Солтүстік Америка құрлығының ең биік жол өткелі

Highest paved crossing of North America's Continental Divide
When the pass is open in warmer weather, it is a popular destination. A scenic overlook near the pass allows visitors to take in the alpine tundra environment above treeline, and offers excellent views to the east of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest peak and the second highest mountain in the contiguous United States. Rock climbers are drawn to nearby bouldering opportunities, and informal paths lead to nearby mountain summits of even higher elevation. Backcountry skiers make use of the slopes during the late spring and early summer. Since 2011 the pass has been on the route of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. The pass was formed by glacial action and erosion in the region, and its first recorded sighting was by Zebulon Pike in 1806. Ferdinand Hayden surveyed it in 1873. As part of the Continental Divide, it was the limit of European settlement in the region at the time, with the land to the west reserved for the Ute people. Prospectors who defied governor Frederick Walker Pitkin's order crossed the pass on July 4, 1879, giving it its current name and setting up a similarly named village (now a ghost town) to its west. A toll road built across the pass was abandoned and neglected after a railroad connection was made to Aspen. A new road replaced it in the 1920s; portions of the old route can still be seen along the western approach. The Independence Pass Foundation, based in Aspen, works to repair damage to the pass's environment caused by both roads since 1984.

At the pass, the main ridge of the Sawatch Range, and thus the Continental Divide, turns from running generally south to more southwesterly. North of the pass slopes rise to an unnamed 13440 feet (4097 m) peak a half mile (1 km) away; a ridge of about the same length connects it to the nearest named summit, 13711 feet (4179 m) Twining Peak. To the south the ridge rises more gently around Mountain Boy Gulch to an unnamed 13198 feet (4023 m) summit 2 miles (3.2 km) distant. The first named summit in this direction is Grizzly Peak, Colorado's highest thirteener. The terrain is level enough, and the ridge broad enough, to allow for a 500 foot (150 m) parking lot along the south side of Highway 82 at the height of land. The pass is split evenly between Pitkin and Lake counties, as well as White River and San Isabel national forests. Boundaries of the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and the Mount Massive Wilderness are near the pass on the south and north respectively. The Hunter–Fryingpan Wilderness is also nearby. The overlook, maintained by the Colorado Department of Transportation, includes an inaccurate demarcation of the Continental Divide dating back to estimated surveys taken during the Pike Expedition. Geologists have since determined the true Divide to be along the popular trailhead leading to Linkins Lake 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the current marker. The pass comes roughly in the middle of a 32 mile (51 km) stretch of Highway 82 between the two winter gates, a corridor that is sometimes referred to in its entirety as Independence Pass. Aspen is 19 mile (31 km) to the west, with Twin Lakes 18 mile (29 km) to the east. Beyond Aspen the highway continues down the valley to the mouth of the Roaring Fork at Glenwood Springs. East of Twin Lakes Highway 82 continues a short distance to its eastern terminus at U. S. Highway 24, 15 mile (24 km) south of Leadville. On both approaches, the dropoff is steep enough for Highway 82 to require a 6 percent grade and switchbacks: one on the west and three on the east. The former approach uses the narrow valley of the Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado, which rises from Independence Lake west of the pass. Its walls are steeper but shallower than those of the North Fork of Lake Creek, which drains into Twin Lakes Reservoir and the headwaters of the Arkansas River, on the east. The weather station, Brumley, is situated on the eastern side of Independence Pass, at an elevation of 10600 feet (3231 m).

Like the surrounding mountains, the pass was created by glaciation and erosion over thousands of years. Before European American settlers arrived, it was in the territory of the Ute Native American tribe. One of the earliest sightings by a European American was in 1806, when Zebulon Pike, mapping the southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, spotted the gap in what would later be named the Sawatch Range from the upper Arkansas River valley. Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin had ordered all settlers to stay to the east of the Divide, as the state and federal governments had not made peace with the Utes. Nevertheless, some defied the order, drawn by the prospect of mining fortunes. Settlers sometimes used Hunter Pass to get to Ashcroft, an early camp on Castle Creek above the Roaring Fork. However, they preferred to take the southern route over the slightly higher Cottonwood Pass through Taylor Park and then back over Taylor Pass to get there, even though this made for a 100 mile (160 km) journey, 40 miles (64 km) more than the direct route offered by Hunter Pass. In Aspen, farther down the valley, silver was found in even greater abundance than Independence's gold. B. Clark Wheeler, an early investor in those mines, funded the construction of a stage road to Leadville, the first road to cross the pass. The road improved Independence's economy, since coaches often stopped there on the multi day journey. However, the year of its construction would turn out to be the settlement's economic peak year. Gold production dropped off after 1884. Independence's decline in population, remote location and severe high altitude winters cost it the opportunity to be seat of newly formed Pitkin County to Aspen, located on a larger plain farther down the river and growing much more rapidly due to the Colorado Silver Boom. When a rail connection was made to that city in 1888, the stage road fell into disuse, further hurting Independence's economy. All but one of the remaining residents decamped as a group to Aspen on improvised cross country skis during the severe winter of 1899. Although its population had dropped below a thousand by the late 1920s, in 1927 the state replaced the stage road with what eventually became Highway 82. Another WPA effort recognized the pass as a scenic attraction. A travel guidebook for automobile touring produced by the Federal Writers' Project gave as one route the trip along Highway 82 from Twin Lakes. It noted the distinctive landscape of the pass:

