Million Dollar Highway | Most Dangerous? Ouray to Silverton Colorado
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2020
- On the last leg of our 2 week trip to the west coast and back, we take the time to drive the Million Dollar Highway. Said to be the most dangerous highway in the US. This section of highway takes us from Ouray to Silverton Colorado. Little to no guardrails or shoulder. You're many times driving right on the edge of a steep drop off. This was a white knuckle nail biter!
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![IS THE MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY AS BAD AS THEY SAY? VAN LIFE USA S7-E24]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pz9JJCENrts/mqdefault.jpg)
Hello, this Red Mountain Pass is the most dangerous paved mountain pass in all of United States and Canada combined. I thought what I read before it drops off to 400 feet down, but I learned the deepest is to 800 feet down to the river gorge below. There's no guardrails because right side of the road going south there's no room to put guardrails in. The highway department put in concrete blocks on the edge of the road in places years ago. But highway department had trouble getting the snow and from avalanches debris of rocks/trees of the highway so they removed those blocks. Other reasons why this is the most dangerous paved mountain pass. Such as the most avalanche paths per mile. 72 avalanche paths in this 26 mile road. Rock slides can happen yearlong. Occasional mud slides to deal with. Snow tires is must and tire snow chains is required at some times in winter. Deer and Rocky Mountain Sheep or is it Goats have been there on this road before. That picture of going under that lighted slanted snow shed was built years ago because of persistent avalanche slides there.
The 2018-2019 had so much snowfall in all of those San Juan Mountains that people lived out there all their lives said they haven't seen that snowfall amount in 30/40 years. That slanted snow shed had snow that gushed in from an avalanche that filled INSIDE that shed 20 feet deep. That avalanche slide path is known as East Slide and across that valley gorge is West Slide. Avalanches came down both paths and almost filled gorge there to the level of the road. Just past that shed, avalanche brought 60 feet deep of snow on top of the road itself. The highway department did what is called Migration on avalanche paths that was suspected to have an avalanche. They fly over using a helicopter and drop dynamite charges or use a army howitzer fire shells on these paths. They were doing but snow kept falling and was causing avalanches themselves. So the highway department closed down this highway for 17 days straight. Two shifts of highway department crews of working 12 hours a day 24/7 clearing this road. I think this was the longest this pass was closed down this was paved.
There's mountain roads that go a lot places that require a 4x4 vehicle like Jeep Rubicon for example. I never in my life heard you could drive through a avalanche debris after it was cleared like in spring 2019. Animas Forks Road avalanches and Corkscrew Gluch avalanche(s) both 2018-2019 winter. CZcams has videos of these and places elsewhere yearlong.
Wow. I love this comment! This was a lot of great information. Really thank you for sharing all this. So crazy how long the road was closed down. Working 24/7. Sheesh. I can't imagine having to remove all that mess. Gonna pin this comment to the top. Others may find this very interesting. Thank you so much for watching and commenting. 😊
@@HappyPlaceCamping, Gary here again. I've gone skiing by myself when I was in the USAF to Colorado from Altus AFB, Oklahoma. It's like long time ago when dinosaurs were drag racing each other down I-25 and I-70. Ha! Ha! Well it was just back in January, 1974. Two trips of 4 days skiing time each. Anyway as far as the Ouray, Colorado/Red Mountain Pass/Silverton, Colorado/The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad/and the off road mountain 4x4 roads in all area I didn't view and read stories pertaining aforementioned until spring, 2019. Yeah I drove in Colorado in north central area of state and never in the southwest part. I just read briefly of the hardships of people who lived out there in Colorado and particular miners that worked the various mines. I'm sure it was the same in other states as well. So I skied out there and Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico as well but I never lived out there. I was born in Michigan and living here since USAF days. Can you picture yourself working at a mining camp such was in Animas Forks? That place grew to small town because of the mining at over 11,000 feet. No running water, flushing toilets, etc. I think it was about 1870 to 1900 (there abouts). This was back in the day 40 degrees below zero in winter was normal at times. Near Ouray is a former gold mine that tourists can take a tour of there. Red Mountain Pass is very scenic drive along with Coal Bank Pass and Molas Pass from Silverton to Durango. But if a person driving by their self, they need pay attention to the road in front of them. There's gift shops in Ouray and Silverton to buy books, pictures, etc to look at later. Granded this road is not like the Indian, Nepal, and Pakistan Himalayan Mountains where there you may 3,000 feet down to likely death. But this bad highway for most people who drove this likeness.
