Mosquito Pass

And now a taste of history. Mosquito Pass is the highest "road" in North America. Basically all
that means is that for a part of every year you might be able to get your FWD over the main route.
Originally, the main route was a mail route between Leadville and Alma. The trail could only be
traversed at night most of the year via the use of 10 foot long wooden skis. At night the 40 foot
deep snow drifts were frozen over and more stable. The route was also a summer burrow route during
years of lower snowpack or higher temperatures. Once bulldozers were invented they were
used to clear a path on the eastern side for the annual 4th of July burrow race between the
Mosquito base and Leadville. An 18 mile trip.
Some years though the snow and ice are too much for the 2 D8 cats to clear in time.
The Leadville (west) side is another story. The snow doesn't stay on that side long. The slope is a pretty
much a constant 40 degree angle for 4000 feet down (or up) and changes often. Some storms result
in major erosion which alters the pathways dramatically.
It is rarely the same journey twice in a row. Every trek on the Leadville side was a
lesson of how quickly mother nature can rearrange the landscape.
It's only a matter of time though til some developer decides to build houses on it.
So lets go and see what I have put together so far.