Hi Lisa,

I'm sorry to hear about your tree!

It's not uncommon for maples, particularly Autumn Blaze maples, to perform poorly in our area.  The symptoms you're seeing are commonly caused by environmental stresses; the winter and wind are the two most common culprits.  The best thing you can do for your tree is to make sure that it is adequately watered.  Using paper trunk-wrap through the winter months (Hallowe'en to Tax Day, more or less) can help to protect it against sunscald.  Lastly, a very light fertilizer application might help the tree to push more top growth, but there's no need to use "deep-root" applicators.  Bear in mind, too, that the growth generated will be more susceptible to disease and insect attack, and the growth spurt can add stress to an already stressed tree--so fertilize only with caution.  

You can cut the dead branches off, yes, being careful not to cut into living tissue as you do so.

If the tree fails to recover, consider replacing it with a more durable tree for Colorado--hackberry, honeylocust, Kentucky coffeetree, linden, and bur oak are a few good options, for example.

I hope this is helpful.

Cordially,

John