A brutally steep road to Lenawee Lift in CO

Located in Summit County, in the U.S. state of Colorado, Lenawee Lift is said to be one of the highest chairlifts in North America topping out at 3.818m (12,526ft) above the sea level. It’s one of the highest roads of Colorado.

Lenawee Lift

Set high in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, in the White River National Forest of Colorado, the road to the chairlift in the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area is totally unpaved. 4x4 vehicles only. The trail is open in the months when snow skiing is not available. It is mostly used to provide access to maintain ski lifts and lodges. The last part of the climb is very intimidating. It is well above timberline, and the trail is not wide at all.
The road to the summit is very steep, hitting a 19% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. Starting at the paved Loveland Pass Road, the ascent is 3.70km (2.3 miles) long. Over this distance the elevation gain is 462 meters. The average gradient is 12.48%.
Pic: Jason MacFarlane

 

 

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