Vasquez Pass

Distance: 6 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,555 ft - 11,734 ft (at the pass)
Elevation Gain: 1,539 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: Off leash

Verdant Vasquez Pass

A trip to Vasquez Pass will fill you will solitude and make you feel like you are worlds away even though you are close to the Front Range. I ended up on this trail totally by accident. I had intended to profile Butler Gulch, which is in the same area but realized I could not take the dogs on Butler Gulch after I arrived. I really hate it when the Forest Service restricts trails. They don't seem to post this on their web site so often I don't find out until I have driven all the way to the trailhead. Fortunately for dog owners, the Continental Divide Trail is not restricted. Butler Gulch is usually crowded and the trail to Vasquez Pass was not, so perhaps I lucked out in the end.

The Henderson Mine

A typical trail segment on the initial switchbacks

This trip starts in a large dirt parking lot across from the Henderson Mine. Directly across from the mine is a small trail marker. The trailhead for Butler Gulch is up the road just a bit. Further up the road is Jones Pass, which I have only done in winter.

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum)

The intersection with the Continental Divide Trail. That one mile to Stanley mountain is way off!

The Henderson Spur trail begins in a series of gentle switchbacks that climb steadily through a Ponderosa and Spruce forest. The mine and its attendant noises are obvious here, but the solitude makes up for it. There were several pleasant water crossings and the higher I went the more often I saw wildflowers.

Getting above treeline. The trail travels the ridge towards the cleft in the distance.

Jacobs Ladder

At 1.56 miles is the intersection with the Continental Divide Trail. Go left and you can hit Vasquez Peak. Go right to Stanley Mountain. Vasquez Pass is to the right.

Looking south

A typical segment above treeline

At 2.0 miles the trees thin and the tundra appears. From this point on the trail weaves up and down along the side of Vasquez Ridge on a narrow trail that does not get much traffic. The views to the south will have you stopping for a while to gaze fondly at the topography.

Looking southwest

Parry's Primrose (Primula parryi)

At 2.6 miles the trail curves sharply right and crosses another small stream. This is the turn off for Vasquez Pass, which lies 0.5 miles up the drainage to the left. On the way up, I bushwhacked across the tundra to the pass, but on the way down found the partial trail that is shown on the map.

Looking back down the trail

Almost to the turnoff

The pass itself if small compared to others (Eccles Pass, Pawnee Pass) but was a pleasant place to lounge. Alpine Sunflowers dotted the grasses and the views to the south were lovely. Last year while hiking Stanley Mountain, I ran into hikers that were planning on bushwhacking down the other side of Vasquez Pass. They had a car waiting. Perhaps I will do that some day as well.

Turning left and beginning to bushwhack up to the pass

Looking back down the gully

Looking back down the gully from a small "false pass" part way up (2.89 miles)

On the left side of the pass is a tall ridge. I had thought about climbing up, but since not a soul knew where I was, I figured it would take weeks for anyone to find me if I slipped and fell on the loose terrain. I'll save that for another day.

On the pass looking north

The ridge I did not climb. Note the Alpine Sunflowers

Directions to the trailhead:

From Denver, take I-70 to Hwy 40 going towards Winter Park. Drive through the town of Empire. At around 7.3 miles from the highway, there will be a sign for the Big Bend Picnic Area. You will want to make a left turn onto a frontage road here. You will know you are in the right spot if Highway 40 curves sharply away to the right in the first hairpin turn it makes going up to Berthoud Pass. Follow the road towards the large Henderson Mine Complex. In front of the mine complex, a dirt road splits off and parallels the main road. Take the dirt road. Park anywhere on the left. A small trail marker (unnamed) is on the right. This is your starting point. If you go too far, you will run into the trailhead for Bulter Gulch.

Jones Pass Snowshoe

Distance: 4 miles round trip
Elevation: 10,478 ft-11,800 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,322 ft
Dogs: Off leash

Jones Pass

You won't find Jones Pass in any snowshoe books, but don't lets its absence deter you. This location near the Winter Park Ski Resort is a keeper. The bowls surrounding the pass are some of the most stunning winter scenery I have ever seen. It certainly rivals Saints John near the Breckenridge Ski Resort and Mayflower Gulch near the slopes of Copper Mountain. The downside of the area is the snowmobiles, which periodically zoom around the bowl and a snow cat service that takes backcountry skiers to the upper reaches of Jones Pass Road.

Starting up the trail from the parking lot. Note the well traversed snow.

The junction between the Jones Pass (to the right) and Bulter Gulch (to the left) trails

The turn off to leave the road. The Forest Service marker is barely visible in the shade.