@@garywoolard9522 Oh yeah I've seen some of those roads in Pakistan etc. I wouldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I would just go back to the airport and get on a plane and come home LOL. I seriously get anxiety just watching videos of people driving over those roads. I really think I might at the very least pass out if I had to cross one. Which if I was driving would pretty much do me in. We love Colorado. We have so much left there to explore. Hoping to get back there soon.
At 8:01 I screamed yall are brave. im glad I watched this first that would drive my anxiety through the roof. You guys are troopers.
It’s is quite unnerving to say the least. I don’t have an extreme fear of heights, but can imagine that anyone who does would not enjoy this drive one bit. It is pretty, though. If you can keep your eyes open enough to see it lol.
Such beautiful scenery. Yeah Natasha wouldn't like that drop-off either. Thanks for sharing!
Haha it's only a LOT unnerving lol. Thanks so much for watching.
I've driven this highway many of time while living in Montrose, Colorado. The first few times my hands were sweating!! (being from Texas! haha Thanks for the video.. I love Colorado!
😂🤣 that’s funny! It for sure is nerve racking.
That was a fantastic driving video, Felicity and Jessie. The drop off on the edge of the road was insane! That makes me nervous driving on roads like that, too. Those were some neat old towns you went through. Great architecture on some of the old buildings. Cool ghost town, too. Looks like you guys had a great trip. Awesome video!
It was a great trip. We even went back to Colorado after this trip was over. We'll be starting those videos next week. I'm already ready to go on another trip lol
Great footage. We’re about to drive the million dollar highway and this at least prepared us for what we’re about to encounter. And thank you so, so very much for not putting some annoying music track in the background!
Your welcome. Don’t use music too often. We aren’t fans of that either. Tend to do it when covering up sounds or needing sound due to lack of any. Have fun on the highway. It’s quite the experience.
Pretty drive! Colorado is beautiful! Great video y'all..Have a great weekend! Blessings! 😊
Most of Colorado really is very pretty. The more east you go, though, the more it looks like Kansas lol.
I live an hour and a half from Ouray. It is beautiful. Silverton is my next day trip. I am super happy you did this video. Now i I know if my Kia Rio will make it up there.
Oh yeah you'll be fine in a small vehicle. I probably wouldn't have been so nervous, but we were pulling the camper too. I had terrible thoughts of it slipping off the edge and pulling us over 🙄.
Happy Place Camping I’ll bet. 😂
Wow! We've heard a lot about this highway, thanks for bringing us along with you! Just subbed to your channel, looking forward to following your adventures!
It's a pretty crazy highway. Thanks so much for joining us. I'll have to get over and check out your channel soon.
I think Ouray is one of my most desired places to visit, the views and the drives are magnificent. Thanks for sharing.
It really is a beautiful drive. It was fun, just scary lol
Gorgeous scenery! Love those old buildings through that little town too! but yikes ... that drive would have made me nervous too. Lol I’m here hanging on to the armrest of my couch lol. Thank you for Sharing.
Haha it is pretty scary in several spots. Thanks so much for watching 😊
Great drive, loved the scenery and as for the million dollar highway, you would have thought they could of spent a little more and put barriers up on the side of the road LOL. Stay safe😀Mark & Coral
RIGHT! What would it hurt to add a guard rail here and there. My thoughts exactly!!
Almost felt like a rollercoaster ride, DONT LOOK hahaha, nice video! And what a charming little town at the beginning 😍 cant wait until we make our way to Colorado
Hey thanks so much for coming by and watching. We love Colorado and have been there a few times. We already would love to go back. There's quite a bit to see there. I gotta jump over and check out your channel. I don't believe I'm familiar with it.
Can't beat the views! I can't wait to start traveling with my camper!
This was a beautiful drive. Colorado really has tons of beautiful places.
