Ouray Colorado 2019.

Started by Matt H, January 10, 2019, 08:54 PM

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Matt H

The Solihull Society is have having it's Land Rover National Rally (LRNR) in Ouray Colorado this year. Close to many iconic US trails this is an opportunity to travel and meet like minded folks in a relaxed atmosphere.

The dates for the rally are set for 23rd to the 27th of July 2019.

Joy and I are planning on attending. Likely we will rent a cabin or holiday let/house of some sort.

If you are interested you can check out the Solihull Society on the web or Facebook. Alternatively you can post up here and I will relay what I know.

Excited about tackling some truly epic trails and visiting some spectacular locations.
No Road Except For Land-Rover.

lropchan


binch

#2
From what I understand they rotate the annual events between Colorado and Moab.....I've always wanted to go on the Colorado trip, but I don't know if I can make it this year.

Hey Matt, shall we make it the first trip added to the 2019 calendar???? ;D
Cheers, Bill

Trevor

#3
This one might work for me Matt. I haven't been down to the rally in CO yet, beautiful area though with some great wheeling. I have some business to do down in that area this summer. Pretty good chance I can tie this together.
"You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves."
― George Orwell, 1984

Freedom Convoy Truckers -- Canadian Heroes!
Justin Trudeau --Enemy of the People!

Matt H

Hope you can make it! The group at Moab last year were a fun bunch. It will be nice to catch up. Thinking about taking the Mighty Range Rover this time?

Really looking forward to trails like Black bear pass, Engineer pass & Imogene Pass.
I've read about these trails countless times in magazines etc and the scenery at those elevations looks breathtaking.
No Road Except For Land-Rover.

Trevor

Yes, there's some really iconic trails down in that area. The Rangie would be a good choice this time! I'll have the Disco along.

One thing I will look into is the oxygen kits they sell down there now. I guess you can buy canisters at any service station consisting of O2 and a mask. Us low landers in Alberta aren't used to the high altitudes of that area. I know the last time I wheeled there back in 2011 I suffered some nasty altitude sickness doing Mosquito Pass. We don't see anything close to 10,000+ ft here, whereas pretty much every trail there gets you that high....or higher.
"You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves."
― George Orwell, 1984

Freedom Convoy Truckers -- Canadian Heroes!
Justin Trudeau --Enemy of the People!

B-Red

This has potential. Have to see which vehicle can do the trip.
As for oxygen, altitude sickness would be new to me for sure. Good way to clean the lungs

binch

The truck should be doing all the work....you shouldn't have too much trouble with the altitude.  ;D
Cheers, Bill

Matt H

Some members of the Solihull Society are planning on camping at the KOA site I believe?
That may be an option for those not wanting/needing cabin type accommodation. From what I can tell the details are still being worked out.

I'd not considered possible issues with the altitude.
No Road Except For Land-Rover.

binch

Here you go...easy remedy for altitude sickness  ;D

Cheers, Bill

Matt H

#10
Quote from: binch on January 11, 2019, 12:12 AM
From what I understand they rotate the annual events between Colorado and Moab.....I've always wanted to go on the Colorado trip, but I don't know if I can make it this year.

Hey Matt, shall we make it the first trip added to the 2019 calendar???? ;D

Best TG special EVER! Not least because the Mighty Range Rover's Bolivian cousin steals the show.

It looks like an amazing area Bill, hope you can swing it?. I've never been to that area either so it will be good to go with a group with lots local experience.

Feel free to add it to the club calendar!
No Road Except For Land-Rover.

Trevor

#11
Quote from: Matt H on January 12, 2019, 08:29 AM


I'd not considered possible issues with the altitude.

It wasn't a lot of fun. The first night we camped at Vail, right along I70. It's about 8000 ft. Had some drinks, felt fine that evening. Next morning felt a little woozy already from the altitude, but not bad...and had not realized what was happening yet. Once we hit the trail it became progressivley worse. While on the Mosquito Pass trail we ended up climbing a dead-end segment of the trail to over 10k feet. Had to do some winching to get Rob's RRS up that portion, and that little bit of grunt work pretty much finished me off.

From that point on I felt really crappy, light headed, upset stomach...like a really bad hang-over but a lot more light headed.

Once we figured out what was wrong we changed our plans. We were going to camp at Grizzly Lake that night but since it was at fairlly high altitude as well (about 7 - 8k again) we decided to head for lower ground and got a motel room for the night. Heck, even at "low altitudes" in some of those areas you're still higher than anywhere you will wheel or camp in AB. Our motel was about 6000 ft iirc...that'sw about what Ruby Lake is at.

