Colorado Snowpack

Molas pass 07/24/2019

Monarch Crest is now open! Thanks to CCMR, and friends.

https://www.facebook.com/1599273230362999/posts/2174178356205814/


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Anyone know if Mineral creek south of Ouray to Engineer is projected to open this year?

Update on this sad story:

https://durangoherald.com/articles/287810-missing-womans-body-recovered-from-highalpine-waterway

Missing woman’s body recovered from high-alpine waterway

Tessie Strickland went missing June 27 after being swept away by stream

It's open. Just went down Mineral Creek from Engineer Pass yesterday.

How were all the main passes you hit? All I've been reading says gloom and doom. We're still 3 weeks out though...

You should be good to go at this point. Watch out for high water crossings.

Only thing that I know of that is still closed is Black Bear, Poughipsie and CO2 between Silverton and Animas Forks.

I just got back from Taylor Park, had a great time and no problems with snow on Star and Timberline, also no huge stream crossings, just lots of little ones. Some fallen trees added difficulty especially when it got rainy and wet and slick.

Strangely the biggest problem I had was getting across 30 feet of paved road. Timberline cuts across Cottonwood Pass at one point. I just HAPPENED to get there exactly as a work crew was there, and the foreman acted very strangely. He was absolutely adamant that I was not to cross the road to continue the trail on the other side, as the road was "closed." It wasn't because of the blacktop itself, they were driving trucks up and down it, and walking all over it. One of the workers waved me right across, but he comes running over and says "that guy is new he doesn't know anything." He would not give a reason. He says, "how did you get here? Exactly, on the trail. And the only way you're getting out is back up the way you came," and, "if you go down there and try to cross the road I'm going to radio down there and get you written up with a $400 ticket."

So I started heading back and noticed there was a trail paralleling the road down to the actual crossing, I went down there and decided to try my luck since I felt the foreman was exceeding his authority and doubted he would waste his time making good on his strange threat, let alone get a cop to waste his time playing along. So I rode up onto the shoulder and the worker there waved me across, no problem, just as you would expect.


The tattered remnants of an American Flag in the photo above have been replaced with a rather ginormous new flag, pretty cool except it's so high up you can't stand next to it for a photo!



Got waylaid for a while by some fallen trees on Timberline


Overall a great time though

Scared, insecure, little people with an ounce of power, just enough to fu&k up someones day. Just gotta feel sorry for them and get on with life just as you did.

I would have loved to be in that situation. At my age. . .imagine how that would have gone down. Unless that trail had signs on it saying you can't cross the road. . . you have every right to cross. Especially with the new guy watching for construction traffic as you cross. I will never get over the paving of Cottonwood Pass. I have been using that pass for 55 years and now its getting opened up to all kinds of traffic. Taylor Park has been getting busier and busier through those years and it'll be a lot worse the end of this year and next year. There were days when I took my Hodaka all day long around that area and never would see a single person or vehicle. . .

I saw some guys on big 1200 GS's at the Conoco in Telluride who just came over Imogene Pass. They said it wasnt too bad.

That could almost be paraphrased to be the state motto.

Yup. One of the years we were running the Moose Run a contractor shut down the main road into Snyder Creek to install a cattle guard and culvert for the entire summer. He was from Arizona, and no doubt having a wonderful summer in his private forest in the high country. I tried talking with him, but it was futile.

Red Cone is open.


Jones not so much. Wouldn't be surprising if it doesn't open this year.

How is black bear pass looking?

just hit the other direction with a little tempo!!!!!

per bushducks, was still closed 8/6.

we were just over it on big bikes last sunday and it was great! i was real surprised how LITTLE snow was there considering all this snow talk.

A lot melted out in the past 6 weeks.

Anyone have updates on cinnamon pass. I thought there might be some Hinsdale people on this post.