The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 2 of 12: Ridgway, Telluride
Having been raised in Colorado, we did a lot of camping. As a young child I was part of family camping trips in various spots throughout the state but that all changed when I was twelve. My parents bought a beautiful piece of property in the mountains near the Royal Gorge and after that we never went anywhere else. I cherished my time at “the ranch” but I had still never seen much of Colorado. It was only in 1985 after the ranch had been sold and I had moved out of state and then returned that I really began to explore the beautiful state of Colorado.
Most of our explorations revolved around climbing the fifty-four fourteen thousand foot peaks in the state. Since I was still working it was difficult to get to the farthest ones from the Denver area and as a result I had never been to what may be considered the most beautiful part of the entire state, the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. I knew them well from studying maps, guidebooks and the gorgeous photo coffee table books of David Muench and John Fielder, but I had never been to Ouray, Silverton, Telluride, Lake City or any of the famous mountains I so longed to climb such as Uncompahgre, Wilson, Sunlight, Eolus, Windom and Sneffels. Mount Sneffels above all others was the one I most wanted to climb. The photos I’d seen of the area surrounding that mountain, Yankee Boy Basin, Dallas Divide and the views from the summit made it my number one most sought after climb. So the fact that Bridgit and I would spend the next five days in that vicinity was extremely exciting to me.
I was also really hoping my timing would be perfect. Much of the research I had done pointed to the last week of September as possibly the best time to catch the aspens in their glorious prime, although that time can vary and sometimes the magical period comes a week or two later in early October. Of course the weather forecast is also key to a successful leaf plan. Leading up to our visit the forecast had been great but it slowly deteriorated to a chance of showers almost every afternoon. This is common for Colorado in the summer but I was expecting the weather to stabilize and be a bit more sunny by the end of September. I had no control over the weather so we just planned to run with whatever was given to us.
On Monday, September 26th we drove out of Denver and took 285 through Fairplay to get down to Ridgway. The colors were great driving over Kenosha Pass and it really had me optimistic about our chances for the week. I love the views as you come over Kenosha Pass. A line of big peaks greet you at the summit before dropping down towards Buena Vista. Three of the fourteeners dominate the scene but Mount Princeton is the showstopper. Bridgit and I had been here before a few years ago but once we started east on Hwy 50 we were on ground I barely remembered and Bridgit had never seen.
The peaks above Buena Vista
14,203’ Mt. Princeton
14,275’ Mt. Antero
The drive down to Ridgway was beautiful. We even saw a herd of bighorn sheep near the road along the way. Our reservation for the next five nights was at Ridgway State Park. This is a huge park with three separate campgrounds. We were in the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk campground which is below the dam but we had a nice site with a view southeast towards Owl Creek Pass. After getting situated we drove to the visitor center to buy the required daily passes for the state park. From there we had an even better view of Owl Creek Pass and I could hardly wait to explore that area which was in our itinerary.
I had done a lot of research on where the best spots to see peaks with aspens would be for photography. My list of spots was fairly extensive. Mostly I had the impression that everywhere was great in that region but I came up with a list of certain spots that might provide some iconic shots. This list included Owl Creek Pass, the Million Dollar Highway to Molas Pass, Dallas Divide, the Telluride area and four county roads that headed south towards Mount Sneffels from Highway 62. County Road 5, 7, 9 and the Last Dollar Road were all touted to have wonderful views of the Sneffels Range and plenty of aspens.
Armed with all this information I was ready for an amazing week of photography. The night we arrived we drove down County Road 5. At the five mile mark we came to a great closeup view of Mount Sneffels but the early evening clouds kept it in shadow so it wasn’t great for photos. The next morning was crystal clear. We drove in the dark to what is considered by some to be the premier sunrise spot called Dallas Divide. I had read that there can be hundreds of photographers there on any given morning but we only saw a handful and I had plenty of room to move around. As it got lighter it became apparent that I was definitely too early for the prime aspens, at least at this particular location. As the week progressed, we found that it really depended on where we were. Some spots were still pretty green and others were spectacular with mostly prime yellow leaves. Overall I would say we were too early but we saw tons of great color and I was not disappointed in the least.
