Facing Oncoming Traffic on Colorado’s Mosquito Pass Narrow Shelf Road

Thank you for the tour. My great-great-Grandfather co-owned a mine right next to the Orphan Boy mine in Mosquito Pass near Alma and his son was a Judge in Leadville.

A lot of you wouldn't believe it if I told you my buddy and I drove this pass in a 1980 Volkswagon Scirocco, but we did. Those cars are pretty exceptional.

Well done video - I very much appreciate the tour! I appreciate your commentary and also I liked the long stretches of silence - was like being out there and good to hear the engine.

Awesome video! 1976 my dad took us over that pass in a 2 wheel drive ford pickup loaded with mobile home skirting to do a job in Leadville. I had heard it was paved today. Obviously Not.😅

I was SHOCKED when I saw the words "going DOWN to Leadville!"

Thanks for sharing. I hadn't been on that trail since I was about 4 yrs old in my grandpa's '65 CJ5. He was shocked to see a VW bus at the top. I collected a handful of iron pyrite and he let me believe I was rich! 😄

Some people don't know the rules of the road! Vehicle going uphill has the right of way just like you pulled over on your way down. 👍

Enjoyed your windshield tour of Mosquito Pass! As a flatlander, the first thing I learned driving some of these Colorado offroad passes is do not try to sight see and drive at the same time. Thanks for all the great scenery!

Best Mosquito Pass vid I’ve seen. 👏

Great video! Thank you for not adding music!

I finally got a chance to finish watching this video. Great job Geoff! I agree with Earle on that one guy not yielding to up hill traffic. I love our High Country Colorado trails above timberline!

During the summer of 1977 I lived in Alma. One day a group of us went to ski a snow field near the London mine, part way up the pass. While there, among the string of jeeps, down came a hippie in a VW bug. I also owned a VW, and I asked if he had crossed the pass. ""Oh yeah, and you can do it too' he said. So,, a couple of weeks later, I decided to try it myself . One of my old roommates from CSU, who lived in Leadville, invited me over to do a "hike" up La Plata Peak. I got up before sunrise and left my cabin, figuring that if I was going to have a chance of making it, I needed to do it without traffic. It was hell, but I made it to the top. What that VW lacked in power it gained with fairly high clearance and a short wheelbase. There were some pretty serious spots where the oil light would flicker, suggesting I was about to stall or blow the engine. But I kept going and I was fortunate to only meet one jeep coming down. Once on top, I stopped and let that engine cool for a good half hour while I hiked and enjoyed the view. From the pass I could see La Plata Peak with the morning sun on it. The Mosquito Range cast a long shadow down towards Leadville. On the way down the Leadville side, I encountered a lot of loose shale, and I was not sure I would have made it up from that side spinning wheels on some of that stuff (though obviously that hippie had done so). I was definitely worried about my brakes getting down. Anyway, I made it and met my friend for the climb. He, having grown up in Leadville, decided that the marked trail would be too easy, so we climbed the peak via Ellingwood Ridge. After about six hours to traverse 1.5 miles along that knife-edged ridge, and in a snow squall, we reached the top of La Plata Peak. The constant, near-death experience of Ellingwood Ridge erased the terror I had experienced driving my VW up Mosquito Pass. Your video refreshed my memory just a bit. If I don't sleep tonight, hopefully it will be because the Nuggets won the NBA championship, and not because of the re-emergence of repressed terror of driving up the pass, initiated by your video. Thanks for posting! God bless.

I have done this trail and the views are amazing. It's also an easy trail. However, if you don't like ledges and heights be warned. The ledge on the Leadville side must be at least a 1500 feet to the bottom from the top and is not very wide.

Nice! We've been there several time and love it. Thanks for sharing your adventure!

This was our favorite trail. Sometimes didn’t get over until well into August because of snow around the London Mine area. The west side is a bit narrow pass on. Thanks for the memories.

It was a nice trip with you. Good to see it all looks pretty good still. It's been some years, heck decades, since last there. Keep the rubber side down. 👍✌

Its a great trail

Really good video. Brought back nice memories of traversing that pass!

Geoff great video !! Looked like a nice cool day for the trip. Mosquito pass is one of my favorite runs. You made good time on the crossing. 💪😊

That area looks great, Reallylike the back countryThumbs up