8 mountain passes, 1 Marriott resort, 39.6MPG... rkkwan's CO trip report

Sun 10/11

I started late this day because 1) I got in late the previous night, and 2) roads were reported to be icy in the morning due to freezing fog. So, I took my time to have breakfast at the Courtyard, while serving the web using its free wi-fi throughout the hotel.

The weather turned better, and I'd go south on I-25 to Colorado Springs. Then took US24 west to Cascade for the Pikes Peak Highway. It was foggy from the Colorado Springs (6,000ft) to about 8,000ft; and there was lots of snow and ice on the trees. But it was clear above 8,000ft. Unfortunately, because of high winds, the last 6 miles was closed. I could only drive to Glen Cove at Mile 13, 11,440ft. And probably because of this, I was only charged $5, instead of $10 as posted on their website.

I stopped at the visitor center at Crystal Reservoir (Mile 6, 9,230ft) and then at Glen Cove. Here's a fox I saw at Glen Cove. Apparently, at least one park ranger has been feeding this fox, so it was not afraid of humans. We are not supposed to do that.

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p144493432/e111b52be

Anyways, $5 (or even $10) seems like a good deal, as it's now $23 for single driver on the Mount Washington Auto Road in NH, which I had driven 3 times before.

[The Pikes Peak Highway is 14,110ft; but Mt Evans Scenic Byway is even taller at 14,130ft. Unfortunately, that road, Colorado Hwy 5, has been closed for the season.]

After coming down the mountain, I continued on US24 heading west. It climbed over Ute Pass, 9,165ft and Wilkerson Pass, 9,507ft to reach the South Park basin. US24 then joined US285 and climbed over Trout Creek Pass, 9,346ft before dropping down to the Arkansas River valley at Buena Vista, at 8,000ft. I fueled my car and got some snacks there.

Do you keep a spreadsheet for mountain passes too?

yk - I don't, but I guess I will now...

I was planning to just take US285 north from Buena Vista, but then I saw a sign that says "Cottonwood Pass - OPEN". Hm, I looked at my 2003 Michelin atlas, and it showed an unpaved road. But Cottonwood Pass is 12,126ft, at the Continental Divide; and is even higher than Independence Pass, so I decided to investigate. Turned out this road, Chaffee County Rd 306, is actually paved all the way to the summit, which sat between Mt The other side heading west is unpaved.

There was very little traffic on this road, but I wasn't the only one taking pictures at the summit there. But while very high, this paved road coming up from the east side wasn't particularly difficult. There were some switchbacks, but no steep cliffs or anything. This would be the "highest point" on this trip, as well as my life ever. Previously, the highest elevation I've been to is 11,158ft at the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70.

I came back down the same way to Buena Vista, took US285 north along the Arkansas River to climb to Twin Lakes. Then I took CO Highway 82 west up to Independence Pass, 12,095ft, again on the Continental Divide. This highway has some very dramatic vista - really worth driving. It was getting dark when I got to the top and it started to snow. I hurried to drive back down before the road got too slippery. The westbound side going down to Aspen looked very snowy - I wouldn't want to be driving down that way.

I came back down to US285 and then continued north through the city of Leadville (3rd highest incorporated city in the US), and then climbed through Tennessse Pass, 10,424ft in darkness. This is an easy pass over the Continental Divide, with some truck traffic. So, finally, I got to the Pacific watershed and down to I-70. It was snowing, but the temperature stayed just above freezing, so the road was just wet and not slippery.

Turning east on I-70, it's just a few miles to Vail, which sits at 8,100ft.

So, on this day, I went over 10,000ft 4 times. But first was at Pikes Peak. The three high mountain passes I "collected" were Cottonwood, Independence and Tennessee.

Did the altitude bother you at all, being a flat lander and all? The first time I went up Pikes Peak [before I lived out here] I had such bad altitude sickness - I couldn't wait to get down!

Sounds like you again got lots in, in a short period of time.

Deb

I chose Vail for my overnight spot for 2 reasons. One is that there are plenty of hotels and I can use Priceline there. Second is that it is on I-70, so if there was a freak snowstorm in early October, my chance of being stranded would still be lower than in other locations. Turned out it was very cold and it did snow the day before, but by the time I got there, weather was fine.

