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About Independence PassIndependence Pass served as the main thoroughfare between Leadville and Aspen. (The main thoroughfare between Leadville and points east was Mosquito Pass.) Miners and other pioneers crossed Independence en masse to reach the rich mining sites around Aspen, including Crystal City. Though short-lived, the town of Independence, after which the pass was named, thrived just below the pass in the early 1880's. Today the pass is heavily travelled in summer and hundreds of the curious get out of their cars and look east from the pass. It was over these mountains that most of the pioneers struggled to reach the heart of the mining riches during the silver and gold rushes.
![[Independence Pass]](../images/indepas2.jpg) ![[Independence Pass]](../images/indepas3.jpg) |