That was an excellent drive, loved those cliffs, lol.
It was a beautiful drive, but wow. So close to the edge. I was pretty relieved when it was done. Then we had to go back the other way lol.
That was a beautiful ride. Those one places on the side of the road was freaking me out too. Love the towns and the old buildings. Cool they get to ride the sxs through town. I’m sure there are some great trails there. Have a great weekend. Safe travels. Full Watch
Oh yeah there were atv's and stuff all over the place. And I saw a few signs for trails. I'm sure you guys would have a blast there lol.
Happy Place Camping oh yea. Maybe we could visit there someday. Thank you
Love the drive footage, that was scary and you can see the lean in the road
Those edges had me thinking of terribly disastrous scenarios. Cuz that's how my mind works lol. Luckily Jessie drove pretty slow with both hands on the wheel and no looking lol
My brother lives out west and is familiar with those scary no guard rail roads, me...not so much. Nice video.
I'm sure the people that drive them all the time think we're nuts for freaking out. They just don't realize how flat and non elevated we are lol
Yikes! That would make me nervous! Glad you made it!
Haha. I'm just glad I wasn't the one driving lol
3:50 when you get out of the city to the woods ... feels like getting out of prison 😊
Love the greenery and love nature 😊
Wish you a great weekend 😊🌹🌹🌹
Thank you so much. There was a lot of nature to take in there. It's beautiful.
@@HappyPlaceCamping 😊🌹🌹🌹
Great views! We were there in early June and it was very quiet due to virus stuff. Love the area.
We were there early July. It wasn't so quiet LOL. But it's ok. We got to do the drive and camp for a night. That was our main goal. Thanks so much for watching. Really appreciate it.
What an excellent video. Thanks for the ride along guys. That was a serious drop off from the road. Looked a little unnerving. When were you guys there? Have fun, stay safe and stay healthy. 😎
It was quite unnerving. No editing there, that was exactly how the road was and we were seriously that close to the edge. Pretty freaky. we were there second week of July. So not too long ago.
We loved Colorado when we were there last summer; we want to go back. This area looks amazing... I hate that there are no guardrails LOL I felt that horrible about our drive up Pikes Peak.... We did a video. Thank you for sharing.~ Brad and Diana
We did Pikes Peak many years ago. Way before we did youtube. So no video. It was pretty scary. Colorado is beautiful. We have been there a few times. We went again just recently. Haven't put those vids out yet.
amazing drive! lots of traffic too! Silverton is an awesome town - we have friends that moved from here to there! they have an art studio and work at the museum I think you passed.... love that tunnel carved out of the rock! can u imagine driving that hwy in the snow? :) don't look down! :) oops...too late :) great waterfall! u guys are seeing some amazing country this summer! :) thanks for sharing - stay safe out there!
It's like something you can't control. You don't want to look, but you have to look lol. Silverton really is awesome. The whole area around there is simply beautiful.
Thank you for sharing this
Appreciate you watching 😁
I love your premieres!
Thank you very much. Very thankful you were able to be there for it.
I would to take motorcycle on that road 😎 thank you sharing
We saw bikes on the road. Honestly think that would have been better than pulling a trailer lol
Very nice drive! Thanks for sharing with us! ~Kaylla
Thank you very much for riding along with us.
Wow, just wow!! Amazingly beautiful and a bit scary! 😧😱 I would be a little freaky too! Oh yea, can see it and I am like wow! Looks like that guy ahead of you is really hugging the center line. 😳 Much better on the inside..... The scenery is just breathtaking! Imagine having those views everyday.... Great video!!
Oh yes we were talking about how some of the houses we saw here and there had a great view. Then we discussed how expensive it is to live there lol
@@HappyPlaceCamping Yea, that is the downside.... ;-)
Hello Team HPC nice to see you again hope all is well where ever you are. That truck that backed out in front of the truck you were behind was rude but it's always a good thing to stop when someone is parked in front of a bar no telling how much he had to drink and more than likely he never saw the other truck. The Million Dollar Highway today if they made a Million Dollar Highway it would be about 1/8 of a mile long and have pot holes in it. LMBO Yeah Jessie isn't looking I loved that one. When you speed it up it looks worse it even made me go for the break that I don't have under my desk. At 15:47 in the video did you see the Deer standing next to the fish and game sign ........................................................................................................... Ok be honest did you think about going back to look? We hope your tomorrow is better than your today was. Stay safe and healthy.
