Mike Roskiewicz rides his bike down Independence Pass while the road remains closed to motor vehicles in Aspen on Friday, May 7, 2021. Roskiewicz rides the pass at least once a week to Lincoln Creek and summits once a year. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Colorado Department of Transportation crews are well on their way to clearing Highway 82 to Independence Pass, which should open on schedule at noon May 27, officials said.
As of the first weekend in May, the road was cleared to Lost Man Campground, which is just below the ghost town of Independence, said Karin Teague, director of the Independence Pass Foundation. Teague was out of town that week and didn’t get a chance to bike the road, though she said she assumed crews had continued to push toward the 12,095-foot summit.
Mike Roskiewicz rides his bike down Independence Pass while the road remains closed to motor vehicles in Aspen on Friday, May 7, 2021. Roskiewicz rides the pass at least once a week to Lincoln Creek and summits once a year. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Colorado Department of Transportation crews are well on their way to clearing Highway 82 to Independence Pass, which should open on schedule at noon May 27, officials said this week.
As of last weekend, the road was cleared to Lost Man Campground, which is just below the ghost town of Independence, said Karin Teague, director of the Independence Pass Foundation. Teague was out of town last week and didn’t get a chance to bike the road, though she said she assumed crews had continued to push toward the 12,095-foot summit.
Mike Roskiewicz rides his bike down Independence Pass while the road remains closed to motor vehicles in Aspen on Friday, May 7, 2021. Roskiewicz rides the pass at least once a week to Lincoln Creek and summits once a year. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Colorado Department of Transportation crews are well on their way to clearing Highway 82 to Independence Pass, which should open on schedule at noon May 27, officials said this week.
As of last weekend, the road was cleared to Lost Man Campground, which is just below the ghost town of Independence, said Karin Teague, director of the Independence Pass Foundation. Teague was out of town last week and didn’t get a chance to bike the road, though she said she assumed crews had continued to push toward the 12,095-foot summit.
Scott Condon/The Aspen Times
The unprecedented use and occasional abuse of the Independence Pass corridor last summer will produce a highly visible result this summer.
The U.S. Forest Service and partners decided after flushing out all the issues to install a permanent bathroom at the Upper Lost Man Trailhead.
The Lost Man Loop hike has always been popular but visits soared in the COVID-19 summer as people from Colorado’s Front Range and other urban areas fled to the mountains to find relief from the pandemic.
“Last year saw more use on the Pass than any year in history, is the bottom line,” Karin Teague, executive director of the nonprofit Independence Pass Foundation, said Tuesday. “The Pass felt the impacts.”