As summer fades and aspen leaves begin their golden transformation, Empire is already looking ahead to one of the town’s signature events: Fall Fest.

The annual October celebration brings together residents, visitors, and neighboring communities for a day of food, music, and mountain fellowship.

Tom Henderson’s driveway is steep enough that most visitors pause before attempting it. But Tom has been navigating that grade for 40 years.

‘You learn to respect it,’ Tom said. ‘The mountain doesn’t care about your schedule or your comfort. You adapt or you leave.’

Tom, 72, adapted. He arrived in Empire in 1985, fresh from a transfer with the U.S. Forest Service. He spent his career managing forest lands in Clear Creek and Summit counties.

Stand at the intersection of US Highway 40 and Park Avenue in downtown Empire, look west, and you’re staring at the beginning of one of Colorado’s most storied mountain passes.

Berthoud Pass rises 2,692 vertical feet over the next 12 miles, crossing the Continental Divide at 11,307 feet before dropping into Winter Park.

For Empire’s 345 residents, living at the foot of the pass means existing in a perpetual state of geographic significance without actually being the destination.