Guanella Pass, Waldorf and Mt. McClellan ?

[Fairwind]

Has anyone followed the old Argentine Central Railroad grade up to the top of Mt. McClellan lately ? Can a 4WD vehicle still make it?

There is a new rental hut up there, "Tundra Hut" it's called...On the East approach to Argentine Pass..

[CHeimCO]

Here's a pic looking at Waldorf from the summit of Argentine peak last week. Argentine pass road was clearly drifted over but the portions of the McClellan road visible look clear. If not drifted you should be able to drive nearly to the top of McClellan. If you go let me know how it is I'd like to do that trail this summer.

IMG_20170716_111208.jpg

[James Dziezynski]

About 3 weeks ago, I did see jeeps coming down from the upper road above the "post office" (or whatever that metal shelter building is) - it all looked pretty clear then, so I imagine it would be in good shape now.

Fremont-Argentine.jpg

As a sidenote, that new home / cabin / hut looks like a normal house - really nice work.

[Fairwind]

HEY THANKS, THAT SOUNDS GREAT ! The metal Quonset Hut pictured in Waldorf was / is maintained by Public Service Company for equipment storage and as an emergency shelter for workers maintaining the power lines in the area..

Once upon a time, (1906 - 1911) the Argentine Central Railroad came up from Silver Plume, stopped in Waldorf then continued up to the top of Mt McClellan. They used Shay 3 cylinder, geared, AWD steam engines to handle the grade. One of these unique engines is still operational on the Georgetown Loop train ride..

That "Hut" has a slick web-site, seems to be mostly a rental operation..A year-round deal..

If you are interested in the history of this area and the mining industry that once flourished here, the link below has a good write-up..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Central_Railway

[James Dziezynski]

Cool, thanks for the hut info! I knew about the town / train (crazy engineering for the time) - it's really a fascinating area.