Colorado - Red Cone next weekend?

[Perry]

Matt,
We will be there.
I talked to my dad and he will be riding with us. Meet you at 285.
I looked on a map and I know where it is now.

 

[DarkMan]

Tammy and I will be there. (Another church service in the car. :-/ ) Matt, confirm this for me. The intersection you're talking about looks to be almost due west of Littleton. We'll take 470 west (coming up from ColSprgs) and see the 285 exit, right? Then under 470, west, we should see the pull out. We'll be on CB channel 4 just in case.

My spare tire is back ordered 3 weeks plus. I'm going in today (I hope) to get my plugged tire properly patched. (Say that three times fast.)

See ya'll there!

 

[DarkMan]

CORRECTION!!

Just remembered. The in-laws are coming up from Texas on Sunday. I knew there was some reason besides missing church that I didn't want to do Sunday. Well, that's it. Sorry gang. Maybe some other time.

 

[mattadams]

ahh geez darkman, bring em along! heh ehh just kidding... 2 is fine for a group to go I think, Im sure we won't be the only ones up there thats for sure. Riding passenger I will probably have one of my good four-wheeling buds who just sold his vehicle (he knows the trail real well, he's the one I rode down it with before) and possibly one other passenger, so it should still be a good time... I'll see if I can't talk to some other people and see if they want to go... anyone?

 

[Perry]

Good Help

So now the pressure is on us to go.....LOL
Sorry Darkan to hear you guys can't make it. There will always be next year and if this goes well, you know Matt will be up there again next year.

Matt, if your friend goes, then I guess we will have some good help on which lines to take down the hill.
I know why you want passengers, someone to do the videoing of you coming down the hill.
We will meet you around 8:30 maybe a little later. We have a little farther to come then you do.

SEE YOU IN THREE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mattadams]

sounds good, I may have some ex-co-worker buddies with their Jeeps going along, we can show em what an Explorer can do... it's still kind of iffy, he might be busy repairing damage done in left hand canyon last week, but I'm hoping he'll go... both my passengers I thought I might have seem to be flaking on me, but that doesn't matter, I just want ot do it!

 

[mattadams]

ok, to everyone EXCEPT Perry, you missed a heck-of-a-trip! I can honestly say that Red Cone is now one of at least two or three trails in Colorado that i hope to be able to do over and over again, it was such a blast! Not nearly as scary as the book made it out to be, but still definately a difficult trail, more difficult then most of the stuff we did at CCR2000. Great obstacles, etc. Ont he way up Perry and I (since we were the only vehicles to go) met up with a Land Rover group that was doing Red Cone as well, actually worked out quite well, as several of the members of thsi group actually worked for Land Rover and they KNEW THEIR STUFF, unlike <ahem> certain ford engineers who didn't know the slightest thing about off-roading. He tells us that many of the engineers for the land rover are camel trophy winners, basically they don't hire engineers (at least for the 4x4 and suspension components) who don't know a ton about off-roading... wish I could say the same, but it should bring a great deal of knowledge ot ford should the two work on a similar project in the future... pictures can be found here: http://bart.is-s.com/~explorers/madams/redcone2k/ sorry I haven't made a trail writeup, im still all write-up wasted from teh CCR2000 writeup .

 

[Perry]

WE MADE IT!!!!

Why would anybody go out with Matt on one of his wild ideas?????
I think he was just trying to see if a Explorer could fly!!
O.k. for the real story, we made it over Red Cone today, so now Matt can say he has done it. I think the worse part of the trip was trying to stand at the top. It was SOOOOO windy.
As for all the hype, I don't think it was as bad as people say, but you did have to watch your lines. The first part you have to watch for trees because it is so tight, then coming down with all the moguls you drop in was an experience. I was told if you stay to the right it was better, but after watching Matt I figured what the heck, down the middle we went.
If you get the chance, it is worth doing.

Thanks Matt for the invite.

 

[Brian1]

Nice pictures Matt!
Now that you two have done it and it is fresh on your mind, would a stocker make it without any problems? What is the percent or angle of the steep part (your best guess)?

[Edited by Brian1 on 10-01-2000 at 08:27 PM]

 

[mattadams]

I think a stocker could od it... the stock land rover's were doing it no problem. THeres a few obstacles that you have to use your judgement on, and theres several spots that twist up your suspension, but it certainly coudl be done. The steepest portion... hmm... maybe 60-65%? Maybe more... That's just my guess I really don't know... I know its tough to even walk down it, especially with the wind that was blowing yesterday.

 

[Perry]

Stockers

Hey Brian,
Matt and I have different ideas of a stocker doing Red Cone. He thinks they could do it, but it would take a little work. We did go with some stock Land Rovers and they didn't have to much trouble. They said they used there skid plates a few times. I followed Matt most of the way, so I didn't get to watch them go over the obsticles.

As for me, I think it would be a BIG challenge for them. There are some big rocks in the trees you would have to work around, and some pretty good size moguls. As far as going down the hill, you would be on three wheels a few times I think. I don't know how steep it was, but I know I was REALLY HARD on the breaks most of the way down. You can stop on the hill, so if you get out of control I think it wouldn't take much to get it back under control.
If you did this in a stock Explorer, you could say you gave your truck a work out.

 

[mattadams]

well I just got a copy of Delorme Topo, and was kind of bored, so I downloaded the route off my GPS and heres the top of the steep part of red-cone... in 3-d . Still doesn't look nearly as steep as it was... but steep nonetheless

 

[Perry]

Morguls

Matt, it doesn't show any of the moguls we had to drive into either. That made it even steeper when you fill into those.
So when do you plan on going next year? Let us know and we will more then likely go again.

 

[mmpc]

RED CONE CONQUERED!

Man, I have been gone WAY TOO LONG - out of town on business since the end of September. Anyway, congratulations to Matt & Perry for successfully tackling Red Cone! Great pictures by the way, Matt.

I hope to get in a couple more runs before everything's snowed in too much, certainly nothing like Red Cone though. Oh well, it's GREAT to finally be back in town and checking the board again...