Jeep plunges 450 feet off Colorado mountainside

[CrazyDrei]

Jeep plunges 450 feet off Colorado mountainside | OutThere Colorado

A jeep plunged 450-feet off a steep mountainside in Western Colorado Saturday afternoon, August 17, 2019, critically injuring two people. According to the

www.outtherecolorado.com

Just another reason to be extra careful on the trails.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Scary stuff.

 

[AbleGuy]

Pretty impressive rescue efforts shown here.
And, also, pretty impressive roll bar integrity shown in the wrecked Jeep.

Any updates on driver and passenger?
I very much hope they’re doing ok. Both 72 yo and out jeeping the Colorado passes? Wow!
Here’s also hoping they both have more years ahead, of fun and safer road running.

 

[CrazyDrei]

I wonder if that was a rental, but in any case, that roll cage definitely saved their lives.

 

[Christian P.]

The roll cage is pretty impressive. They got very lucky.

 

[dougrz]

TJ. I'd be surprised if it was a rental given the age. High volume rental area where JKs abound.

 

[AbleGuy]

Rolling off the trail was a big concern when I made the mistake of buying a KL Cherokee a few years ago; it is equipped with electrically activated parking brakes and they were not strong enough to hold the vehicle on significant inclines. So if a driver got into a difficult spot and found it necessary to exit the vehicle to spot themself they could not just lock up the parking brake to its extreme and climb out to check their clearance, as one can in a vehicle with a mechanically operated parking brake in proper adjustment.

Good comment. It seems any rigs have crappy parking brakes. I had a one ton camper van with a parking brake that continually failed to hold the rig on the slightest of inclines. Took it into the shop twice for repairs/adjustments and was told it was a simple, weakly built “pawl” that was designed to fit into a slot (?) and lock the rear axle...something like that. Point being, the mechanic said the “brake” was pretty much worthless in light of the built weight of the camper van.

I wound up having to carry and use rear wheel chocks every dang time I parked on even the mildest of inclines. Anyone with a heavy rig probably should carry and use these anyway these days.

That POS van parking brake design certainly was a far cry from the old center mounted, hand pulled parking brakes on some of the small cars years ago, ones that you could actually spin the car around if you shifted to neutral and yanked up the brake handle.

 

[TheViking]

Even critically injured I have to say surviving that at 72 is a miracle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1stDeuce]

That was Saturday Aug 17.

This was Monday, Aug 19, on the second day Black Bear was open:

A quick video if you'd like some first hand commentary (Not by me, but wise words...)

Folks, the "trails" here in Colorado are NO JOKE. These trails are generally not hard or difficult from a traction perspective, but they have SERIOUS consequences for those not paying attention to what they are doing.
The TJ rolled off at a very flat spot, where the trail simply narrows from ~15' wide to about 10' wide as you drive down toward Telluride. The road narrows because of a slough on the left side, which make me wonder why they were on the left side anyway... The driver seems to have just driven off as the road narrowed. This could have been a medical issue, but it commonly happens because people are taking in the view, or simply NOT DRIVING when they should be.

The 4-runner guy did what several folks have done at the "stairs" on Black Bear... he simply drove the right side of the truck up the rock until he rolled. Too much focus on staying away from the "scary" drop on the left side. I've seen that over and over at this spot.

Here is an example of doing just that just a little further down the trail. This is what it looks like when you drive up the rocks and roll yourself over:

This guy was putting the driver's side up on the rocks to the left in an effort to stay away from the edge to the right. That edge poses very little danger if you're not over it... These guys were lucky they didn't do this just a bit farther down, where there's no stopping till you get to the bottom, 11 switchbacks down...

I caught my nephew coming dangerously close to doing this in my Jeep just a few days before while coming down from Porphyry Basin. There's a pretty narrow section that drops steeply hundreds of feet on the right side. He was rubbing the left tire sidewalls on a very rough rock face on the left side. Had one grabbed, rather than slipped as he rubbed by, we would very likely be DEAD. I quickly let him know to stay away from the rocks to the left, and explained why what he was doing was FAR more dangerous than driving in the tracks that were 1' closer to the edge...

PLEASE be careful if you come to Colorado!! Even just a moment of inattention can result in some very serious injuries, or even death on many trails here.

That's for letting me get this PSA out. Please return to planning your next trip!!

 

[68camaro]

That POS van parking brake design certainly was a far cry from the old center mounted, hand pulled parking brakes on some of the small cars years ago, ones that you could actually spin the car around if you shifted to neutral and yanked up the brake handle.

Ha, back in 80's I had job at rental car agency while in college, when it would snow we would take the Plymouth Horizons to open lot out back, step on them and pull-up on center hand brake hard....car would spin and spin, what a blast....thanks for memory

 

[AbleGuy]

1stDuece said
“but it commonly happens because people are taking in the view, or simply NOT DRIVING when they should be.”

When we were little kids, and my adventurous mom would drive us out on camping trip in an over loaded, old green station wagon stuffed with four kids, one grammy and two yapping dachshunds, up and over rough roads in the Rockies, we’d always point out the amazing vistas by yelling:

“Everyone look but the driver!”

 

[Wilbah]

Wow, glad they'll make it. That's scary stuff. I am a little surprised as they're from the area so not quite the same as a tourist flying in a renting a Jeep, but who knows. I hope we find out what occurred.

This highlights why a spotter can be so important. As much as I worry about the over reliance on technology, some of the "surround" camera technology might be very helpful in situations like this too.

 

[zoomad75]

I've not tackled Black Bear yet, but I've done many others here in Colorado that are very similar with multiple tight steep switchbacks that require 100% attention on the task at hand rather than sightseeing. Mt. Antero, Tomichi Pass, Pearl Pass and Taylor pass among others come to mind. You have to know where both sides of the truck are in relation to the trail. The wider the truck the more critical the need to know. I drive a Full Size and on most of the trails I called out before have my truck covering most of the trail width with barely inches to spare. Due to that I've had to get as close as I can to the uphill side to allow my tires on the outside of the trail to stay inside the edge. It's where my passenger will spot the right side tires to the trail and direct me where I need to go.

Granted the scenery is amazing up there on the top of any of our trails/passes but it's not worth the risk to keep watching the scenery vs paying attention to avoid rolling. Stop where you can safely park and take in the view. Have somebody else take pics/video. Once the vehicle is moving the only focus should be driving.

 

[borison]

The rule is, don’t look where you don’t want to go.

 

[calicamper]

One reason why I would rather dirt bike it or hike it from the top. Driving that sort of stuff isn’t appealing to me never has been especially with crowds. Lol