Tennessee Pass is the pass nobody photographs, which is part of its charm. At 3,186 metres, it carries Highway 24 across the Continental Divide between Leadville and the valley of the Eagle River, and it does so with a long, open, rather gentle gradient and a wide, forested saddle. A small sign marks the divide, and that is about it. The riding is smooth, steady and a good place to settle into a rhythm after more demanding passes.
The history is the interesting bit. A few miles north is Camp Hale, where the US Army's 10th Mountain Division trained for mountain warfare in the early 1940s, learning to ski, climb and fight in the cold before shipping out to the Italian Alps. After the war many of its veterans helped to create the American ski industry, and the nearby ski hill at Cooper, which they used to train on, still runs in winter. The old railway line over the pass, once a major route for freight, has been silent since the 1990s, though the line is still visible in places.
South of the pass lies Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the United States, at over 3,000 metres. It began as a silver boom town in the late 1870s, with mining fortunes that produced characters such as Horace Tabor and his second wife Baby Doe, and today it is a tough, slightly scruffy mountain town with a colourful main street. The mountains around it include Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, the two highest peaks in Colorado, which on a clear day give the horizon an unusually serious look.
The road is open year round, though winter brings snow and ice, and storms can slow things down. In summer expect warm sun, big cloud and afternoon showers. The pass has no services of its own, so top up in Leadville, about twelve kilometres south, which has several stations, a few good cafes and a diner or two with proper breakfasts. Minturn and Vail, down the north side, have more options. The wind picks up in the open saddle, so a windproof layer helps, and remember that your engine will feel the thin air, even on this gentle climb.