Mount Evans (Denver, Lakewood, Pueblo: rental, townhouse, camping)

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by POhdNcrzy

BTW, amazing photo Jazzlover. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

Not my photo, picked it up off of the web--but I've jeeped Black Bear a number of times. There is no denying that it is one of the roads very unforgiving of mistakes.

Truth is, mountain driving does demand one's full attention. Relying on "crutches" like guardrails is probably not a great idea. I can't really speak to transplants and tourists fears of mountain driving. I learned to drive on mountain roads and was jeeping before I was out of high school. Then I spent years driving those roads (and continue to) as a part of my work, as well as for pleasure. I think many drivers today have gone soft and dumb because of all of the advances--and I do appreciate those advances, believe me--in vehicle technology. My first mountain driving forays and jeeping were in a four-wheel drive truck with manual ("armstrong") steering, manual hydraulic drum brakes (worthless if you got them wet fording a stream), heavy duty truck transmission, bias-ply tires (anybody remember those?), and "2-60" air conditioning (two windows at 60 mph). Most drivers today wouldn't even know to start a vehicle like that. Hint: the starter switch was often found on the floorboard, next to the accelerator pedal. Here is a good movie short made in 1957, showing a truck not unlike what I'm talking about. One thing about 'em, they were tough trucks, but one had to be tough to drive one, too.


YouTube - Off-Road Climb up Pikes Peak with Chevrolet truck in 1957

The film really makes me pine for the good ol' days in Colorado. It was a hell of a place back then. Of course, "timber-bashing" (driving off of any established trail) such as shown in the movie is now illegal--as it should be. Back then, there wasn't the pressure on the high-country like there is today. Back then, one could go 4-wheeling and not see another vehicle for a couple of days.

[DOUBLE H]

He shoots, he scores! It's Jazzlover-nothing but net!! Sorry folks, it's a great JL post!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

Not my photo, picked it up off of the web--but I've jeeped Black Bear a number of times. There is no denying that it is one of the roads very unforgiving of mistakes.

Truth is, mountain driving does demand one's full attention. Relying on "crutches" like guardrails is probably not a great idea. I can't really speak to transplants and tourists fears of mountain driving. I learned to drive on mountain roads and was jeeping before I was out of high school. Then I spent years driving those roads (and continue to) as a part of my work, as well as for pleasure. I think many drivers today have gone soft and dumb because of all of the advances--and I do appreciate those advances, believe me--in vehicle technology. My first mountain driving forays and jeeping were in a four-wheel drive truck with manual ("armstrong") steering, manual hydraulic drum brakes (worthless if you got them wet fording a stream), heavy duty truck transmission, bias-ply tires (anybody remember those?), and "2-60" air conditioning (two windows at 60 mph). Most drivers today wouldn't even know to start a vehicle like that. Hint: the starter switch was often found on the floorboard, next to the accelerator pedal. Here is a good movie short made in 1957, showing a truck not unlike what I'm talking about. One thing about 'em, they were tough trucks, but one had to be tough to drive one, too.


The film really makes me pine for the good ol' days in Colorado. It was a hell of a place back then. Of course, "timber-bashing" (driving off of any established trail) such as shown in the movie is now illegal--as it should be. Back then, there wasn't the pressure on the high-country like there is today. Back then, one could go 4-wheeling and not see another vehicle for a couple of days.

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

He shoots, he scores! It's Jazzlover-nothing but net!! Sorry folks, it's a great JL post!

A great post that brings back fond memories.
I know times have changed, and maybe I'm lucky to be alive, but no regrets here.
POhdNcrzy, yes, altitude sickness can be a genuine concern.
Interesting point, piperspal.

[Nique]

my mom loves to tell the story of driving her father up Mt. Evans in a 1969 Mustang with no seatbelts and rear-wheel drive...

[zman0457]

I was just there while visiting 2 weeks ago. The lack of guardrails just made me respect the circumstance more. It was a bit of a shock to my system since it was on our 2nd day in CO, but I was aware of that, and we paced ourselves on the short walk to the summit.

By the end of the week, and with three high altitude hikes under our belt, Denver's elevation felt a bit like Florida's.

