Climax, Colorado


Climax is an extinct mining company town, railroad station, and post office located in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The town site is located at an elevation of at Fremont Pass on the Continental Divide of the Americas. Climax's reason for being was its huge deposit of molybdenum ore. The Climax post office operated from 1887 until 1898, and from 1917 until 1974; the town was razed in 1962 to make way for the enlarging Climax mine, owned by Freeport-McMoRan.
From 1940 to 1972 the National Center for Atmospheric Research operated a High Altitude Observatory for solar research nearby.

History

The Climax station on the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad was the highest railroad station in North America from its construction in 1884 until 1904 and again from 1928 until it was removed in 1937. The Climax, Colorado, post office operated from April 22, 1887, until April 12, 1898, and then again from December 5, 1917, until January 7, 1974, despite the fact that the town was razed in 1962 to make room for the expansion of the Climax Molybdenum Mine, Climax had the highest elevation post office in the United States from April 1, 1919, until its closure on January 1, 1974.
Climax's reason for being is its huge deposit of molybdenum ore. The Climax mine was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, and for many years it supplied three-fourths of the world's supply of the metal. Over the years it evolved from "at times the largest underground mine in the world" into a pit mine.
A High Altitude Observatory was located nearby for solar research from 1940 to 1972 by the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
After mining ceased, the residential houses were all transported to the West Park subdivision of Leadville, Colorado, in 1962, leaving only the mining buildings standing. The front office is part of the former jail.
After a 17-year shutdown, the Climax mine reopened and resumed shipment of molybdenum on May 10, 2012.
The village of Climax is now considered a ghost town. The former Colorado & Southern Railway line from Leadville is operated as a tourist line by Leadville, [Colorado & Southern Railroad]. The line stops at an overview of the Climax Molybdenum Mine and Fremont Pass. Climax is a destination for automobile tourists, bicyclists, and photographers, but lacking commercial enterprise, the location is not well advertised.

Notable people

Climate

With a mean annual temperature of, Climax is not only the highest but also the coldest settlement ever established in the contiguous US, being probably the only one with a mean annual temperature below freezing point. The town has a borderline subalpine climate, closely bordering on an alpine climate with short, mild summers and long, snowy winters. The annual snowfall is, as would be expected, extremely heavy at, with the record for a full season being between July 1961 and June 1962, and the most in one month during December 1983. Snow does not melt until June and after wet winters may accumulate into May – the maximum daily snow cover was on March, 8th, 2019. Precipitation falls off in June, but the tail end of the monsoon may cause thunderstorm activity in July and August. The wettest calendar year has been 2014 with and the driest 1989 when only a water equivalent of was gauged.
The high elevation means that Climax has consistently cold temperatures throughout the year, with frosts possible in any month and 53.5 mornings falling to or below. The average window for zero temperatures is from November 1 to April 10, though temperatures that low have been reported as late as May 11, 1953 and as early as October 10 of 1982. Climax's 99.6 days that do not top freezing is also the most in the contiguous US – the average window for days not topping freezing being from October 11 to May 4, and cases as late as June 25, 1969 and as early as September 3 of 1961 are known. The high altitude, however, limits extreme minima as in the coldest weather Climax may be warmer than lower valleys; the record low being on January 12, 1963, and December 23, 1990. The hottest temperature has been on July 7, 1981; 1981 was also the hottest full year at, whilst 1973 with an annual mean of is the coldest calendar year. The hottest month has been July 2003 with a mean of ; the coldest has been January 1979 which averaged.