Haha nope don't remember seeing a deer, but may be cuz my eyes were close LOL. It was a great drive. I can't remember the exact history of the highway, but I believe it got the nickname because when it was built it would have been the equivalent of a million dollars or something like that. I don't remember for sure. It is a pretty drive.
it really is pretty out there but that highway is crazy to not have guard rails! Of course the views from your camera were gorgeous but really scary drop off. what a fun little parade of… Looked like antique cars.
The camera didn't do too bad catching the drop offs, but still wasn't nearly as steep looking on video as it was in person. Pretty sure I left prints in the armrest of the truck lol
Thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching
Man they where some lovely towns you drove trough . And man you got some altitude there did you
Yup was a bit on the creepy side lol
The scenery is gorgeous on that drive, but that ledge freaks me out too! No guardrails and no room for error, yikes. But the views, wow, just stunning. We drove to the top of Pike's Peak and that was pretty crazy too. What did that road sign mean anyway? You are definitely seeing the sights, and the heights, lol. Thanks for sharing.
Debbie - BluWave Odyssey
Yup Pikes Peak was scary too. Been a while since we was there. But I remember the height very well lol
Why no guard rails, that looked so dangerous . Beautiful views, but how can you enjoy them, when your petrified. cool video .
I really don't know why there are no guard rails. There are some sections that should seriously have them. I wasn't completely petrified, I could still move the osmo around lol.
Very crazy road trip
Yes it is
Certainly a beautiful drive, even with the risk!
It really is a beautiful drive. Some may even drive it daily for work and stuff. Guess after a while you would get used to it.
I’ll be driving this road in six days in my brand new sports car. It’s a bucket list drive for me, and I really appreciate this video. I want to know what I’m getting myself into-trying to be as safe as possible on this challenging road.
Oh that sounds like so much fun!! You’ll have a blast. Just be careful with the edges and curves and you’ll be fine. Hope you have a wonderful experience!!
Love this place,Beautiful we rode out on motorcycle and rode the million Dollar Highway,also love Silverton
It truly is beautiful! Thanks so much for watching.
The drop at the side of that road is scary. Some great scenery. Wonder if that was an old jail. Looked like something out of an old western film. ...... Yvonne and Kev ❤️
It's very possible it was a jail. Honestly didn't even remember to look on the way back through. But it was really close to that ghost town, so it's very possible it was.
Awesome. 🙂👍
Thank you very much
Premier time!!!!!
Thanks so much for being there. Really appreciate your amazing support!
Nice Video! 👍
Thank you
Great video y'all. Wanted to make sure to leave a comment here as well.
Thank you very much and thanks so much for making it to our premiere. Really appreciate that!
It was beautiful though. Wait until you go and see Road to the Sun at Glacier National Park. Do not take the RV on that. Park the RV and drive it like normal. It had amazing views for sure. I think we did a video on that. I just can't remember. 😂 Stay safe. ❤️👍👏 Donovan & Jodi
Hmmm we may have to research that road before we go there. We planned to drive in and out. No unhooking.
@@HappyPlaceCamping Wow, I don't know about that one. Be careful. ❤️
@@RVOnTheWayside we'll check it out before we go. I'm not a big fan of winging it in those types of situations lol
Wow that road is crazy! The drop off is steep for sure...please tell me that’s not the only road leading into Silverton from the north. Lol. Now I need to do research on that town. Is there a lot to do there? Most of your trip seem like it was uphill travel. Great video!
As far as I know it is the only road. And yes it seemed like nothing but uphill both ways lol. There was several little shops and places to grab a bite to eat. Also of you're into atv trail riding there's several trails around the area. It's a neat place to see.
Holey Moley! Scary road!!
Haha yes it was pretty scary. And technically we had to do it twice. Because once at Silverton, we had to go back to get back to where we started. I just didn't film that.
