black bear road, co

[colbyjack]

anyone been to the black bear road or done any of the trails up by telluride?? ive seen some old pics from there and it looked awesome. thinking bout taking the family and heading that way sometime. if anyone has trail pics or ideas of other stuff to do besides wheel there let me know. also i remember when i was a kid cw mcall had a song about that place..... post some pics guys thanks -chris

 

[miniwally]

I don't think black bear is very fullsize friendly. Imogene pass is very fullsize friendly and there many other areas around the Teluride, Ouray, Silverton area that are great for fullsizes.

 

[HarryH3]

Nah, fullsizes can make it over Black Bear. There used to be a company that ran tourist-rides there, in Suburbans!

Ya just have to be VERY careful at the switchbacks... Black Bear is also a one-way trail. You start at the other end and come out in Tellurdie. Awesome scenery!

Also check out the trails around the Silverton and Ouray area. Not much hard wheeling, but you'll need plenty of memory in your digi-cam to capture the mega-scenery.

 

[azblazer]

Black bear pass is fullsize friendly...its just a little tight there at the end when you decend into telluride. I did it in my 79 K5 about 2 years back or so. After you do the run go over to silverton a buy yourself one of those i survived black bear pass t shirts like i did. It will definately get your adreniline flowing when you do those 7 point corners and all you see is your spotters hands...your hood...and lots of blue sky. When you finish the trail and roll into telluride there is a park on your left side you can pull into to air back up. When we did we had a small crowd that had been watching us make our way down and couldn't believe my K5 made it....got some pics on the puter somewhere...i just have no idea how to post them.

My recomendation would be to take a tour and be a passenger....alot safer!!!

BTW: Once my wife saw the pics she told me never to drive that trail again....


DW

 

[colbyjack]

sweet i heard its pretty intense.... if u find out how to post em hit me up id like to see... how long does the trail take to do?? -chris

 

[HarryH3]

Black Bear isn't a very difficult run. I've taken a stock S-10 Jimmy over it. However, it can be deadly. Once you get to the switchbacks, you need to pay VERY close attention. If you screw up and go over the edge, you won't stop rolling over until you get to Telluride. A Jeep went over the edge a while back and rolled about 800 feet down the mountain before it stopped. Needless to say, the occupants perished.

That said, it isn't a treacherous trail. It's pretty wide and fairly smooth. I don't understand how the Jeep got far enough off the edge to roll off. I can only surmise that something distracted the driver and he wasn't watching the trail close enough.

 

[blazd88]

Great trail!!!!!!! Not really difficult at all but totally worth the view. My family has a cabin in Pagosa Springs which isnt but an hour or so drive but the scenery is amazing. Worth the trip every time.

 

[azblazer]

It takes a full day to run the trail since the trail is a one way only deal.
We stopped half way and drove down to a small glacial lake and had lunch so that burned some time....bring plenty of film or batteries because the views are breath taking!!!

The switchbacks are the worst and potential killers....great care and one's full attention needs to be given when negotiating these switch backs!!!

Ask 70Jimmy about the 2 accidents down there 2 years ago...he is a colorado state trooper and was first on seen for one of the accidents!

DW