Red Mountain Pass...or The Million Dollar Highway Southwest Colorado. No other paved pass in Colorado stands out and is more well known than Red Mountain Pass. I usually take this pass from Ouray over to Durango. My perspective is from traveling the pass going this direction.
Maybe the pass is so well known because of it's reputation for being treacherous. There are 8% grades, very few guardrails and sheer drop offs of several hundred feet. The pass is also known for having rock slides in wet weather. This picture is the view from the first overlook outside of Ouray. Look to the left and in the center of the photo. You can see the road hugging the mountainside. There are no guardrails on this stretch of road.
Occasionally some of the local residents will come out for a visit. This young Bighorn Sheep is perfectly comfortable with the drop off right behind him. He didn't even mind when I stopped to take his picture. Red Mountain Pass tops out at 11,018 feet. The peaks are much higher, but none of them are over 14,000 feet.
Red Mountain Pass gets it's name from three red colored peaks. Oxidized iron gives the mountains their red color. You can see one of the peaks through the trees in this picture. Snow covers most of the color, but the contrast against the white of the snow is amazing. These mountains are rich in minerals and rich in mining history dating back before 1900. This was one of the most profitable mining areas in this part of the state around 1880.
One enterprizing man made his living with skills other than mining. Otto Mears built a road from Ouray to the mining town of Ironton. This was a toll road. He used his skills as an engineer to overcome the difficulties of building a road in such rough terrain. He started the project in 1880 and finished it four years later. In the 1920s Mears Toll Road was incorporated into a larger project to allow automobile travel through this rugged area. The project started in 1920 and was completed in 1924. The project was extensive and this is when the pass got the nickname of The Million Dollar Highway. The road pretty well follows the same path today. As you can see from the picture, the mountain views go on forever, and there are remnants of the mining history throughout the area.
I've lived on Colorado's Western Slope for over 22 years. I love this area and all it has to offer, and I enjoy sharing what I know about my home. As a REALTOR®, I also love to share my expertise in this area as well. If you need any real estate information for Montrose County, or Delta County, Colorado...please give me a call.
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