Video and Slideshow: Crews prepare Independence Pass for Thursday opening

• Avalanche debris triggered by a bomb blast flows down a chute over a section of the roadway Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• Crews toss an avalanche bomb from a helicopter to trigger a controlled avalanche on Independence Pass Friday. They completed mitigation work on various aspects that were considered safety hazards, including this ridgeline above the Beeler incline on the Twin Lakes side of the pass.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• Crew members prepare to load more explosives onto a helicopter to be detonated on a nearby ridgeline above the road.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• Crew members prepare to load more explosives onto a helicopter to be detonated on a nearby ridgeline above the road.
  Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times |

  

• The ridgline above the Beeler incline on the Twin Lakes side of the pass has many slide paths that needed mitigation Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• The ridgline above the Beeler incline on the Twin Lakes side of the pass has many slide paths that needed mitigation Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• Avalanche mitigation crews brought various sized bombs for blasting in potentially dangerous terrain. The use of explosives allows crews to cover a wide array of terrain in an efficient and timely manner.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• An avalanche bomb detonates below a cornice above the Beeler incline on Independence Pass Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times |

  

• Avalanche triggering "bombs" are prepped to be loaded onto a helicopter for mitigation and road safety work on Independence Pass Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace / The Aspen Times |

  

• Crews toss an avalanche bomb from a helicopter to trigger a controlled avalanche on Independence Pass Friday. They completed mitigation work on various aspects that were considered safety hazards, including this ridgeline above the Beeler incline on the Twin Lakes side of the pass.
  Jeremy Wallace / The Aspen Times |

  

• An avalanche bomb dropped Friday by mitigation crews via helicopter detonates and breaks apart a cornice above Independence Pass. Snow removal and avalanche mitigation operations are under way to open the pass by Thursday.
  Jeremy Wallace / The Aspen Times |

  

• Avalanche debris triggered by a bomb blast flows down a chute over a section of the roadway Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times |

  

• Avalanche mitigation crews brought various sized bombs for blasting in potentially dangerous terrain. The use of explosives allows crews to cover a wide array of terrain in an efficient and timely manner.
  Jeremy Wallace/The Aspen Times |

  

• An avalanche bomb detonates below a cornice above the Beeler incline on Independence Pass Friday.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

• A helicopter crew flies overhead, prepared with avalanche bombs to toss in potentially dangerous terrain.
  Jeremy Wallace |

  

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