The sunrise from Dallas Divide was nice but Mount Sneffels remained in shadow. It seemed like this would be the case all week and I never did get any great light on it, although it was still a beautiful sight in any light! After sunrise we drove a few more miles before turning south on the Last Dollar Road. This was a beautiful dirt road that took us through large stands of colorful aspens as it went up and over the ridge of the Sneffels Range and down into the town of Telluride. Coming over the ridge we got our first great view of two other fourteeners, Wilson Peak and El Diente along with a good view of Lizard Head. I was so familiar with all these peaks yet had never laid eyes on them before. The same held true for the town of Telluride. For us it was a place in a magazine, an extremely picturesque mountain town nestled into a dead end valley surrounded by towering peaks. Granted, over the years it had become a mecca for the rich and famous but it still held its beauty and charm.
The Sneffels Range from Dallas Divide
Sunrise from Dallas Divide
Jeep shot along the Last Dollar Road
First views of Wilson Peak. This is the peak on the Coors cans by the way.
Peakfinder view of the Wilson Peak massif
Classic shot of Wilson Peak with a split rail fence as the foreground. Love those split rail fences!
The aspens seemed to be much better as we approached Telluride. As we descended the back side of the Last Dollar Road we began to pass by several monster mountain homes. I couldn’t even wrap my head around what it must be like to have a full on view of Wilson Peak and Lizard Head from my deck. Wow!
We were excited to finally be driving into Telluride. We walked down one side of the main street and back up the other. It was still pretty early and many of the shops weren’t even open yet. Then we walked to the gondola station. There is no charge to ride the gondola so we took it up and over to the Mountain Village. The aspens looked great on the hillsides and we could see lots of the ski runs. The Mountain Village has mostly hotels surrounding a central square but there were also some eateries and a few shops. The square had individual gondolas so during snow or bad weather you could eat your lunch inside which was a nice touch.
From the highest point of the gondola we had a great view looking down on the town. Across the valley I could see the road leading out of Telluride up towards Imogene Pass. This was a Jeep road I was really hoping to do but it is a pretty scary road, rough, very narrow, steep with quite a bit of exposure and I knew Bridgit wouldn’t have thought it would be “fun” so I scratched it off the list for this trip. Maybe after we do more jeeping she will consider it.
Back down from the gondola we drove to the end of the town. This is where another famous pass comes out. Black Bear Pass is considered by many to be the wickedest of the mountain passes. It is too narrow and the switchbacks are too tight so it is only one way from the top until you are almost down into town. There is a video on YouTube of someone driving down Black Bear Pass where suddenly a Jeep tumbles across the road right on front of his hood and disappears down the mountain. Not a confidence booster.
Telluride. Imogene Pass Road angles up and through the higher valley on the right towards the pass.
Nice color from the gondola
Good lunch spot
Black Bear Pass comes down from the waterfall on the left and switchbacks down into Telluride
It had already been a long day so far so we drove back to our camp and took a well deserved nap. Around dinner time I wanted another crack at Mount Sneffels from County Road 5 so I left on my own to shoot some photos. As I came around the corner from the campground I could see that Sneffels was still in shadows from the afternoon clouds but the area by Owl Creek Pass had great early evening light. We still had plans for Owl Creek Pass but I figured a scouting mission would be beneficial so I turned up the road and drove all the way to Owl Creek Pass. Along the way were several great vantage points. One had a beautiful view of the full length of Cimarron Ridge and another spot called Vista Point had a closeup view of Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain. With the remnants of rain clouds I had wonderful light slipping under the clouds and got some really nice shots that I wouldn’t have another opportunity for on our next visit to Owl Creek Pass.
Cimarron Ridge
Cimarron Ridge
Chimney Rock from Deb’s Meadow
Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain from Vista Point
Last light on Cimarron Ridge
Move on to Part 3 for further adventures out of Ridgway!