[edmiii]

As a flatlander, I once asked a local (Silverton) about the absence of guardrails between Durango and Ouray.

I was told "we tried guardrails, but the tourists kept knocking them down".

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Nique

my mom loves to tell the story of driving her father up Mt. Evans in a 1969 Mustang with no seatbelts and rear-wheel drive...

I grew up going up Mt. Evans every year on summer vacation and remember the lodge at the top, the restaurant at the base where my grandmother would stay while the rest of us made the trek up. I also remember a guy getting struck by lightening up there. Took my husband up there about 15 years ago next month (wow, it's been that long) and he was utterly amazed. I did not remember seeing any buses like I had growing up trying to navigate the road. Watching them have to back up and the back end of the bus hanging over the side while they tried to navigate the hairpin turns was, uh, SCARY for us to watch. I'd rather WALK than ride a bus up or down that road.

The lodge at the top is now gone due to getting struck by lightening and burning down before fire trucks could get up there to put it out and save it.

Loveland Pass is great but after taking Mt. Evans it is nothing. My husband got out at the summit on Loveland Pass, shrugged his shoulders and got back in the car. I guess doing Mt. Evans earlier in the day kind of ruined it from there on out.

We would also go 4 wheeling up out of Ouray. Not that bad really if your used to it.

Originally Posted by edmiii

As a flatlander, I once asked a local (Silverton) about the absence of guardrails between Durango and Ouray.

I was told "we tried guardrails, but the tourists kept knocking them down".

I will never forget the little old lady we got stuck behind on that road, The Million Dollar Highway. We could see her knuckle were so white from behind her. She had a death grip on that steering wheel like I've never seen before.


Oh, speaking of Mt. Evans. My favorite story, or actually the one that pisses me off the most, happened in the 6th grade. We had to write about something we had done so I wrote about going up Mt. Evans, the highest paved road in North America. Well, the teacher told me I was flat out lying and did not believe me that the mountain even EXISTED much less that it was the highest paved road. Pissed me off. So I took some pictures of it to school the next day She didn't say a word.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

YouTube - Off-Road Climb up Pikes Peak with Chevrolet truck in 1957

The film really makes me pine for the good ol' days in Colorado. It was a hell of a place back then. Of course, "timber-bashing" (driving off of any established trail) such as shown in the movie is now illegal--as it should be. Back then, there wasn't the pressure on the high-country like there is today. Back then, one could go 4-wheeling and not see another vehicle for a couple of days.

That was pretty good. They're bangin' 'em up worse than that doing Rubicon - and mind you, that's only about an 8K foot pass. They just don't build them like they used to.

Loved the shot of them popping up over the lip of the parking lot at the top.

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

That was pretty good. They're bangin' 'em up worse than that doing Rubicon - and mind you, that's only about an 8K foot pass. They just don't build them like they used to.

Loved the shot of them popping up over the lip of the parking lot at the top.

As I posted, I've been using 4WD's my whole driving life. I chose the word "using" because I think driving around like some macho ****head in a 4WD just to see what you can tear up with it is really moronic. I have always looked at a 4WD as a tool--a vehicle designed to get you where you need to go in the backcountry--a specialized means of transportation. Back when (as in the movie short), 4WD's were designed just as that--a sturdy piece of equipment for that specific purpose. These days, most late-model 4WD's absolutely suck for that purpose--they've been made into boulevard cruisers with little backcountry capability; made to sell to gullible chumps who think they are making some "statement" by driving a gas-guzzling 4WD when those 4WD's are not much more than a glorified station wagon as far as their 4WD capability goes. I think the term "Sport Utility Vehicle" is an oxymoron--most of 'em are neither "Sport" or "Utility"--they suck at both. Fancy wheels, chrome everywhere, oversized engines, and all of the superficial "bling" crap don't make a 4WD one iota more backcountry capable--it just makes money for the people who sell it. The 4WD's I've owned have not been especially pretty, don't have fancy stuff, or bling--they were (and are) equipped to be backcountry capable--sort of like that ol' Chevy in the movie short. Not pretty, but hell for stout.

[Todd TCE]

I enjoyed the challenge much more before guard rails!