Snow Scenery - The First Drive Of The Year To Cottonwood Pass (May 17, 2007)
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May 17, 2007 - I noticed very darkish and gray
clouds hovering over the mountains and decided to see if there was snow falling somewhere
up Cottonwood Pass Road. Here was the view of Mt. Princeton as I as driving west. |
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I reached the Cottonwood Pass gate and continued driving. Officially,
Cottonwood Pass is closed but it was definitely passable in my Honda Accord. There were just two small
patches of snow covering the road on the Chaffee County side; I have no idea what conditions
are like on the Gunnison County side.
My hunch is one should be able to make it to
Taylor Park Reservoir fairly easily (at least on May 17),
but proceed with caution.
Cottonwood Pass usually opens for the season in late May, which is not very far off.
Adjacent photos: Heading up towards Cottonwood Pass. |
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At the main gully east of the pass,
I pulled over to snap some shots of the scenery. Check out how tall that snowdrift is! :) |
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It was quite a winter wonderland up there! ;) |
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One final photo before reaching the summit. |
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Two photos of the view looking west on the Gunnison County side. |
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The snowy view east of the pass. |
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Folks, this drive really made my day.
It was my first visit to Cottonwood Pass in 2007!
You can see my other pages from this area during this stretch of Cottonwood Pass being closed here:
Bike Along Cottonwood Pass Road (May 8, 2007)
Snowstorm Pictures (March 29, 2007)
Snow and Snowmobiles (December 30, 2006) |
