There are some off-road passages in Colorado that are notorious. Whether due to their altitude, their rocky surfaces, their deep river crossings or the number of lives they've claimed, these routes have bad reputations. Almost all were built by 19th Century gold crazed fortune hunters who would stop at nothing.

Originally they were foot paths, later becoming mule train routes and then wagon roads. They connect low valley towns to the gold bearing ores of the high Colorado peaks. Carved into the precipitous heights, these routes came to be years before the "Iron Horse" facilitated travel between once remote mining towns. They are impassably snowed-in for over 9 months of the year. Normally they open in early July only to be snowed-in again by the end of September. Remote, arduous, and inconvenient for most, they no longer fill a "useful" purpose in our modern age of fast highway travel. They have since become the realm of off-road adventurers.

Of all the high 4wd passes in Colorado only 4 or 5 achieve the status that make dualsport riders pucker with excuses of why they can't go. Two of these "pucker" passes are Schofield and Pearl. Both cross the 14,000-foot Elk Mountains, which lie between Crested Butte and Aspen. We were determined to test ourselves in a long dual sport day over these passes and more. The following is the account of those events.

Ever since I learned of Pearl Pass it has been on my hit list. Located far from Denver with a very short weather window, Pearl had remained elusive until now. Being well into summer season, I was reasonably confident that Pearl would be clear of snow. Schofield, however, remained somewhat dubious. Rumors told of a "snow-plug" blocking Schofield. Comprised of twisted trees, rocks and compacted snow, it is the result of avalanches that fill a narrow valley up to hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Never having seen a snow-plug before I was not sure what to expect. The many rumors regarding these two passes did not help.

Finally, in mid August friends in Crested Butte informed me that dirt bikers had breached Schofield Pass. I put the seed out and recruited 3 other intrepid DS adventurers. If we were truly going, the time was now for soon the Fall snows would be upon us. We made a sunrise departure out of Denver on August 28th. Our ambitious one-day plan was to ride a combination of twisty two lane black top, dirt roads and 4wd passes for a speedy arrival to the Crested Butte valley 200 miles away. From there our goals of Pearl and Schofield Passes would hopefully be achieved.

Saint Elmo where Tincup Pass begins. Dana, Dan & Scott

Tincup pass between St. Elmo and Taylor Park - Scott on the LC4

Tincup pass between St. Elmo and Taylor Park - Dan on the KLX 400

Sportbiking the paved portions in Taylor River canyon

The group consisted of Dana on his BMW 650 GS Dakar, Scott on his KTM 640 Adventure, and me on my KTM 640 LC4e. We would meet Dan on his KLX 400 in Fairplay. The group of us were all well seasoned off road motorcycle riders with a desire to ride long and hard. Our thumpers streaked across paved, high altitude Southpark with ease. Passing the ghost town of St. Elmo we crossed 4wd Tincup Pass, dropped into Taylor Park, and then headed down the twisted pavement of the Taylor River canyon. Crested Butte grew closer as we leaned our dual sportbikes into corner after corner. We arrived at the Pearl Pass turn-off at 11 AM after a brisk 200-mile warm up ride. Ahead lay some of the most spectacular and precipitous mountains on the planet and a pass with a baaad reputation!

The Pearl Pass Crossing:
Smooth county dirt road gave way to 4wd as our path led up Brush Creek. A rocky water crossing woke us up with a jolt. Climbing out of the sage-filled valley into shimmering aspen forests we made our way through mud bogs. Soft ground gave way to rocky roads and dark pine forests as we climbed ever higher into the glaciated valleys surrounded by volcanic spires.

The first river crossing going up the Crested Butte side of Pearl Pass woke us up after the long ride getting there

Climbing through the aspen forests on the lower portion of Pearl

At 11,000 feet on the South side of Pearl, the pine forests gave way to high alpine valleys and solid rock roads

The views looking into the Elk Mountains from Pearl Pass Crested Butte side

The road became increasingly difficult. Dana's more street-oriented BMW 650 was reaching its limits. The incessant bumps caused the Dakar's fairing to lose the mounting bolts in protest.

Somewhere up there is the summit of Pearl Pass

The "road" up Pearl's south side

Dana and his Dakar ascending the rocky south side of Pearl Pass

As we pressed on towards the 12,705-foot summit, Pearl's infamous rocky roads and scree field traverses dwarfed our bikes and efforts. From grape fruits, to baby heads, and then to watermelons the rocks were everywhere. Luckily, there were no deep snowdrifts to contend with. On these rough roads and at these altitudes jetting is critical. If your bike won't carburate cleanly down low it will be near impossible to ride in the high elevation rough stuff. Thankfully big four strokes with their high torque output are less finicky in this department.

The summit of Pearl Pass crossing the Elk Mountains visible in the background

Dan on his KLX 400 nearing the summit of Pearl Pass with views towards Crested Butte in the background

Parked on the dizzying heights of Pearl's 12,700 foot summit

Scott on Pearly crags. One can almost see the curvature of the earth from here

Dana descending the north side of Pearl Pass on his 650 Dakar

The north side of Pearl Pass is simply majestic

Colorado 4wd roads demand proficiency when it comes to rock riding. Pearl was on the extreme side of this demand. Clawing our way up the loose scree field of a road the summit came into view. The off-road capable LC4s were just the ticket for this hardcore terrain. Once on the summit, Pearl Pass offers magnificent views of Colorado's most spectacular peaks. The volcanic rock of the surrounding 14,000 foot mountains has weathered into awesome formations. The lower portions of these mountains are layered with horizontal bands of sedimentary rock. The overall effect is awesomely beautiful and geologically fascinating. The water flowing down the road on the north side conspired with gravity and erosion to reclaim their domain. The rock fields rewarded some riders and punished others as we picked our jarring line downhill towards the ghost town of Ashcroft.

