Mt Blanca 2015

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I'm the awesomest spotter ever

IDK.webp
 
Tho many wanted to do some schooling to a clown in a red dodge 1/2 ton... my compadre Steve in the Samurai especially.

and here's the said clown. Attempted to drive up to Como lake with his passenger and broke the front axle UJ. On Sunday, couple of buggies took pity on him and lowered him down in 2wd. He broke the steering on his way down and a major effort took place trying to pull him backwards into a large spot where the Dodge is out of everyone's way.

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and here's the said clown. Attempted to drive up to Como lake with his passenger and broke the front axle UJ. On Sunday, couple of buggies took pity on him and lowered him down in 2wd. He broke the steering on his way down and a major effort took place trying to pull him backwards into a large spot where the Dodge is out of everyone's way.

We ran into him at Blue Lakes. Took a lot of restraint to not drill him into the dirt right there. He seemed to see nothing wrong with having a two day vacation while his junk fouled up everyone else that wasn't in a long wheel base buggy.

I hope he has some appreciation for how generous those buggy guys were, and the degree of restraint everyone that passed it showed, even the jeep guys that moved it.

OK rant off, post pics of the fun!
 
rant on Grant, that guy was an a$$ hat. I figured he was back in town trying to get parts or buddies to get the truck out and only to find he is drinking, camping and living it up at the lake.

OK, so my fuel pumps and system are going out the window. it died like 2 miles up the trail. I was prepared to let it cool, drive it down and come home. the others were kind enough to pack our necessities and make room for 2 passengers. near the top, Frank was getting very nervous about his truck and didn't want to continue. Frank has not done this level of rocks and was out of his element. we got his necessities and 2 more people seats squared and continued to the top. very good time at the top at the first lake camp spot! met some people from Poland, another hiker nearby and then a young couple that hiked up to 1 14er from the bottom and planned to hike all the way back down same day. they were hurting big time. they had minor provisions-tent, food. but were out of water and no sleeping bags. we fed them, gave them what extras we could to keep them warmish for the night (fairly cold night) and fed them Bfast. a good deed to ease at least some hiker/4wheeler tensions. :D
the 2 80 series did great! only 1 strap and some rock stacking got them in. Frank would've done better with some lower gearing. he has a crawler buggy project that will do this trail no problem. hope we get some of the videos up on the thread, they are good ones.

and Pappy- Frank had a bikini top on his 40, you missed out big time.:flipoff2:
 
first vid of Ali winching on Jaws 2.5. his rear diff was struck forward and backward and then a danger of catching the front wheel well on the rock.
 
Would be tough to swing both of them...

Now get back to posting pictures and videos
 
OK, so my fuel pumps and system are going out the window.

and Pappy- Frank had a bikini top on his 40, you missed out big time.:flipoff2:

Bummer dude!...what will be the new setup?

Bwahahaha! Pappy melts...oh wait multiplies if he gets wet :flipoff2:
 
This was a great trip and I encourage everyone to try it. Locker in the rear is a must, along with the usual armament and taller tires. There were no death defying spots that I can recall, no trees to dent your sheet metal and it can be done in less than five hours. However, there were an abundance amount of undercarriage grabbers and axle/diff eaters.

A huge thanks to the spotters, particularly Shawn who made us feel safe, which as you know is a huge mental/emotional advantage when the "I want my mommy" moments come up. Those moments were easier with a good spotter and folks stacking rocks.

The food and entertainment at Lake Como were memorable. We met up with a Polish couple from Chicago who lives close to where we used to live. They drove their Sequoia to the base of the trail and parked it while they hiked the 14'ers. Her DD is a Rubicon back home. They are moving to CO next year.

Here's the link to my photo and vid album: Picasa Web Albums - A. Ali - CO Mt Blanca...

The vids were taken in short bursts so that they can be sent using MMS.

Good times everyone.

EDIT: I may be calling the obstacles incorrectly in my pics and vids, and if so, please let me know.
 
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Good spotting. Looks like a properly armored 4runner wouldn't have any trouble.

Thanks for the pictures and the videos
 
Locker, 33's at least, and good skid plates.
Long wheelbase is very helpful. The Sami kept trying to dump to the down hill abyss on the first two obstacles,,, particularly with the dodge blocking the bypass on J2
 
Nice trip, wish I could of gone. When you say "buggies", you're talking about side by sides right?
 
Nice trip, wish I could of gone. When you say "buggies", you're talking about side by sides right?

There were two Jeeps, if you can call them that, that were V8s with 37s, coilovers, long arms, narrowed frames with full width axles. I think I have a pic of one of them towing the Dodge backwards.
 
Ok, just was looking at your pics and it looked like a side x side in the "buggy" pic.

G
There were two Jeeps, if you can call them that, that were V8s with 37s, coilovers, long arms, narrowed frames with full width axles. I think I have a pic of one of them towing the Dodge backwards.
 
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