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Mosquito Pass, CO

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Mosquito Pass - 3D Map (Viewed from SSW.) Route Profile - East to West

Mosquito Pass - Sign at East Side Recommended only for adventuresome souls. Mosquito Pass was at one time the only route available from Denver to the mining town of Leadville. (Leadville is ostensibly still the highest community in Colorado). The route over the pass once required multi-horse teams to get people and freight over the 13,000+ foot summit. The current "road" is extremely steep, narrow, and rocky and requires a four wheel drive vehicle with good ground clearance and low range gearing. I was told by two BLM employees we met at the summit that it is currently the highest pass in North America with a navigable road. A wonderfully thrilling account of a nineteenth century wagon trip over Mosquito Pass can be found in the novel Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.

Mosquito Pass - Beginning of Eastern Slope

Mosquito Pass - Mine Halfway Up Eastern Slope

Mosquito Pass - Heading Up East Side Plenty Steep!

Mosquito Pass - Summit

Mosquito Pass - Road to Weather Station on Summit

Mosquito Pass - Western View from Summit

Mosquito Pass - Western Descent

Mosquito Pass - Western Descent

Mosquito Pass - Western Descent Leadville in the Distance

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