Sara Sandtrom-Kobi, Gilpin County. Blizzards, derailments, avalanches, snow sheds, Corona…these are words that are often associated with Rollins Pass. Before I go any further, I would like to take a step back. Rollins Pass was not discovered by John Quincy Adams Rollins, its namesake. It was not discovered by the railroad gurus of the West.

For thousands of years, Native Americans used what we now call Rollins Pass as a place to hunt game and collect wild plants. Much of this history is lost to time. However, archaeologists have found evidence of great hunts. Fragments of rocks and arrowheads have been found. As well as low rock walls, which were built to trap animals and hide the waiting hunters. As always, Native Americans took only what they needed and could carry.

Rollins Pass, a book written by B. Travis Wright and Kate Wright, emphasizes that Rollins Pass is protected under the American Antiquities Act. When you go to Rollins Pass do not take anything but a few photos and leave only your footprints.

The first recorded wagon train crossing of Rollins Pass was in 1862. On their way to Utah, Mormon wagon trains also used Rollins Pass in the later 1860s. How daunting the trip must have been. Pioneers were certainly not faint-hearted.

John Quincy Adams Rollins was from a family of Colorado pioneers. He built a quartz mill in what would become Rollinsville in 1860-61. He then started to build toll wagon roads. In 1873, Rollins built the route that would bear his name, Rollins Pass. In 1894, John Q. A. Rollins died. He is often known to locals as the guy who refused to have gambling, saloons and dance halls in his town. Let’s not forget the pioneer legacy he left in Colorado.

Then came the age of the railroad. David Moffat and the Denver, Northwest & Pacific Railway built a track on Rollins Pass that summitted and crossed over the Continental Divide. The immense number of machines, men and money to make this a reality was incredible.

The first train rode the rails on September 2, 1904. The engineering skills to make this happen are as stunning as the views, for example, the tracks on Rollins Pass. Moffat Road became the highest standard gauge line in the world.

All too soon the realities of having a railroad above 11,000 ft. came to be. Snow sheds were built to keep the train going when the snow fall measured in feet. Wedge plows were used to plow snow from the tracks. Then came the invention of the rotary snow plow that was then used to clear the tracks. Despite all the machines and the heroic efforts of the railroad crew, Rollins Pass was often blocked by snow for days and even weeks.

The summit of Rollins Pass was named Corona, which is Latin for crown. Corona had a dining hall, café and hotel for the railroad men and tourists. Many a tourist were in awe of the Colorado mountains and seeing snow in the summer.

After five years, millions of dollars and tragically, the loss of lives, the Moffat Tunnel was completed on February 26, 1928. It was built in the name of progress and development. The Moffat Tunnel was an engineering marvel of its time.

The Rollins Pass rail line almost immediately fell into disrepair. Building the Moffat Tunnel allowed trains to travel much quicker from one side of the Continental Divide to the other, without all the struggles associated with weather conditions. Starting in 1936 the railroad over Rollins Pass was cleared away and buildings dismantled. Rollins Pass began a new era of transformation.

In 1956, Rollins Pass was reopened to vehicles. The US Forest Service, Grand, Gilpin and Boulder counties worked together to make improvements. A self-guided auto tour pamphlet was available for travelers. Cars could travel Rollins Pass for a few decades. This ended, however, when tunnels collapsed, and trestles became unsafe. Off-road drivers, bikers and hikers still enjoy the adventure and beauty of Rollins Pass today.

So, the next time you speed through Rollinsville on Highway 119, slow down. Slow down. Think about the Native Americans who moved in and out of the area for thousands of years. Think about the pioneers in their covered wagons slowly making their way up the mountains. Look at the railroad and think about how it once went over those mountains before going through the mountains. Rollins Pass is a local treasure and historical site. Let us be respectful of the beauty we see today and honor the past that our mountains have seen.

(Originally published in the April 11. 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)