Accompanied by Jim Bridger, Berthoud discovered the pass in July 1861 while surveying a possible route for the railroad.

[1] The route of U.S. Highway 40 currently traverses the pass north of its junction with Interstate 70 in Clear Creek Canyon.

It provides primary road access to Winter Park and a secondary route to Steamboat Springs from Denver and the Colorado Front Range.

[3] Berthoud Pass is found in a region of Middle Proterozoic granite that intruded through older schist and gneiss roughly 1.4 billion years ago.

[9] In 1902, the 3.5 mile (5.6 km) Berthoud Pass Ditch began diverting water from the headwaters of the Fraser River over the continental divide into the basin of Clear Creek.

The ski resort was closed in 2002 due to financial problems caused by lack of water and sewage at the top of the pass.

The ski lodge and facilities had been in use since the early 1950s and the new warming hut includes modern features such as composting toilets, radiant floor heating and green construction.