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Independence Pass closed for season after latest snowstorm brings hazardous conditions

Staff reports

CLOSING TIME

A look at the Independence Pass closing dates:

2011: Nov. 2

2012: Nov. 9

2013: Nov. 4

2014: Nov. 12

2015: Nov. 4

2016: Nov. 17

2017: Nov. 17

2018: Nov. 5

2019: Oct. 28

2020: Nov. 13

Source: CDOT

Independence Pass is officially closed for the season until spring after the recent snowstorm left the pass just east of Aspen impassable, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation update Thursday on it’s travel website.

The pass, which has been closed since late Monday, has seen snow every day since then and crews decided Thursday morning it is not worth trying to plow and open the stretch of Colorado Highway 82 that tops out at the 12,095-foot summit, according to CDOT’s COtrip.org website.

The Independence Pass Foundation posted Thursday morning that heavy wind-blown snow covers the road.



The pass typically closes in the first week of November. Last year, the pass stayed open until Nov. 13, but in 2019 it closed Oct. 28.

Come spring, the traditional opening is the Thursday before Memorial Day Weekend, which is later in 2022. That Thursday is May 26 next year with Memorial Day on May 30. The annual Ride for the Pass sponsored by the Independence Pass Foundation is typically the Saturday ahead of that, which would be May 21.




The 38-mile stretch of Highway 82 connects Aspen to the Twin Lakes area in Lake County in the summer and avoids Glenwood Canyon and Vail Pass as an alternative to getting to the Front Range.

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