Best route to Telluride from Denver

jsnapp

jsnapp

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Jan 9, 2012
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Westminster, CO
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BJC-Cherokee
I am looking for some suggestions from the Colorado pilots for best route to take my Cherokee 235 from Denver (KBJC) to Telluride (KTEX). I was thinking about KBJC -Corona Pass - RGL - KEGE - McClure Pass - KMTJ - KTEX.

I go to KSBS, KEGE, KASE and LXV all the time but I have never been to Telluride. I am thinking about spending a Saturday night up there with my wife sometime in the next few weeks.

Any suggestions on routes, places to stay things to do?
 
I don't do this often, but my favorite pass is Monarch. You have two good escape airports avail to you and it's well traveled. So, I go down the path of N Platte river basically following the river south into the hills to GORJE intersection, pass that about 3 miles and you'll pick up hwy 50 and the Arkansas river valley. Turn right and climb over the western side of Waugh mtn just east of Salida then assault the pass and Gunnison is waiting for you on the western slope. Turn left at or before Gunnison and ride the western ridge down to Ta-hell-ya-ride. YMMV

<Edit: I've done Marshall pass just S of Monarch once as well and it worked fine.>
 
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Haven't been up there in a while but the safest approach to KTEX is from the West. Direct KMTJ-KTEX not as easy as heading toward CONES, find Placerville, then up the valley.

Lots of high stuff all around.
 
docmirror said:
I don't do this often, but my favorite pass is Monarch. You have two good escape airports avail to you and it's well traveled. So, I go down the path of N Platte river basically following the river south into the hills to GORJE intersection, pass that about 3 miles and you'll pick up hwy 50 and the Arkansas river valley. Turn right and climb over the western side of Waugh mtn just east of Salida then assault the pass and Gunnison is waiting for you on the western slope. Turn left at or before Gunnison and ride the western ridge down to Ta-hell-ya-ride. YMMV

<Edit: I've done Marshall pass just S of Monarch once as well and it worked fine.>
Click to expand...

Avoid Monarch. Repeat that statement many times. Take Marshall instead.

Geography over Marshall is more benign and doesn't have the winds of Monarch. Random lucked out on one of the few less windy days at Monarch.

The Salida AWOS is not at Salida but at Monarch, so you can get a good idea what's going on in the pass. KMYP. As you get close to Salida, check the KANK for airport wx.
 
Corona Pass seems way out of the way as a route from KBJC to KTEX unless you just want to sightsee. I would think something similar to the route suggested in post #2 would be more direct. I agree that entering the valley where KTEX is located is better done from the west.
 
I was going to let the Monarch thing go but I'll say it...

Monarch is littered with wreck sites. Marshall isn't.

You choose. :)

Monarch is one of those passes you spend too much time in the canyon with no good way out and a bend in the middle. It's fine on the right day and a real ass kicker on the wrong day.

See discussion of Monarch here:

http://pilotgetaways.com/mag/mj06/crossing-the-continental-divide-part-2
 
murphey said:
Avoid Monarch. Repeat that statement many times. Take Marshall instead.

Geography over Marshall is more benign and doesn't have the winds of Monarch. Random lucked out on one of the few less windy days at Monarch.

The Salida AWOS is not at Salida but at Monarch, so you can get a good idea what's going on in the pass. KMYP. As you get close to Salida, check the KANK for airport wx.
Click to expand...

From skiing at Monarch for many, many years, and flying over it a few times, it's been my experience that Marshall often has some clouds around the Mt Ouray summit, and falling off to the western side like they commonly do in the spring and fall.

Also, if you go down while going over Monarch, you are right on hwy 50 which could speed rescue.

I don't rely on luck when I fly the mtns. I evaluate what conditions are like, and choose appropriately. Current conditions - KMYP: 240@6Kts, 10SM CLR.

OBTW:
KANK (AWOS III)
Salida, Chaffee, CO
Freq.: 133.85
Phone: (719) 539-5268
Lat: 38.5383, Lng: -106.0486
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ID Location County State Frequency Phone Type
KANK Salida Chaffee CO 133.85 (719) 539-5268 AWOS III

The FAA thinks the Salida AWOS is in - Salida. You should advise them that it's been moved.

And once again YMMV
 
murphey said:
Avoid Monarch. Repeat that statement many times. Take Marshall instead.

Geography over Marshall is more benign and doesn't have the winds of Monarch. Random lucked out on one of the few less windy days at Monarch.

