the air than at sea level or even Aspen or Twin Lakes, so awareness of one's condition and limitations becomes more important. Anyone engaging in any sustained physical exertion should take care to remain adequately hydrated and pack extra clothing to keep warm and dry should the occasion require it. Those venturing outside for any length of time should wear sunscreen and take other steps to protect themselves from sunburn since the thinner air of the mountains and ridges offers less protection than it does lower down.[28]

Independence Pass Foundation

From the days of the stage road avalanches and rockfalls had frequently forced closures of the highway, partly due to the massive disturbance of the land during the road's construction. No attempt was made to remedy this until shortly after the automobile road was built. In the 1930s, as a relief project during the Great Depression, a crew from the Civilian Conservation Corps replanted the slopes around Independence, by then abandoned for two decades.[29]

At that time, Aspen was a faded mining town whose population had dwindled to less than a thousand. Later in the decade the first efforts to develop a ski resort began. They continued after World War II, and in the later decades of the 20th century the city began to grow again. Other than paving the road, CDOT was unable to undertake any significant improvements to the highway corridor due to its projects elsewhere in the state and the requirement to coordinate efforts with the Forest Service, which owns most of the damaged land.[30]

Beginning in 1976, Bob Lewis, an environmental activist in Aspen, organized revegetation efforts on some sections of the pass near the road that had suffered serious erosion problems. He realized eventually that a dedicated nonprofit organization would be a better way to address the many issues that remained. The Independence Pass Foundation (IPF) was established in 1989. Its first project, coordinated with the Forest Service, CDOT and Pitkin County, was the reconstruction of a curve near the popular Weller Lake trailhead.[31]

The success of the Weller Curve project cleared the way for work on the Top Cut, the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) stretch just below the summit on the western side, which includes the most seriously eroded slopes anywhere in the pass corridor. Lewis had always intended to focus the IPF's efforts on it, and the organization began the first of several ongoing projects there in 1996. Work has included the construction of stone retaining walls as well as revegetation, and the results have become evident by the 2010s.[32]

With the success of these projects, IPF has been doing revegetation projects along the road below the Top Cut since 2004. Compost blankets have been applied to large sections of the soil to replace lost nutrients.[32] In 2009 the foundation began removing metal and rebar snow fences that had been embedded in the soil just below the pass summit during the 1960s as part of an abortive project to increase meltwater capture by the Twin Lakes Tunnel. They were an aesthetic blight as well as an environmental problem, and had to be removed using a team of mules and helicopters due to the wilderness area restrictions. The last fence material was removed in 2012.[33]

IPF has undertaken other projects to promote awareness of the work that needs to be done at the pass to protect its distinctive environment. Groups from local schools have spent a day up in the pass working and learning. Many have adopted the same sites and work on them with a new class each year. Along with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, the foundation also cosponsors a "My Independence" all-day walking tour of the pass for adults that covers ecological topics in depth.[34]

Every May since 1994, just before CDOT reopens the pass, the foundation holds its popular Ride for the Pass, a charity bicycle race that serves as a major outreach event and fundraiser. It follows a 9.5-mile (15.3 km) route from the gate east of Aspen to the Independence townsite, climbing 2,500 feet (760 m) in the process. Twice it has been canceled due to poor weather.[35]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Colorado State Highway 5, the highest paved road in North America, is a one-way route to the 14,265-foot (4,348 m) summit of Mount Evans. The Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, part of U.S. Highway 34, reaches a maximum elevation of 12,132 feet (3,698 m).

References

  1. ^ a b "E 159". NGS Data Sheet. National Geodetic Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Department of Commerce. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  2. ^ Magsamen, Kurt (2002). Cycling Colorado's Mountain Passes. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. p. 106. ISBN 9781555912949. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gregory, Lee (1996). Colorado Scenic Guide: Northern Region. Neenah, WI: Big Earth Publishing. p. 148. ISBN 9781555661441. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  4. ^ "Can Lake County afford to wait while they fix the pass?". Colorado Central Magazine. December 1999. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Independence Pass History". Colorado Department of Transportation. June 25, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Colorado – Independence Pass — Chafee, Lake, Pitkin Cos (Map). 1:24,000. USGS 7½-minute quadrangles. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  7. ^ "Independence Pass FAQ". Colorado Department of Transportation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Agnew, Jeremy (2005). Colorado Above Treeline: Scenic Drives, 4WD Trips, And Classic Hikes. Neenah, WI: Big Earth Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 9781565794986. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c Rohrbough, Malcolm J. (2000). Aspen: The History of a Silver-Mining Town, 1879–1893. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0-87081-592-8.
  10. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Independence Ghost Town". Aspen Historical Society. 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  12. ^ Gregory, 150.
  13. ^ Uhbellohde, Carl (2006). A Colorado History. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing. p. 306. ISBN 9780871089427. Retrieved August 26, 2012. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Colorado (1948). Colorado, A Guide to the Highest State. North American Book Dist., LLC. pp. 254–55. ISBN 9780403021581. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  15. ^ a b c "Ecology of Independence Pass". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
  16. ^ Green, Stewart M. (1995). Rock Climbing Colorado. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. p. 308. ISBN 9781560443346. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  17. ^ Green, Stewart (2008). Scenic Driving Colorado (3rd ed.). Globe Pequot Press. p. 173. ISBN 9780762747917. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  18. ^ Pettem, Silvia (1991). Colorado Mountains & Passes: Day Trips in the Rockies. Phoenix, AZ: American Traveler Press. p. 46. ISBN 9781558381179. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  19. ^ Green, Rock Climbing, 309–319.
  20. ^ Toula, Tim (2002). Rock 'n' Road: An Atlas of North American Rock Climbing Areas (2nd ed.). Globe Pequot Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 9780762723065. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  21. ^ a b Urquhart, Janet (May 12, 2012). "Skiing faithful flock to Independence Pass". Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  22. ^ "Independence Pass Frequently Asked Questions". Colorado Department of Transportation. October 27, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  23. ^ Olofson, Jack O. (2000). Colorado Fishing Guide and Atlas. Adler Publishing. p. 206. ISBN 9780930657413. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  24. ^ Urquhart, Janet (August 22, 2012). "Race spectators stake out their spots on Independence Pass". The Aspen Times. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  25. ^ Charles, Amanda (August 30, 2012). "The group who protects Independence Pass". The Aspen Times. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  26. ^ a b c "Independence Pass Travel Information". Colorado Department of Transportation. October 27, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  27. ^ "Independence Pass truckers vex CDOT". The Aspen Times. August 8, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  28. ^ a b "Independence Pass Recreation". Colorado Department of Transportation. October 27, 2011. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  29. ^ Interpretive plaque at Independence Ghost Town site.
  30. ^ "Why Not the Colorado Department of Transportation?". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  31. ^ "History". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  32. ^ a b "Restoring the Top Cut". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  33. ^ "Removing the Snow Fences". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  34. ^ "Educating Schoolchildren & The Community". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  35. ^ "Ride for the Pass". Independence Pass Foundation. 2000–2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
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