Colorado’s Black Bear Pass Closed After South Carolina Driver Gets Kia Stuck

A mountain pass in Colorado is closed indefinitely after a motorist got their SUV stuck in a precarious position, complicating towing, officials said.

The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that Black Bear Pass is closed until further notice due to a Kia Telluride blocking the way. Black Bear Pass is a famous dirt Jeep trail starting at the 11,018-foot summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. Highway 550, descending past multiple switchbacks over Bridal Veil Falls and its hydroelectric power plant, toward Telluride.

The sheriff’s office said a South Carolina man drove his Kia Telluride up Black Bear Road “despite being advised not to do so by people in the area.”

The stuck Kia is now “teetering off the edge on one of the switchbacks above the falls,” the sheriff’s office said. Photos shared by the sheriff’s office show the SUV tilted with three of its wheels off the road and wedged into an unstable pile of rocks.

The sheriff’s office said it’s “not safe” for other vehicles to drive around the Kia. Bridal Veil Falls Road is also closed just past the parking lot, blocking access to the Via Ferrata. Bridal Veil Trail remains open.

The Kia needs to be towed, but “it is unknown at this point when this can happen,” the sheriff’s office said.