Wolf Creek Pass
Elevation	10,800 ft.
Location	Colorado,  United States
Range	San Juan Mountains
Coordinates	37°27′5″N, 106°48′1″W
Traversed by	U.S. Highway 160

Wolf Creek Pass (el. 10,800 ft.) is a high mountain pass on the Continental Divide, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It is the route through which U.S. Highway 160 passes from the San Luis Valley into southwest Colorado on its way to New Mexico and Arizona. A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Himalaya as seen from the International Space Station A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers. ... The San Juan Mountains are a rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... United States Highway 160 is an east-west United States highway. ... In a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch or bealach) is a lower point that allows easier access through the range. ... A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of... The San Juan Mountains are a rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... United States Highway 160 is an east-west United States highway. ... San Luis Valley is a large broad alpine valley in the Rio Grande Basin of south-central Colorado. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ...

Expansion

Wolf Creek Pass, once a two-lane road winding through the San Juan Mountains between South Fork, Colorado and Pagosa Springs, has recently been expanded into a multi-lane highway, greatly increasing the traffic capacity of the pass and making it more navigable in bad weather. It will also become the easiest access to southwest Colorado from the rest of the state, as all remaining overland routes require a lengthy detour through New Mexico, or the intimidating Red Mountain Pass: a two-lane road winding along sheer cliffs from Ouray to Silverton. South Fork is a town located in Rio Grande County, Colorado. ... Pagosa Springs is a town located in Archuleta County, Colorado. ... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Red Mountain Pass Red Mountain Pass (elevation 11,018 ft. ... Ouray, Colorado Ouray is a city located in Ouray County, Colorado. ... Silverton, Colorado Silverton is a town in San Juan County, Colorado (USA). ...

A 900-foot tunnel on the eastern portion was opened November 5, 2005. Construction is expected to be completed by Summer 2006, with the highway fully widened and drainage projects along the route completed.

At present, a major resort project headed by Texan billionaire Red McCombs is causing controversy in the area. The proposed resort would be situated near the summit of the pass. Billy Joe Red McCombs (born 1927 in Spur, Texas) is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and is the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at...

Attractions

The pass is also home to Wolf Creek ski area, frequented by locals and famous for large annual snowfall. It is located on the eastern side of the Continental Divide on Highway 160. Also on the eastern side is one of the largest RV parks in the United States, located just a few miles west of South Fork, Colorado. Wolf Creek Ski Area is a ski area in southwest Colorado, located on the Wolf Creek Pass between Pagosa Springs and South Fork. ... South Fork is a town located in Rio Grande County, Colorado. ...

Wolf Creek Pass is also an attraction for tourists, as it is known for the natural beauty of the wilderness the highway passes through.

C.W. McCall

It was made famous in 1975 by Country music artist C.W. McCall's humorous spoken word song of the same name, in which the pass is fondly described as "37 miles o' hell -- which is up on the Great Divide." In the song, two truckers drive an out-of-control 18-wheeler down U.S. Highway 160 to Pagosa Springs -- a 5,000-foot drop in elevation. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... C.W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries (born November 15, 1928) in Audubon, Iowa, USA. In 1972, while working for an Omaha, Nebraska advertising firm, Bozell Jacobs, Fries created a television campaign for the Metz Baking Company. ... Look up Humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Spoken word is a form of music or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. ... 18 Wheeler was a Scottish rock band active in the early 1990s, consisting of Sean Jackson (vocals, guitar), David Keenan (guitar, vocals), Alan Hake (bass), and Neil Halliday (drums). ... United States Highway 160 is an east-west United States highway. ... Pagosa Springs is a town located in Archuleta County, Colorado. ...

I looked at Earl and his eyes was wide

His lip was curled, and his leg was fried.

And his hand was froze to the wheel like a tongue to a sled in the middle of a blizzard.

I says, "Earl, I'm not the type to complain

But the time has come for me to explain

That if you don't apply some brake real soon, they're gonna have to pick us up with a stick and a spoon..."

("Wolf Creek Pass" written by Bill Fries and Chip Davis, sung by C.W. McCall)

The song describes the truck careening down through a "tunnel" (during which process several crates of chickens stacked on the back of the truck are inadvertently lost) and eventually into a feed store in Pagosa Springs. This tunnel is actually a snow shed: the song predates the only true tunnel on the pass by 30 years. However, the snow shed is on the east side of the pass while Pagosa Springs is on the west side, making this sequence of events impossible. C.W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries (born November 15, 1928) in Audubon, Iowa, USA. In 1972, while working for an Omaha, Nebraska advertising firm, Bozell Jacobs, Fries created a television campaign for the Metz Baking Company. ... Louis F. Chip Davis, Jr. ... C.W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries (born November 15, 1928) in Audubon, Iowa, USA. In 1972, while working for an Omaha, Nebraska advertising firm, Bozell Jacobs, Fries created a television campaign for the Metz Baking Company. ... The Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line passes through a timber snow shed. ...

It should be noted that going through the snowshed prior to crashing in Pagosa Springs is possible. The trip, as noted in early verses, starts in eastern Colorado from the town of Wiggins. Thus, the truck is headed westbound into Pagosa Springs, not eastbound FROM Pagosa Springs.

Sources and external links

• CDOT Project Updates
• Wolf Creek Ski Area
• Friends Of Wolf Creek
• Pagosa Springs Information

Coordinates: 37°27′5″N, 106°48′1″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...