Climax

Marked by the cliffs atop Fremont Pass, and located between the ski and mining villages of Copper Mountain and Leadville, today’s Climax is considered a ghost town.

However, the history of the old Climax mine is fascinating, and boom-days tidbits, such as the fact that Climax holds the record for the nation's highest post office and railroad station, continue to capture attention. Visitors on the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad Co. will visit Climax along their route, taking in views of Mount Elbert, Mount Massive and the upper Arkansas River Valley along the way.

Climax's claim to fame was its rich deposits of a mineral called molybdenum. At its height in the early 1900s, the Climax Molybdenum Company was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, supplying three quarters of the world's supply. Today some of the old employee houses are in a new location at the west end of Leadville. Many houses were simply picked up from their original locations, put on flatbed trucks and moved to new sites. Besides historical signs and leftover mining scraps, little remains to mark the bygone era. But the rich history and stunning views atop the 11,000-foot pass remain as remarkable as ever.

Fremont Pass, near Climax, is one of the scenic stops along the Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway between Leadville and Copper Mountain.