Black Bear & Imogene

[OverlandZJ]

Nice pics Randy, brought back decade old memories.

See ya come spring!

 

[NeilWilson]

Excellent shots, this is one area I would love to go round if we ever get out to the USA.

A couple of questions please.

The last pic in the 1st post - Headed Down The Steps.
Does the track carry on round to the right or where , it looks well narrow ?

On the switchbacks, is there space to do multi-point turns if the turning radius of the vehicle is too large ?

Thanks.

Neil

 

[IntrepidXJ]

The last pic in the 1st post - Headed Down The Steps.
Does the track carry on round to the right or where , it looks well narrow ?

On the switchbacks, is there space to do multi-point turns if the turning radius of the vehicle is too large ?

first: yes, it turns to the right.....it is a little narrow

second: there is a little room for multi point turns, but not that much space

 

[djkest]

Wow, that reminds me how great Black Bear Pass is. It's just amazing. One of the coolest places in Colorado for sure. Those switchbacks freak me out, I don't think I would want to take my long wheelbase truck on those!

 

[Ranger Steve]

amazing pictures...the West has alot of great scenery but i will be looking at the east first then west :Astrologist:

 

[lx450landcruiser]

Great pics....we are headed up there the last week in August.. CANT WAIT:26_7_2: :jump:

drop me a line Ill be in telluride end of aug till end of sept. We have a ranch in norwood (35 min away)

Mike

also heres a few vids i took when i was working for the county there


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBktoFvQ2ws

skip to the end of this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvFhl5_HYw

 

[MoGas]

Besides the boulder, what was the overall condition of BBR?

 

[Tom B]

Yep, I only had a couple of inches to spare on my JK with that boulder, but it was fresh and will most likely be gone when you get there.

If anyone running the trail can post up whether that boulder was removed I would appreciate it. A co-worker ran Black Bear with his Xterra recently and he said he was scratching his sliders trying to get through. Therefore my 100 series LC will not fit..(well). I'm heading there next week and would like to know before I have to drive it backwards. I'll probably call the local FS office to see if they have any details beforehand, but a confirmation from a board members would be better.

 

[Redline]

Thanks for the link. Because of the road repair link I found this one, shows the tightness of the switchback.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av7y77ytDw0&feature=related

 

[Tom B]

I have run BB the last two years in a basically stock 100 series with zero issues. BB is maintained very well nothing like the first time I ran 15 years ago.

Yes it's easy enough these days, just the height factor, but from what I hear from my co-worker there is recent road damage where a big boulder fell on the switch backs that might preclude a vehicle as wide as 100 fitting through until it's fixed.

 

[lx450landcruiser]

If anyone running the trail can post up whether that boulder was removed I would appreciate it. A co-worker ran Black Bear with his Xterra recently and he said he was scratching his sliders trying to get through. Therefore my 100 series LC will not fit..(well). I'm heading there next week and would like to know before I have to drive it backwards. I'll probably call the local FS office to see if they have any details beforehand, but a confirmation from a board members would be better.

call the san Miguel county office, you want the Deep creek office. ask for Mike Kimbal he will let you know on the exact condition of the road. Its a county road so any slides or debris is there responsibility and they take the road pretty serious. Black bear is a funnel for tourism and they know that.

Mike

 

[Tom B]

call the san Miguel county office, you want the Deep creek office. ask for Mike Kimbal he will let you know on the exact condition of the road. Its a county road so any slides or debris is there responsibility and they take the road pretty serious. Black bear is a funnel for tourism and they know that.

Mike

Thanks.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Hey! I saw a couple of those rigs while we were up there this week. We were in Ouray/Silverton for much of the week. Did you happen to see us?
View attachment 21545
That was taken near the upper end of Yankee Boy Basin. We started to head up Imogene, made the deep crossing, but turned back. Not enough time that day.

We did Ophir, Engineer, and Cinn Pass with a few other nice roads tossed in.

The most thrilling? Engineer Pass. Not because it was hard, but the long wheel based Suburban in front of us was scary as heck to watch. The guy behind the wheel had clearly never been off road. At one point his wife was outside the car with the two sobbing kids....all screaming at dad for taking them on the road of doom. We heard that thing hit bottom at least a dozen times.
View attachment 21546
It took 15 minutes for the Suburban to bang its way over this rock. Poor guy. I'm sure he slept in the car that night.

 

[Christophe Noel]

As for Black Bear...no thanks. I don't see myself ever driving that one. Not for all the tea in China. I have a hard enough time with most shelf roads.

For anyone unsure of how they feel about shelf roads, Ophir Pass is a good warm up.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

As for Black Bear...no thanks. I don't see myself ever driving that one. Not for all the tea in China. I have a hard enough time with most shelf roads.

For anyone unsure of how they feel about shelf roads, Ophir Pass is a good warm up.

My first time on a shelf road a few years back, I was freaked out pretty good.....but I kept at it and now they don't bother me at all.