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| Winter Fun Fest 2002 - Grass Valley California | Short Cuts | ||||
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By: Rich Lewis
photos by Rich Lewis
Dry Snow and Deep Ruts...That's Avalanche Express
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| Steve Smith of Merced sinks his CJ5 in the Sierra Cement. |
Grass Valley, CA- Our day started after signing in and having some coffee and breakfast at the fairgrounds. When it was time to pack it up and head out, we ran into some problems. We hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot when Randy's rig had some problems. His back right rear end was sagging. Randy had put on some new springs the weekend before and they apparently they had more flex than his previous springs. That proved to be a problem for his 3/4 elliptical springs that he had on. He had hit a bump and the shackle popped forward and bound up which caused that side to sag. Well, we jacked it up, popped it back into place and thought we'd be on our way. Once out of the parking lot it popped again. So we pulled back into the lot and got the spring perch moved back an inch or so. We put everything back together and were back on the road an hour later and heading to the trail head near Yuba Gap.
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| Joe Kelly finding some soft stuff. |
We met up with the rest of the group and after the tech inspection and short introductions, we were ready to hit the trail. The trail started out easy until we hit some soft patches. Steve Smith of Merced was the first to have some problems in his CJ5. He was following Brian McAndrews in his Toyota pickup, which was equipped with 38-inch boggers, and Joe Kelly, who had a built Toyota of equal height. After Brian helped him out of the crud, it was Joe's turn to get stuck.
As we made our way up the trail, we had to stop several time and strap/winch a stuck rig here and there. Our group had split up into two groups with the lead group making good progress in the soft snow. Following the Toyota's with big tires seemed to prove tough for all four rigs that followed. By noon the sun started to peek out and soften the snow and when we reached the turnoff to Mears Meadow, the four tailgunner rigs (Randy, Dave, Steve & Ken) started to have some problems with the deep ruts and soft snow.
We all took turns strapping and winching up the hill with some success. But as it approached 1PM, Ken our trail boss, suggested we start heading back. Joe Kelly was still having some fun when he tried to turn around on the narrow trail and buried his Toyota in the soft snow. After winching him out and turning the remainder of the rigs around, we all headed back to the pavement without incident.
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| Randy Wheeler on the Avalanche Express trail. | Ken Carlsen trying to find the line through the soft snow. | Joe Kelly buries his built Toyota trying to turn around on the narrow trail. |
If you love deep snow and you're rig is prepared and well equipped, then the Avalanche Express trail should be on your list for next year. Keep in mind that this trail is limited to 30 rigs, so be sure to register early, as this and all the other runs at Winter Fun Fest were booked solid. Thanks to the trail crew led by Ken Carlsen for getting us to the good stuff and back in one piece.
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