Had a terrible sleep, felt crappy all night, slep in 15 minute spurts basically. It was terrible. Don't want to experience that again, it took about 2 days to fully recover. So I'll definitely be prepared next time.

Everyone is different with altitude effects though. I was packing around extra weight at the time, and my cardio wasn't very good, so I would have definitely been more susceptible to it than someone more fit. or just used to the alts. 
"You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves."
― George Orwell, 1984

Freedom Convoy Truckers -- Canadian Heroes!
Justin Trudeau --Enemy of the People!

camo388

When I did the trek to Mt Everest base camp, we always slept lower than the highest level we walked that day.  Don't recall any high altitude effects other than less energy the higher we got.  Not getting the full measure of oxygen with each breath.  Being in my early 20s back then helped a lot. ;D  We only had to carry a water bottle and our camera and could not keep up with the porters that were carrying all of the food and equipment.  Thought it was strange that going down a hill was harder on the knees than climbing up.

Trevor

I stumbled upon these reference charts showing the highest roads in Canada, compared to the highest roads in the US. It kinda sets things into perspective and you get a good sense of how really low things are here relative to CO.

Canada...

Mountain pass   Elevation   Province   Surface
Fortress Mountain chairlift   2.303m (7,555ft)   Alberta   Gravel
Highwood pass   2.206m (7,238ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Wolf S3   2.164m (7,099ft)   British Columbia   Gravel
Snocoach Road   2.120m (6,955ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Shunda Mountain   2.090m (6,857ft)   Alberta   Gravel
Bow pass   2.088m (6,850ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Fortress Mountain Resort    2.075m (6,807ft)   Alberta   Gravel
Grey Creek pass   2.072m (6,800ft)   British Columbia   Gravel
McBride Peak   2.049m (6,722ft)   British Columbia   Gravel
Sunwapta pass   2.035m (6,677ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Bow Summit   2.027m (6,650ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Marmot Basin   1.989m (6,525ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Sunwapta Lake   1.960m (6,430ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Smith-Dorrien pass   1.905m (6,250ft)   Alberta   Gravel
Moraine lake   1.885m (6,183ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Mount Saint Thomas   1.855m (6,085ft)   British Columbia   Gravel
Bonanza peak   1.804m (5,918ft)   British Columbia   Gravel
Kootenay pass   1.775m (5,823ft)   British Columbia   Asphalt
Mount Edith Cavell   1.767m (5,797ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Sunshine Village   1.732m (5,682ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Pennask summit    1.728m (5760ft)   British Columbia   Asphalt
Upper Kananaskis Lake   1.724m (5,656ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Mount Norquay   1.720m (5,643ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Whitemans Gap   1.715m (5,626ft)   Alberta   Gravel
Maligne Lake   1.710m (5,610ft)   Alberta   Asphalt
Vermilion pass   1.680m (5,510ft)   AB/BC   Asphalt
Kicking Horse pass   1.643m (5,390ft)   AB/BC   Asphalt
Mount McIntyre   1.567m (5,141ft)   Yukon   Gravel
Heckman pass    1.524m (5.000ft)   British Columbia   Gravel


US...

Mountain pass   Elevation   State   County   Surface
White Mountain Peak   4.344m (14,252ft)    California   Mono County   Gravel
Mount Bross   4.321m (14,178ft)     Colorado   Park County   Gravel
Mount Evans Byway   4.310m (14,130ft)   Colorado   Clear Creek County   Asphalt
Pikes Peak Highway   4.302m (14,115ft)    Colorado   El Paso County   Asphalt
Mount Lincoln    4.222m (13,854ft)   Colorado   Park County   Gravel
Mauna Kea   4.207m (13,803ft)   Hawai'i   Hawai'i county   Asphalt/Gravel
Mount Antero   4.189m (13,743ft)   Colorado   Chaffee County   Gravel
Kuss Peak   4.136m (13,569ft)   Colorado   Lake County   Gravel
Mosquito Peak   4.127m (13,540ft)    Colorado   Lake County   Gravel
Peak 10   4.082m (13,392ft)   Colorado   Summit County    Gravel

Canada's highest roads are less than half those of the US. Things like the Mosquito Pass are still 4k ft over the 10k mark.

So if you are going on this event keep that in mind. When wheeling in AB you are never at an altitude that one might consider dangerous. When wheeling in CO, however, you are usually never at an altitude that one might consider not dangerous (or close to it) for all of us accustomed to the lower alts. It would be wise to plan accordingly.

"You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves."
― George Orwell, 1984

Freedom Convoy Truckers -- Canadian Heroes!
Justin Trudeau --Enemy of the People!

binch

Bring a 2.5n/a diesel along as a safety vehicle.    It won't go where you're going to have problems!   It'll have an asthma attack instead hahahahhahahah
Cheers, Bill