Public lands in peril aspentimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspentimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Mark Munger will retire from his sixth-grade teaching position at Aspen Middle School at the end of this school year, but he’s keeping his roots planted in the Roaring Fork Valley,
Cyclist fans of Independence Pass made their way back to the start line Saturday with the return of the annual Ride for the Pass on the Independence Pass road.
INDY PASS ROCK WORK THIS WEEK
While Independence Pass remains closed to vehicles for another two weeks, a two-mile section also will close to pedestrians and cyclists next week for maintenance, according to a Colorado Department of Transportation news release.
The section of Highway 82 between Weller Campground and Lincoln Creek Road will close to all foot, bicycle and other non-motorized traffic between Monday and Friday “to allow for urgent rockfall mitigation work,” according to the release. There will be no access to the Weller Lake Trailhead.
“The work includes rock scaling, which involves pushing loose rocks off the mountain slope above the highway,” the CDOT release states. “The rockfall mitigation is necessary before CO 82/Independence Pass reopens to vehicles for the summer season.”
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.