Your million dollar Road had a million dollar view.🏞 I can't believe there's🤔 no guard rails on that road.
Right! It's pretty darn scary, but man those views! Thanks so much for watching.
Nice place~
New fans here to give u fully support 👍🏻
Thanks so much for watching
🌼 I don't know if I'd be able to drive on that road! It was scary enough going slow, and then we started flying around those curves!!! 😱 I was looking forward to getting to the BLM land to see where y'all camped.
...marathons stuff 🤣😂🤣
Thanks for the scary ride!
Haha it was a bit unnerving. But the views are so beautiful there. Since we didn't slide over the edge, I totally think it was worth it lol.
Oh, yeah, being the passenger on a road like that with no guard rail is crazy scary! I see you were pulling your trailer too. Yikes
At least it was a pretty drive.
Ahhhh Darbi, all that driving and you didn't get to leave your mark in Silverton. LOL
LOL Right. We also had to go back the opposite way once we hit Silverton. There were areas just as bad going the other way. I was hoping it wouldn't be as bad LOL
Beautiful drive but I think I will enjoy it through your video - not a fan of those drop offs!
🤣 It really was so close. If I hadn't been terrified I would have got the mirror in the video to show how close the trailer tire was at the edge. That's what really freaked me out. Thanks so much for watching 😊
That road looks so scary. I watched another channel Loftis Party of Six go on that same road in their Class A towing their Jeep. I don't know about it. Amazing views though. At 10,000 feet evaluation did you notice a breathing change or anything?
It took a little while to hit us, but yes we did end up with a bit of breathing struggles. Mostly Jessie this time. Which was unusual. We had stopped and boondock camped. Was going to stay a couple days, but it was still messing with us next day. And me more than the day before. So we moved on down the road. It can take several days to get acclimated from what we've heard. We figured if it wasn't good by the next morning it probably wasn't going to get better for a while so best not to stay.
got to hit that road one of these days
It really is pretty there. Just a little bit scary.
That wasn't Darbi huffing because she wanted to stop driving, it was her finally being able to breath after that scary drive on the highway. LOL
🤣😂 That could be! That made me laugh.
The Million Dollar Highway (actually, the entire San Juan Loop) should be on all mountain lovers' bucket list. I've driven all or parts of it so many times, in all but the dead of winter, I've lost count. It never fails to both thrill and scare the bejesus out of me and my passengers.
It was amazing and I agree. It's a must do. At least once. We loved it. But I was scared lol. Thanks so much for watching and commenting 😊
Is driving North from Silverton to Ouray the best for the weak at heart? It looks like that direction keeps the car along the hillside!
@@RellStanley Yes .
Then ye speeded up the video to really freak me out..lol...I remember some roads in Arkansas with no guard rails but this one takes the cake..did ye see any skoolies? The sparrows in Silverton are just as loud as the ones here...wonder what folks do for a living around there? Mining or ??
I'm not sure if there are still any active mines in the area. Lots of businesses for the tourism, though. I don't recall seeing any skoolies. If we see them, we generally point them out to each other lol. We saw more casita's than anything on this whole trip. Tons of them.
I have driven such steep cliffs in India and eastern sierras. It’s adventurous :P to be on that road. Nice you filmed it. Fast timelapse looks scary though ;) Anyways such beautiful landscapes.
Oh gosh yes. I've seen videos of roads much more crazy than this in other countries. I get a bit of anxiety just watching lol.
I was on this back in 2002
It’s definitely an experience
Such a cool video to see around the tips and tricks of camper life, worth keeping as we plan to set out soon in NZ.
Greetings from NZ, subscribed, let's support each other 😍😍😍
Thank you so much for joining us. Safe travels!
Stayed in Silverton
Silverton is a cool town
10:19 beautiful
Thanks so much for watching.
*Yes, the edge. People don't like to go to the edge or go dark. What? Wow, that edge....your not looking...so funny.*
It was a pretty drive and great if I just kept looking up 🤣
Were you really going 25 mph around there?
If not then why the hell not? Safety would dictate
the speed is set for a reason. Much less the law.
We were driving the speed limit. As for what the speed limit was, it varied in different areas.