The highway rises in a series of loops and curves towards the Continental Divide. Thinning pines, gnarled and stubby from their fight for existence, give way to bare boulders, hardy grasses and the alpine vegetation of a world above the clouds. The road along the sheer face of the mountain, while steep, is one of the safest traversing a pass in Colorado. A stone monument and several small lakes mark the summit of Independence Pass, the highest and probably the most impressive automobile pass in the state. An arctic meadowland overshadowed only by the topmost notches of the Sawatch Range, it rises far above the peaks that towered high when viewed from the Lake Creek valley. After World War II, Aspen began to grow and prosper again due to the establishment of a popular ski resort, an annual music festival, and a relaxed lifestyle which attracted many celebrities and corporate executives to the city. Visitors to Aspen generally had to take Highway 82 up from Glenwood Springs or fly in, as few wanted to drive over the unpaved pass road. In 1967 the State Highway Department remedied this by paving the road over the pass. It has since been designated part of Colorado's "Top of the Rockies" scenic byway by the state and federal departments of transportation. Tree growth above those patches is curtailed by the alpine climate of the pass. It is characterized by severe changes in temperature, high winds and the deep winter snow. The resulting short growing season is made even shorter by the thin soil.

Many visitors stop at the parking lot and walk the paved path to the scenic overlook. In clear enough weather it offers views east of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest peak, and La Plata Peak, the state's fifth highest at 14336 feet (4370 m). To the west more fourteeners—the Maroon Bells, Snowmass Mountain and Capitol Peak—stand out among the mountains. A trail with Braille interpretive plaques is available for visually impaired visitors. Other outdoor recreation opportunities exist at and near the pass. Between the pass and Difficult Campground, 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Aspen, there are many popular rock climbing areas, some with grades up to 5.12 under the Yosemite Decimal System. The Grotto Wall across from Lincoln Gulch campground is a frequent destination. Closer to the pass are Instant Karma Cliff and Putterman's Dome. A pair of rocks along either side of Highway 82 on the east approach to the pass are popular bouldering spots. On the days after the pass reopens in the spring, backcountry skiers often take advantage of the remaining snow on the slopes. In years following heavy winters, skiing is possible into July. Water based recreation is available near the pass as well, particularly on the Roaring Fork side. At the Grottos climbing cliffs eight miles (14.4 km) to the west of the pass, a short trail leads to an area along the river known as the Devil's Punchbowl, with high stone cliffs on either side and waterfalls. It is a popular swimming hole due to its deep and cool waters. The river is popular with anglers casting for trout as well, and some even make the hike from the pass up to Blue Lake for its lake and cutthroat trout stocks. Four miles (6.4 km) west of the pass is the site of Independence, the village whose establishment on July 4 led to the pass's current name. It has been a ghost town since the early 20th century. In 1973 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of its buildings were cannibalized for their building supplies, but a few log cabins remain. The Aspen Historical Society, in conjunction with the U. S. Forest Service, built an interpretive trail with plaques.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) restricts the use of Highway 82 through the pass. Most significant is the winter closure. The road is typically closed after the first significant winter snowfall, or by November 7 at the latest (but there have been exceptions.). CDOT tries to reopen just before Memorial Day weekend in late May, the traditional beginning of summer in the United States, when enough of the accumulated snowpack has melted to make it possible to clear and repair the road. Some years, after light winters, the pass has reopened as early as May 12. Driving through the pass is challenging. Both approaches require 6% grades due to the height of the pass, and require navigating hairpin turns with advisory speeds of 10 mph (15 km/h). Rockfalls, particularly on the approach from Aspen, have narrowed some sections to a single lane 12 feet (4 m) wide with temporary traffic lights. On the Twin Lakes approach, they have resulted in temporary closures. Other vehicles frequently enter the road unexpectedly at the many parking areas for campgrounds and other recreational attractions, and bicyclists make frequent use of Highway 82 as well. CDOT advises anyone coming to the pass for outdoor recreation to take precautions against the effects of the high altitude and the changeable weather. At that time, Aspen was a faded mining town whose population had dwindled to fewer than a thousand. Later in the decade the first efforts to develop a ski resort began. They continued after World War II, and in the later decades of the 20th century the city began to grow again. Other than paving the road, CDOT was unable to undertake any significant improvements to the highway corridor due to its projects elsewhere in the state and the requirement to coordinate efforts with the Forest Service, which owns most of the damaged land. Beginning in 1976, Bob Lewis, an environmental activist in Aspen, organized revegetation efforts on some sections of the pass near the road that were having serious erosion problems. He realized eventually that a dedicated nonprofit organization would be a better way to address the many issues that remained. The Independence Pass Foundation (IPF) was established in 1989. Its first project, coordinated with the Forest Service, CDOT and Pitkin County, was the reconstruction of a curve near the popular Weller Lake trailhead. The success of the Weller Curve project cleared the way for work on the Top Cut, the 1.5 mile (2 km) stretch just below the summit on the western side, which includes the most seriously eroded slopes anywhere in the pass corridor. Lewis had always intended to focus the IPF's efforts on it, and the organization began the first of several ongoing projects there in 1996. Work included the construction of stone retaining walls as well as revegetation. By the 2010s the results were evident. With the success of these projects, IPF has been doing revegetation projects along the road below the Top Cut since 2004. Compost blankets were applied to large sections of the soil to replace lost nutrients. IPF has undertaken other projects to promote awareness of the work that needs to be done at the pass to protect its distinctive environment. Groups from local schools have spent a day up in the pass working and learning. Many have adopted the same sites and work on them with a new class each year. Along with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, the foundation also cosponsors a "My Independence" all day walking tour of the pass for adults that covers ecological topics in depth. Since 1994, the foundation has held a 'Ride for the Pass' charity bicycle race in May, just before CDOT reopens the pass. The event serves as an outreach event and fundraiser. It follows a 9.5 mile (15 km) route from the gate east of Aspen to the Independence townsite, climbing 2500 feet (762 m) in the process. By 2012, the IPF had canceled the event twice due to poor weather.