The noise and exhaust of the machines can be avoided, however, by leaving Jones Pass Road and following a tree shrouded, blue blazed winter trail up a creek drainage. This route also has the advantage of cutting a mile off the journey.

A typical segment in the trees

This is the spot where we avoided the more well traveled trail that went back to the road and instead started breaking trail up the narrow shelf.

The snow cat passed us just as we were exiting the trees and regaining the road.

This route to the Jones Pass area begins at the Butler Gulch trailhead near the Henderson Mine and the Big Bend in Highway 40. 0.26 miles up the road is the split to Jones Pass. This is well marked with a large brown sign. Jones Pass is to the right and Butler Gulch is to the left. 0.66 miles up Jones Pass Road is a small forest service trail marker between two boulders. This is your sign to head off trail and into the woods.

Our first view upon exiting the trees and climbing up the switchbacks

We decided to head towards the pass in the distance. This location is on the north side of the Jones Pass Bowl.

A little farther along. We walked in the tracks of snowmobiles to make the going a little easier. This area is steeper than it looks. Our destination is the clump of trees on the left.

On this trip it was easy to follow the trail that others had made, but after a fresh snow, it would be relatively easy to get lost in the drainage. If you are uncomfortable route finding, stick to the road. It is longer but it will get you to your destination.

Two of us have reached the trees and got to watch the others arrive.

Shortly after the turn off into the woods, we ran into a fork in the trail. We took the right fork, which headed up hill. This happened once again in the trees. Staying right and heading upwards is your best guide to staying on route.

A close up of the mountains beyond

If you examine a National Geographic topographic map of the area, this route through the trees is following a creek drainage that cuts off a large switchback on Jones Pass Road. The route exits the drainage and regains the road just at the midline of two tight switchbacks. This is marked clearly on the map and is the spot where the words "Jones Pass" are written.

Wind sculpted snow and dwarf trees reveal much about the usual conditions of the area.

If you ever get tired of being in the trees and breaking trail, there are numerous places where people have regained the road, which is always up and to the right of the route. At one point this confused us because the tracks headed back to the road while the shelf we were walking on headed upwards still. This zone was quaint and narrow and we could glimpse mountains through the trees. We decided to take this route even though it meant breaking trail. This turned out to be a great choice.

Ginger is dwarfed by the scale of the scenery.

This part of the route followed a narrow shelf that switchbacked very steeply (at times up to a 30% grade) to our final exit point at 11,320 ft. Periodically, we saw blue blazes on the trees, so our choice happened to be the correct one. We exited the trees at 1.6 miles and regained the road. 0.15 miles beyond this point are "oh shit" views that had us once again acclaiming how much we love Colorado.

There is no way my camera can capture the scale of the area.

After climbing straight up the midline of the switchbacks I mentioned earlier, we had to choose between following the road towards Jones Pass or heading off into the right hand side of the bowl. We could see that the Pass itself was another 1.5 miles or so to the left. It was covered by a thick cornice. There was no way to reach it without significant risk.

Another shot looking back down the bowl.

The bowl to the right is bordered by a rocky 12,000 ft ridge that dips down into a small pass. Our initial thought was to head for this pass. We ended up stopping 0nly 0.3 miles beyond the road however. After a sharp 480 ft of elevation gain, we realized we would not make the far pass in the time we had left. Instead, we settled next to a clump of wind blown trees (at 12,800 ft) and ate lunch.

The shadows, sun spots, and glistening snow were irresistible.

The wind sculpted snow, the shadows playing off of the cornices, and the dramatic cirrus clouds created a picture perfect winter tableau for our peanut butter sandwiches. Who cares about a few snowmobiles with such a panorama? All was picture perfect until several snowmobiles decided to race up the side of the wall behind us, all the way to the top.

The clouds on this trip were as interesting as the scenery they complimented.

We all started chattering like hens, wondering where the avalanche we were sure would follow would hit. Would it stay in the middle of the bowl or come roaring up and over the berm we were resting on like a wave crashing over a rock. Earlier in the day we had heard them using explosives on Loveland Pass, and in my research today I found that skiers had set off slides near Berthoud Pass to our North and Loveland Pass to our south. It seems exceptionally foolhardy to highmark a snowmobile on such a steep ridge (800 ft) when the danger is so high.

As we headed back down, the rock formation we could see in the distance from the bowl is much closer now and just starting to get bathed in the evening light. This formation sits right above the Henderson Mine.

Alas, we lived to tell the tale and gleefully strode back down the mountain away from the setting sun. Jones Pass is now a favorite that I will return to again and again. I want to thank Suzanne who invited me on this trip and showed me this stunning area.