Schofield Pass - impassable

Just thought i'd put this up for anyone considering Schofield Pass this season:

http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/166565

There was a rock slide over the trail that apparently left boulders and holes as big as 15' W x 9' L x 4' deep. So while the trail is technically open, it may be impassable for trucks for awhile. The slide did not affect the Lead King Basin loop

 

Well, that blows. Scary that they closed the bridge too for being unsafe, I had wondered about it when driving over last fall, must have been right before they closed it.

 

Should have gone when I had the chance I guess. Only went as far as the Mill from one side and pass proper/734 intersection on the other. Article needs more pictures! Wonder how long it will be/if they'll fix it.

 

How was this trail? I walked it once. Seemed intense. Which way did you run it.

 

Agreed on the pics, could be never That shelf road is way the hell up there in that spot.

Not a super hard trail, but fun, my report here. The best parts I think are before this slide, from Crystal down to Marble. The article says near Marble, but I don't think that is correct, as you could still get around it via Lead King if that were the case.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...uest-for-fall-foliage-and-high-passes.296837/

I am guessing this is somewhere near here, which is just downstream from the bridge.

 

So, is the slide here:


Or here: (Pic taken from bridge)

 

I think when they say 'near Marble' they just mean generally speaking for those not familiar with those roads or that part of the state. Like I'm sure there are a lot more people who know what the Crystal Mill is and not where it is (and I even forgot it was before the town and not the other way around). I'm sure the slide is on the section between the Lead King intersection and the actual Pass, possibly in or near the Devil's Punchbowl. Not sure why you'd say the best parts are between Crystal and Marble, since that's relatively tame and the pictures in here already are better than that imho. Unless you mean the Lead King side of the loop, which I didn't/couldn't do at the time.

I don't know/think that it's either. There's three distinct closures mentioned in the article. One is the bridge itself (assuming that's the right bridge - FS maps don't give the bridge numbers or mile markers unfortunately). Another is a single boulder that is '2 miles from Crystal Mill'. It doesn't specify above or below though. If it were below, the Lead King loop wouldn't be doable. If above, that puts it where the valley starts to get narrow and the vicinity of one of the bridges (first of three from Marble side). That boulder only blocks vehicles though, not atvs and smaller stuff. Then there's the slide itself the article is talking about, and it says that is 'a mile past Crystal'. That would put it after the Lead King junction but well before the bridge, maybe right about where the shelf road starts to get back to river level (and even farther down than Wishbone's pic); especially based on the one picture they do have in the article. I guess not only is the article lacking pictures, but a map would have been nice too.

 

Well that sucks. That was on the list of places to visit this year. Big time bummer for sure.

 

So, do you think that the bridge that's closed is the first one I pictured? If it was closer, I'd just run over there with a few winch equipped rigs and hand tools to see if we couldn't clear out some of the blockage.

 

Pics here:

 

Forest Service planning to repair section of Schofield Pass road

"Plans are in the works to repair part of a popular Jeeping road near Schofield Pass that was damaged by a large rock slide earlier this spring.

Jon Thompson, backcountry recreation planner for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District, said Friday that remediation work is planned for the second week of June on the Upper South Fork Crystal River/Schofield Pass Road, or Forest Service road No. 314.

“Our road crew did get out there and [will be doing some repairs] the second week of June,” he said. “The work will be to help make travel through there as safe as possible.”

Classified as a “Level II” road, 314 is designated for the limited passage of high-clearance traffic. The road serves as a passage between Marble and Crested Butte.

Thompson said that early June would be a perfect time to perform the work, since no vehicles will be able to pass a nearby snowbridge, located just past the slide, that usually doesn’t melt out until July."

More: http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/166822

 

subd

I'm taking a guess from the photos on FB at where the slide is and if correct its not much past the town of crystal

 

Well good. I can still hit it this fall.

http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/167204

 

Awesome its fixed