Posted by Rodney Jack on July 19, 2007 at 11:17 AM
Born and raised in Colorado (Alamosa), living in Idaho (also great scenery), and taking a trip back home. I appreciate the wealth of information given on this forum and ask for advise. I have read others comments and purchased books, but I still want a yes or not from someone who has driven these roads. We have a stock trailblazer, myself, wife, and three kids. The following is our plan.
Ouray up to Yankee Boy Basin, then over Imogene Pass to Telluride. Then going over Ophir Pass and into Silverton. From Silverton up to Animas Forks and over Cinnamon Pass to Lake City.
Will any of these be to difficult, scary (for my wife and kids), or just not a good idea with this vehicle? We will have a cargo thing on top as well.
I thank you for your comments in advance, and hope to join this group and share some pics from this area.
Rodney
rjtri@tetonretinal.com
Posted by Mel Ladewig on July 19, 2007 at 11:43 AM
I'm a jeeper. I drive a jeep on 33" mud tires with locking axles front and rear and extra low gearing. That said, I haven't driven the Ouray area roads. I might get to them later this summer. We'll see. I am familiar with their difficulty level though and have driven roads rated from 1-9+ in Colorado. 10 is the maximum here. I also have a wife who has limits to the trails on which she is willing to ride and like most people, her fear is related more to the irrational fear from the heights than from the technical difficulty of the obstacles on the trail and the possibility of damaging the jeep.
The trailblazer does have 4-low right? It is just as important for providing control going downhill as it can be for power going up.
From a technical difficulty perspective, I don't think that any will cause you problems.
That said, Imogene Pass may be a bit unnerving for your wife and family if they aren't comfortable with the narrow shelf road. There was a push a few years ago to make it one-way after a family rolled their SUV off the road letting someone pass. It didn't happen though. I've driven a good part of Ophir in a subaru and I don't think it will cause you any issues. You could always go to Yankee Boy, come back to Ouray and drive over Dallas divide to get to Telluride, then take Ophir back.
Mel-
Posted by Scott Fricke on July 19, 2007 at 12:47 PM
I have driven all the roads you listed many times, including last weekend. None of them are difficult, you would need 4W low gearing. As Mel said, Imogene Pass is "scary" to some people due to the narrow shelf road on the Telluride side. The Ouray side doesn't have any shelf roads until you get right to the top of the pass. Ophir Pass is very easy, has some steep dropoffs but the road is wider.
I appreciate your feedback. The trailblazer does have 4wd low so we should be fine that way. I will rethink the Imogene pass route. I want to be able to see the area, but if the stress of getting there is too high, then it isn't much of a vacation.
Hopefully I will be able to share some pics when I get back. If you see a grey trailblazer from Idaho in the Ouray area on the 21st-23rd say Hi.
Again, thanks for having a fun and informative forum.
Rodney: Trailblazers don't have much for ground clearance. If you do go over Imogene Pass plan to scrape bottom a few times. It gets a little rough toward the top on the Ouray side.
I would recommend these roads/passes given your vehicle and family situation:
Yankee Boy Basin to the main parking lot, but not above it
Ophir Pass
Alta Lakes
Animas Forks
Stony Pass from the Silverton side (out and back). Do not attempt to drive it all the way to Lake City
Cinnamon Pass (if driven carefully due to sharp switchbacks and some rocky areas)
Remember to carry a shovel, tow strap and jumper cables, just in case. The same holds true for plenty of water, food, warm clothing, etc. in the event of an unplanned overnight stay. Top off your gas tank before embarking on any trip over a pass or into the mountains.
Some of this probably seems like really stupid and amateur suggestions, but they are worth mentioning.
Hope this helps. Feel free to post here or email w/ questions. I would pick up a copy of "4WD Trails: Southwest Colorado" by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson. Excellent trail descriptions, ratings and some interesting narratives on the history of each area.
Actually it was your posting about "pucker point" that really got me thinking. About a month ago (from advise on this forum to another person) I did purchase the Colorado 4WD book by Peter Massey (very good book) and have read through the trails in this area. After your picture and post the other day I looked up that trail in Peter's book and it only rated it a 3 or 4 if I remember correctly, and I thought to myself, "self, is this where you want to take your family?" So thank you for the additional information.
Yeah Pucker Point would be a really bad time to have to pull out "If you don't knock it off, I'm coming back there..." line. Here's an idea Rodney, just run all the roads at night and they'll never know!!! Just kiddin'.