I have never bid the "Resort" category on PL before, but decided to give it a try. I can't remember why I put $65 as first bid, as there's few data points on biddingfortravel.com, but I was accepted at the Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa. It is in the Lionshead Village part of Vail. I used the valet park ($21) as the only other option is parking at the Lionshead parking structure and walk 10 minutes.

I showed my Marriott Rewards card again, and perhaps because of this, I was upgraded to a "King Studio". It has a balcony with mountain view, fireplace, kitchenette, separate tub and shower. Very very nice. Big flat panel TV, but there is no HD content available. Wi-fi in room costs $9.95, but I could use the wi-fi in the lobby/restaurant area for free.

The fact is that this is the lowest season at Vail. The summer mountain-biking season was over in September and the Eagle Bahn Gondola was closed. So, very few visitors. In fact, even the Marriott closed down its restaurant early, though I could still get the full menu eating at its bar. I had a nice tomato soup ($7) and fish and chips ($16) there.

Because of the altitude, I felt tired early - same thing when I was at Old Faithful the previous week, which is at around 7,300ft. Vail is 800ft higher still, so I just went to bed early after dinner.

Deb- It did, in a way. I'll write more about it later. But I have learned not to drink alcohol at elevation, as I have gotten pretty sick on the plane, as well as in China (town in Sichuan at about 8,000ft); and even in Jasper, Alberta, which is only about 3,300ft.

And the previous week in Yellowstone, after a whole day in the Grand Tetons and various parts of Yellowstone, I felt tired early and easily. But it was also cold. When I got to my room in the Old Faithful Inn and waiting for my reservations at its Dining Room, I had to take a nap first.

But on this first day up the Colorado Rockies, I didn't really feel much issue, except getting tired a little early. All I did at the highest part was got out of the car and took some pictures. I was out the longest on Pikes Peak, taking lots of pictures of that fox.

Mon 10/12

I was planning to get up early to walk around Vail, or at least the Lionshead Village. But probably because of the altitude, I got up late. So, instead, I went for a swim in the very nice indoor pool (by the spa) at the hotel. They also have a heated outdoor pool, but it was covered.

And then I had a nice asparagus, goat cheese and basil omelette at their restaurant, while serving the web with free wi-fi from the lobby.

I checked out right at 11am, and I would like to get to "collect" as many high mountain passes as possible before getting to my cousin's place in Denver for dinner. So, first up was Vail Pass, 10,662ft on I-70. [Vail Pass is NOT on the Continental Divide.] Unfortunately, I didn't do my homework well enough, as I forgot to hit Shrine Pass (11,089ft) that's just south of Vail Pass. Oh well, next time.

Then I got off I-70 and took CO Hwy 91 south to climb the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass, 11,318ft. This pass is extremely gentle from the north side, and there is the huge molybdenum mine right at the summit. I turned back and came down the same way, and stopped at the Clinton Gulch Dam Reservoir just under the summit for pictures. Saw a bird there, and I caught it in flight with my new Canon 7D:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/p144493432/e2ebac97d

I got back on I-70 East and got off at Silverthorne (~8,750ft) for gas, and then I took US6 East for Loveland Pass, 11,990ft on the Continental Divide. Past Keystone, and just before the summit on the west side is the Arapahoe Basin ski area. Because of the snow it got the previous days, it was already open! The base lodge is 10,780ft and the top of the basin is 13,050ft, one of the highest in the country.

I got off the car a the Loveland summit, and climbed up a slope to take some pictures. So, I am pretty sure I went over 12,000ft again, even though the car did not. My 3rd time, after Cottonwood and Independence.

Because the I-70 Eisenhower Tunnel beneath Loveland Pass is closed to oversized and hazmat trucks, there are quite a bit of truck traffic on US6, and Loveland Pass is the highest mountain pass in the world that's kept open year-round, according to Wiki. Very dramatic sceneries on both sides of the pass too.

After coming down from Loveland Pass, I got on I-70 East again. Between Silver Plume and Georgetown, there's a scenic area on the eastbound lanes of I-70. I stopped there for a great view of the famous Georgetown Loop, a narrow gauge railroad that climbs 640ft between those two towns using switchbacks loops and trestles. And incredibly, there was a train on that tourist railroad right at that moment. Very lucky.