As we descended Pearl we searched for the spot this 1910 photo of the old time adventure riders was taken. We found the spot and did a photo of 2005 adventure riders for a comparison

1910 photo from Denver Public Library archives

2005 photo © Steve Green aka Esteban

Scott on his KTM 640 LC4 Adventurer descending the north side of Pearl

The bottom of Pearl Pass "road" near Ashcroft

After a challenging descent we found ourselves 4000 feet below on the valley floor in Ashcroft . It was 4 PM when Dana and Scott informed Dan and I that they had decided to head back to Denver on the paved route via Independence Pass. Rides like this can change hearts, minds, and bodies sending fellow riders home in retreat. Dan and I kept true to the original plan and headed towards Schofield, taking advantage of the long Summer day.

The single track back to Crested Butte

Dan riding the steep and narrow

True unadulterated motorcycle single track

With limited daylight we high-tailed it up 4wd Taylor Pass road to ride 15 miles of 12,000 foot single track clinging to the flanks of the Elk Mountains. This area has some of the finest trail in all Colorado. The sinuous 12" wide path led us down into Crested Butte from where we began our next climb over Schofield Pass.

A visit to the town of Crested Butte before making our way towards Schofield Pass. It was just Dan and I now

The Schofield Pass Crossing:
Although not particularly high at 10,707 feet, Schofield Pass is one of Colorado's most infamous 4wd roads. It has claimed its share of four wheelers' lives. Back in 1970 it was the site of Colorado's worst ever 4wd accident when a carload of people plunged into the river at the bottom of Devil's Punch Bowl. A faulty parking brake during a photo op was said to have been the cause. As Crested Butte faded behind us we climbed the old miners' trail past the town of Gothic. The road thus far was fairly easy. Above us, the steep bare mountain slopes showed recent evidence of powerful winter avalanches. The ledge road took us above the narrow valley below which was filled with a thick accumulation of ice, snow and rock that had cascaded down the mountainside during the last winter season. Wide swathes on the mountain slopes were stripped bare and trees lay below in jumbled piles. In the Winter this valley is lethal.

Warnings on the way to Schofield

More warning signs taken out by avalanches on Schofield Pass

Further up the road, yellow travel advisory signs warning the unwary to turn back were ripped from the ground and broken into pieces by avalanches. The road became rockier as we approached the notorious Schofield Pass river crossing. At earlier times in the year, this river poses a formidable obstacle due to the swift current and deep water. Vehicles attempting to cross early in the season can easily be swept into the steep ravine and jammed into the rocks below. The last time I was here I had to throw a line to an ATVer whose vehicle was off course and being swept downstream. Crossing this late in the summer assured us of calmer waters.

Crossing the river just above Devil's Punch Bowl on Schofield Pass

The Devil's Punch Bowl on Schofield Pass

Once past the river, the more difficult 4wd section begins. Descending along the edge of the Devil's Punch Bowl we passed the site of past 4wd fatalities. Up to now we had seen no other vehicles. After passing what is normally the toughest part of Schofield we thought we were home free. A half mile further and we saw the reason no other vehicles were around. Ahead the road disappeared under a 60-foot pile of twisted branches and rocks all cemented together with ice and packed snow. It was the dreaded "snow-plug" The first we had ever seen, it was like a glacier filled the valley. Below, the river had carved a tunnel through the mass of ice, while above a skinny single track trail showed where bikes and foot traffic had gotten over. After riding to the top of the snow-plug we began our slippery descent in first gear, engines off, feet down. We met a solitary dirt biker going the opposite direction. He was struggling to get traction uphill and return to Crested Butte. Bikes and maybe ATVs could get through, but jeeps - no way! The ice age had returned to Schofield Pass.

Riding over the debris covered snow-plug on Schofield. The road is about 50 feet under us

Underneath the trail, the snow-plug was hollow. Crevasses had formed where sun and water had eaten into the frozen mass. It would not support much weight. I found this out the hard way near the bottom when the ice gave way under the bike, and my LC4 and I tumbled into a crevasse! Luckily it was not too deep and Dan helped get us out after snapping a few pics.

Oooops, gotta watch out for those snow plug crevasses
Photo: Dan Bartolo	Photo: Dan Bartolo

The snow-plug covering the road viewed from a distance. Note the bike on the top of the snow-plug for judging size. The Schofield Pass road is visible on lower left blocked by the plug

Schofield Pass road eventually leads to Marble, Colorado - a sleepy little town that is home to some of the purest white marble in the world. The marble in the Jefferson Memorial [in Washington, D.C.] came from here.

We finally arrive in Marble after Schofield Pass

The time was nearing 8 PM as we began our ride home. Taking pavement to Carbondale and Basalt we headed over Hagerman Pass to get a late Sunday night dinner in 10,000 foot Leadville. Dan and I were both pretty tired, but the allure of doing 13,000 + foot 4wd Mosquito Pass at midnight proved irresistible. Our headlights were the only two light sources on the pitch-black Mosquito Range. Twenty minutes and 3000 feet later we were toasting at the summit with a billion stars above.

From here it was down to Fairplay and Southpark for the paved ride home. Once again our modern thumpers were impressive in their ability to cover distance and all types of terrain at speed. From single track to black top the 440 miles and 20 hours in the saddle added up to another phenomenal Colorado dual sportbike ride.