Photo: Riverside Slide Snow Tunnel – 1882

Apparently, 1882 was a big snow year in Southwest Colorado. This picture, taken in August of that year, shows the snow tunnel created to allow passage along the road between Ouray and Silverton. The site of this picture today, about 5 miles from Ouray, has a snow shed across U.S. Highway 550 to minimize the danger. This avalanche run has long been known for the peril it poses to travelers. In 1963, a slide carried away a minister and his two daughters when they stopped to apply chains to their vehicle. In 1970, 1978 and 1992, within this same 100 feet of highway, slides were responsible for the deaths of three Department of Transportation snowplow drivers. The snow shed was constructed over the East Riverside Slide in 1985, but the danger persists today. <br><br>Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org