17 WINTER 2024 VOL . 05 / ISSUE 02
SNOWGOER . COM 18
Going Over Cottonwood Pass
The next day dawned as April 2 , making us hope the jokes of April Fool ’ s Day were behind us as we headed to a different trailhead , and a more wide-open experience . In the tow vehicle we went through the nearest decent-sized city ( Buena Vista – population 2,600 ) and then deep into the mountains to the Denny Creek Trailhead .
Being closer to Buena Vista , this was a significantly more active trailhead , and the place from which local snowmobile rental operators often lead guided tours of skiers , snowboarders or other winter sports enthusiasts , who usually all cue up , stay on the trail and are generally timid on the throttle . That explains the 550-class , fancooled sleds available at the rental shop , but active snowmobilers will likely want to bring bigger / better equipment for the way they like to experience the backcountry . Those are now far more readily available than they were on our trip .
Parking at Denny Creek Trailhead happens right where the county stops plowing the road , as the groomer and sleds take over this route in the winter . And what a route it was – super wide , groomed and with a guard rail on the downhill side , it
was a snowmobiler ’ s super highway that went up , up and up along the edge of a ridge , leading all the way to another Continental Divide crossing . The sign for Cottonwood Pass said it was at 12,126 feet , but that point seemed low compared to the surrounding peaks .
“ You wouldn ’ t believe this view that you ’ re missing due to the weather ,” Scott said teasingly . The lead image to this story is that view – supplied by Scott after we left – but we never saw anything close to that despite being at the same spot .
He didn ’ t let us dwell on the missed vista , however . Soon we were boondocking , carving and playing in a vast , mostly treeless playground just beyond the pass . The first area offered some of the best open play areas imaginable – the GPS unit attached to my helmet-mounted video camera told me we were cracking 12,500 feet on
On the second day , Scott led us over Cottonwood Pass in more white-out conditions ( below ), but later sent us a photo of what it looks like on a blue-sky day .