Scenic Drive To Cottonwood Pass - Chaffee County, Colorado
Cottonwood Pass (elevation 12,126 feet) on the Continental Divide opened for vehicular traffic two days ago. On this sunny Colorado morning,
I enjoyed the scenic drive from Buena Vista to Cottonwood Pass. Below are 13 Colorado snow and mountain scenery photos for your enjoyment! :)
My first photo taken was about one mile uphill from the Denny Creek Trailhead. Plenty of snow remain in the
mountains, as you can see. |
Upward I continued on Chaffee County Road 306. Some maps refer to this as "Cottonwood Pass Road." |
Approaching the final switchbacks with snow surrounding the road. |
Snow surrounds the Cottonwood Pass sign. As notied, this
is located on the Continental Divide,
which divides watersheds of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. |
It has become an continual habit of mine to find beautiful Colorado snow
in the Rocky Mountains ...
and to display them to shock people who live
in hot weather regions like Arizona,
Texas or
Florida. Look at all that snow!
This is a large snow bank created by plow trucks. :) |
Another angle showing this large mass of snow.
Here are other Colorado snow pages during May and June:
Independence Pass,
Waterdog Lakes Trail and
Buena Vista, CO Snow. |
The views of the Rocky Mountains are outstanding at Cottonwood Pass.
This is a shot facing west of the divide, toward Gunnison County.
Traveled west from Cottonwood Pass to eventually reach
Taylor Park Reservoir
and Taylor Canyon, within proximity to Tincup,
Almont, Gunnison and Crested Butte. |
A closer view of the mountains. The three snowy peaks are known
as the Three Apostles. Ice Mountain (alt. 13,951 feet) is the tallest mountain right of center.
Also, Colorado 14er Huron Peak can been seen on the right -
it's pointed peak is positioned to the right of the third apostle.
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The grand shot of the mountains on the Chaffee County side of the divide. |
The last major switchback on the right. |
I have visited Cottonwood Pass so many times that over time
I collected many of my photos and created a website dedicated it:
www.CottonwoodPass.net.
If you love the mountains, whether for hiking,
camping, fishing or
biking,
this region west of Buena Vista, Colorado is a special place. |
I zoomed-in on Jones Mountain (alt. 13,221 feet), the peak on the right.
I climbed this mountain last summer and had the entire summit to myself. :)
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Notice the large snow cornices on the divide.
Definitely be careful and avoid snow cornices if you hike in the area.
Photos by Steve Garufi in Buena Vista, Colorado. Facebook: ColoradoGuy.com Fan Page - Twitter: @SteveGarufi.
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