Just past Georgetown, I got off I-70 and took US40 West up Berthoud Pass, 11,307ft on the Continental Divide. This is a really tough climb with several switchbacks. But parts of the roadway were rebuilt only about 10 years ago. Still, an avalanche buried two cars in Jan 2007 and another one also two cars just this past April.

I came down the pass and it was kind of early to hit Denver, so I decided to backtrack and head west on I-70. Went through the Eisenhower Tunnel, 11,158ft at the Continental Divide and then took CO Hwy 9 south from Frisco. Past through the pretty town of Breckenridge and summited the Continental Divide again at Hoosier Pass, 11,542ft. This is a relatively gentle pass, but there's quite a bit of slow traffic. Some drivers were not able to keep up with the 50MPH speed limit and were causing long backups.

Coming down the other side to the South Park basin again, I passed through Alma, the 2nd highest incorporated town in the US. Actually, it should be the highest, as the highest part of Winter Park is only up the ski mountains, and not inhabited.

Finally, I took US285 north towards Denver and went over the last named summit on my trip, the 9,993ft Red Hill Pass. It ran along the South Platte River for a while, and finally dropped back down to the Denver metropolitan.

So, on this Day 2, I hit five high mountain passes - Vail, Fremont, Loveland, Berthoud & Hoosier. And went over 10,000ft another time at Eisenhower Tunnel. For the whole trip, I was over 12,000ft three times (including at Loveland) and 10,000ft ten times - 8 high mountain passes plus Pikes Peak and Eisenhower Tunnel. I was up at 7,900ft or above for about 30 hours.

And that, dear Ray, is what we call "Rocky Mountain HIGH!"



Deb

Okay, you prompted me to look up how many airports I've been to (no I don't have a spreadsheet for that). And I stand at 91 right now.

Tues 10/13

I spent the night at my cousin's place in Denver. Just want to mention that the house is located where Stapleton Airport was. Pretty interesting to see all the airport hotels and even one parking structure still there.

I didn't feel that tired after getting to Denver the previous evening, but I slept till almost 11am (except for getting up to say bye to my cousin's kids at 7:30am). So, all I did was drive to Downtown Denver and walked around and inside the Colorado State House and then headed to the airport. People there weren't that happy that day as the Rockies just lost the playoff series to the Phillies the night before.

For the trip, I drove 686 miles and only put 17.319 gallons of fuel in the Yaris. That's a very remarkable 39.6MPG, considering that I was going up all the mountain passes and I had the accelerator floored almost half the time during the trip. My previous two rentals from Utah - a Nissan Versa and a Chevy HHR - only got about 33-34MPG, even with more freeway travels.

Anyways, that's my crazy tour of the Colorado Rockies. Thanks for reading.

ah, sibling rivalry at it's finest
Deb

thanks for a fun report : )

love the photos. We have a fox occasionally in our back yard and the one in the photos is much healthier looking than ours!

I'm thinking new camera again (never pulled the trigger last time) and may need to pick your brain - your advice was dead on last time. I'll start a thread in the lounge over this weekend maybe.

Love the pic of the fox!

I'll be reading surfmom's thread in the lounge. I'm still using a film SLR and would like to go to a digital SLR, but knowing me it will take a year to get to it.

Well, I broke my altitude record this past weekend, when I drove to top of Mauna Kea on Hawai'i at over 13,700 ft. I will need to go back to Colorado to drive to the top of Mt. Evans and Pikes Peak next time.

Ok, I've never kept track of airports, but do you count the dinky ones that only take little planes? Do you have to fly in or can you drive in and pick someone up or just go for coffee and watch planes land?

Thanks for the rport.

emalloy - I include every airport or airstrip where I fly in or fly out on an airplane. The smallest one is a little airstrip in the Philippines.

Three months after the trip, I finally have the photos processed and uploaded:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/colorado1009

How fun to sign in and see this trip report topped. Loved the pictures of the fox! How cool is that?

As always, thanks for sharing your wonderful photos.

Nice pictures. I have to look up molybdenum.

I wonder why the chairs in the House & Senate had to be covered in plastic? I assume they're not in session when you visited, but are plastic covers necessary?