Peter Duniho wrote:
Anyway, as far as finding mountain passes go, they are pretty apparent when
you actually look at a sectional. They are where the terrain goes down
between two high spots. Some are named, and of course the larger the
pass the more likely it is to be a reasonable and safe way through the
mountain range. Note: something that looks like a pass but which leads to
higher terrain rather than lower is called a dead-end. Don't fly down
those.

All too true...For example, Independence Pass goes to/from Leadville, CO
the Aspen. However, there NO way out if something goes wrong. As a rule,
Never Never Never fly thru Independence Pass.

That said, you may want to consider focusing on routes that take you over
the interstate highways. They tend to cross the mountains in the easiest
areas, as well as keep you near civilization in case things don't go quite
as you'd hoped.

Most of the time, this is true. I-80 or I-40 are both great routes
thru the ROckies. However I-70 over the Rockies thru Colorado is a NO-NO.
From Denver to Vail, there are really no "outs" if something goes
wrong. Even the I-70 road isn't straight enough to land most
of the time. On the other hand, the traffic is SO BAD, that you'll
just land on top of an SUV and that'll take you right to Vail.
Of course it'll be a problem going thru the tunnel....