By Paul Andersen High Road to Aspen (1st First Edition) [Hardcover]

By Paul Andersen

High Road to Aspen tells the story of Independence Pass, a 44-mile stretch of cliff-hanging, switch-backed, serpentine highway that is one of the most spectacular mountain passes in North America. This book explains how Independence Pass became the birth canal for Aspen in the early 1880s as men, materials and money poured over the Divide from the booming metropolis of Leadville. Here are adventures, tales and sagas published for the first time.   High Road to Aspen traces the influence of the Pass on Aspen and describes the Independence Pass Road as a ribbon-like interface between man and nature, civilization and wilderness, the present and the distant past. Here is the story of water and trans-mountain diversions, the details of geology and mining, accounts of avalanches and heroic journeys.   High Road to Aspen celebrates the wonders of Independence Pass as an incomparable geographic feature. It extols the human history of the Pass by depicting a succession of colorful characters, from pioneer explorers to freighters to today's professional bicycle racers.   To those who find inspiration from a dramatic journey through time and space over the spine of the continent, High Road to Aspen will clarify understanding, enhance appreciation, and enrich local history.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 0615552471
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: ERG Press
• Length: 271 Pages