Highwood Pass

Due to the amount of snow and to allow the local critters, elk, big horn sheep, deer and moose to graze on the spring pasture, many of the roads through the mountains are closed during the winter only to be reopened once the sun comes out and the snow melts. The date is set as 15th June. Weather pending, it means that for a glorious few weeks each year, these roads are snow and car free - what a great opportunity for a cyclist! Just watch out for the critters!

So, we packed our lunch, popped our bikes in the car and headed for the road closed gate on Highway 40. Highwood Pass is the highest paved highway in Canada (2206m, 7239ft). Fortunately for our unseasoned cycling legs, snow covered the road and stopped us at Elbow Pass (6,850ft) - phew. Before you are terribly impressed however, we did commence our ride at about 6,000ft so boasting rights are limited! We had a magnificent ride through the mountains, did not run into a bear, fall off our bikes or get too sunburnt!

Looking forward to some great riding over the next few weeks.