John
Posted by Kalin Wilson on July 20, 2007 at 2:12 AM
Rodney,
Just a little more feedback having been on some of these roads just today. It rained most of the afternoon so the roads were a little sloppy. I was confident in my 4Runner but my wife's tolerance was quite lower. The Animas Forks side of Cinnamon pass starts off rocky and slightly steep. She wouldn't let me do it ( so we missed American Basin ) but if the road were dry it didn't look too bad. We ended up going up Stony pass, which even wet, was not very challenging. We went to the pass from the Silverton side and returned.
It could get worse--there is a chance that there will be localized heavy rainfall in the san juans this afternoon, the kind of rain that can cause slides etc. id wait to see how it goes and get last minute conditions!
Posted by Mel Ladewig on July 20, 2007 at 10:53 AM
I agree with Stan.
A couple years ago there were two incidents up there involving members of my jeep club and rainstorms. 1 couple died on Black Bear Pass when heavy rains destabilized the trail. They were very experienced jeepers and just got caught out in bad weather. Another gentleman was killed when a rock fell out of the wall above Yankee Boy, striking him in the head. The rock was loosened from recent rains.
Heavy rains can make the trails around Ouray a little more dangerous, so take it easy.
Discussion
9 repliesOuray up to Yankee Boy Basin, then over Imogene Pass to Telluride. Then going over Ophir Pass and into Silverton. From Silverton up to Animas Forks and over Cinnamon Pass to Lake City.
Will any of these be to difficult, scary (for my wife and kids), or just not a good idea with this vehicle? We will have a cargo thing on top as well.
I thank you for your comments in advance, and hope to join this group and share some pics from this area.
Rodney
rjtri@tetonretinal.com
The trailblazer does have 4-low right? It is just as important for providing control going downhill as it can be for power going up.
From a technical difficulty perspective, I don't think that any will cause you problems.
That said, Imogene Pass may be a bit unnerving for your wife and family if they aren't comfortable with the narrow shelf road. There was a push a few years ago to make it one-way after a family rolled their SUV off the road letting someone pass. It didn't happen though. I've driven a good part of Ophir in a subaru and I don't think it will cause you any issues. You could always go to Yankee Boy, come back to Ouray and drive over Dallas divide to get to Telluride, then take Ophir back.
Mel-
Hopefully I will be able to share some pics when I get back. If you see a grey trailblazer from Idaho in the Ouray area on the 21st-23rd say Hi.
Again, thanks for having a fun and informative forum.
Rodney
I would recommend these roads/passes given your vehicle and family situation:
Yankee Boy Basin to the main parking lot, but not above it
Ophir Pass
Alta Lakes
Animas Forks
Stony Pass from the Silverton side (out and back). Do not attempt to drive it all the way to Lake City
Cinnamon Pass (if driven carefully due to sharp switchbacks and some rocky areas)
Remember to carry a shovel, tow strap and jumper cables, just in case. The same holds true for plenty of water, food, warm clothing, etc. in the event of an unplanned overnight stay. Top off your gas tank before embarking on any trip over a pass or into the mountains.
Some of this probably seems like really stupid and amateur suggestions, but they are worth mentioning.
Hope this helps. Feel free to post here or email w/ questions. I would pick up a copy of "4WD Trails: Southwest Colorado" by Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson. Excellent trail descriptions, ratings and some interesting narratives on the history of each area.
Actually it was your posting about "pucker point" that really got me thinking. About a month ago (from advise on this forum to another person) I did purchase the Colorado 4WD book by Peter Massey (very good book) and have read through the trails in this area. After your picture and post the other day I looked up that trail in Peter's book and it only rated it a 3 or 4 if I remember correctly, and I thought to myself, "self, is this where you want to take your family?" So thank you for the additional information.
Rodney
John
Just a little more feedback having been on some of these roads just today. It rained most of the afternoon so the roads were a little sloppy. I was confident in my 4Runner but my wife's tolerance was quite lower. The Animas Forks side of Cinnamon pass starts off rocky and slightly steep. She wouldn't let me do it ( so we missed American Basin
Have Fun!
A couple years ago there were two incidents up there involving members of my jeep club and rainstorms. 1 couple died on Black Bear Pass when heavy rains destabilized the trail. They were very experienced jeepers and just got caught out in bad weather. Another gentleman was killed when a rock fell out of the wall above Yankee Boy, striking him in the head. The rock was loosened from recent rains.
Heavy rains can make the trails around Ouray a little more dangerous, so take it easy.