WOLF CREEK PASS A LOOK BACK
Wolf Creek Pass, a name that would strike terror in the hearts of many truckers not so long ago. When this was a narrow two lane road over the snowiest pass in the state it was a nightmare for truckers and passenger cars alike. The Colorado Department of Transportation has worked miracles in the past few years and it is now a pass where caution is necessary in winter time but is safely maintained and very passable most of the time.
When the first pioneers came to Colorado it would take two to three weeks to cross over the pass with covered wagons. The early travelers followed trails that the Indians and wildlife had used for centuries. It took incredible back breaking work to make these trails passable for wagons and the bad news was that the trails would have to be rebuilt every spring after the winter storms would destroy all the earlier work.
Even when automobiles were first used and the trails were vastly improved from the pioneer days it would still take two days to a week for the early automobiles to negotiate the forty two mile journey from South Fork to Pagosa Springs. The pass tops out at 10,850 feet and to this day still receives an annual snow fall of 465 inches, the most snow of any area in Colorado. This range of mountains catches the fronts from southern California and conditions are just right for all of that moisture to be released as snow over southwest Colorado.
Continuous construction work for the past years has resulted in a mostly four lane highway 
that is one of the most beautiful drives in all of Colorado. The infamous pass is now relatively safe for truckers but still has several run away truck facilities for truckers who lose their brakes on the steep mountain inclines. This pass has all the modern snow removal equipment possible but sometimes Mother Nature’s fury makes it impossible to remove the snow as quickly as she can deposit it and the pass has to be closed for the snow removal.
All of this wonderful snow makes an incredible place for a skier’s paradise and that is exactly what is on the very top of Wolf Creek Pass, the Wolf Creek Ski Area. The 1600 acre ski area with seven lifts is now safely accessible from South Fork or Pagosa Springs thanks to the work of Colorado Department of Transportation.