Oh snow! The Million Dollar Highway

Two days ago it was a great sight to see the big Colorado mountains grow from bumps in the distance to towering snow-capped gems. The drive yesterday took me north from Durango to Grand Junction on the Million Dollar Highway (US 550) right between of the peaks I spotted the day before. There were two high passes, Molas and Red Mountain, each above 9,000 feet. As I left Fort Lewis College after a free lunch (thanks to the admissions office tour guide I met at my motel), I saw some clouds in the distance, but they just looked big and fluffy, not manacing. Going up towards the first pass I was hit with what looked liked a series of refrozen snow flakes, the second snow of the trip, the first while on the road. The road conditions were good so I pressed on. As I gained elevation the sides of the road were buried deeper and deeper in snow, until at the top there was no evidence of spring as the snow was piled several feet.

When I got to the scenic pull off for Molas pass I took the photo opportunity. There were more clouds in the distance that looked lower than the tops of the surrounding peaks; I decided to go on as long as things were safe. I drove down to historic Silverton under continually cloudier skies. On the ride up towards Red Mountain it actually began to snow. Fortunately the ground was warm enough to melt the snow before it could accumulate. Looking at the map, I saw lots of twists and turns ahead, which in better conditions could be amazing. As I got higher the constant freeze and thaw cycle had taken its toll on the road leaving lots of cracks and pock marks. Plus there was also gravel and sand used to clear the snow, so going fast wasn’t an option. As I got to the top of Red Mountain, I could see blue skies in the distance at the exit of the valley.

Pressing on I continued down from the pass on a very twisty section of road going less than the speed limit (can you believe it?). I stopped to take a picture of a snow shelf where avalanches can skip the road and slide into the valley below. After a while the turns opened up and the road straightened out. As I got lower the snow turned to a light rain, which I took to be a good sign. Once I got to the valley below and out of the clouds, it was a regular sunny spring day with cloud covered mountains in the distance.