The Salida AWOS is not at Salida but at Monarch, so you can get a good idea what's going on in the pass. KMYP. As you get close to Salida, check the KANK for airport wx.
Click to expand...

Yeah Marshall is a lot nicer to fly through than Monarch, and the distance between the two is negligible.
 
Just returned from a couple weeks in BV and Gunnison. Played golf with two guys who summer in Gunnison and travel GA to the front range often for business and kids in college at Boulder, Denver and COS. When I asked if they fly over Monarch, since it's the road that I use for that route, both said Marshall is better. I still don't know where Marshall is, and had never heard of it until then.
 
I've flown over Monarch many times in a piston single, albeit turbocharged. I wasn't down below the peaks, though. Marshall is probably better but I think the reason there are so many accidents on Monarch is that people find it easier to follow a major road and the road twists and turns as it goes through the pass.
 
Everskyward said:
I think the reason there are so many accidents on Monarch is that people find it easier to follow a major road and the road twists and turns as it goes through the pass.
Click to expand...

Houston, we've found a problem. Maybe it needed to be said that you don't actually fly the hwy 50 route exactly with all the twists up near the ski resort. Yikes, there are people who just don't belong in a SE plane in the mtns I guess.
 
docmirror said:
Houston, we've found a problem. Maybe it needed to be said that you don't actually fly the hwy 50 route exactly with all the twists up near the ski resort. Yikes, there are people who just don't belong in a SE plane in the mtns I guess.
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That is true, but I think there are people who think their airplane can do it, then get trapped by the terrain so the only thing the can do at that point is follow the road.
 
denverpilot said:
I was going to let the Monarch thing go but I'll say it...

Monarch is littered with wreck sites. Marshall isn't.

You choose. :)

Monarch is one of those passes you spend too much time in the canyon with no good way out and a bend in the middle. It's fine on the right day and a real ass kicker on the wrong day.

See discussion of Monarch here:

http://pilotgetaways.com/mag/mj06/crossing-the-continental-divide-part-2
Click to expand...

Which reminds me, the Colorado Pilots mountain class is this coming weekend (Sept 7) at KBJC (the airport formerly known as Jeffco). Full day ground followed by the optional 3-6 hr practical flight scheduled between you and the CFI. Counts as a BFR, too!

www.coloradopilots.org and click on Mountain Flying

Personally, I do the ground every few years just as a refresher and reminder how dangerous is can be for spam cans. Since it's cooled off, doing the flight later in the week (us locals leave the Sunday flights for people coming in from out of state)

[Note to Nate: yes, I'm flying with Jer/]
 
Everskyward said:
That is true, but I think there are people who think their airplane can do it, then get trapped by the terrain so the only thing the can do at that point is follow the road.
Click to expand...

I typically stop at KANK cause it's a nice spot, and I can eval the passes on the ground. Have a drink of water or borrow the car and go into town for some pancakes. When I leave KANK, I stay east and get up my passing altitude, to about +14k. Then head west and gauge my ability to maintain altitude as I pass over KANK again. I have a few landmarks with altitude mins on them, and the only one I recall right now is the Monarch lodge on the east side of the pass, if I'm not at or above 13,300 with ability to maintain level I turn around to the south and either get Marshall or just go back to KANK. Once past the Monarch Lodge bldg, the best angle to approach is a 45deg southward(~220mag). After about 1 minute the wind will pick me up and I have to throttle back or it's up elevator for the next 10 mins. If everything goes to heck at the last minute, my final out is the gravel mine on the south side of the road.
 
docmirror said:
I typically stop at KANK cause it's a nice spot, and I can eval the passes on the ground. Have a drink of water or borrow the car and go into town for some pancakes. When I leave KANK, I stay east and get up my passing altitude, to about +14k.
Click to expand...

I agree with you to this point - get high and go west, when the road turns don't bother and shoot straight over the terrain, once past the high point you are free to descend. Skip trying to follow that darn road since it goes a direction you don't want to go. Key is to be higher than the terrain before heading towards the pass. Don't do it if ceiling doesn't allow. As you note, YMWV.

I think folks get impatient and try to force the crossing before they have sufficient altitude. Either that or their aircraft won't climb high enough. Either way they set themselves up for disaster.
 
I always check the pressure differential on both sides of the pass and of course the winds, but I still don't like to be way down below the peaks in a tight pass because of the Venturi effect magnifying everything. Even flying an NA bird I tried to get to 16 or so, didn't matter if I had to lumber around in circles above the airport for a long time.

I guess I've just been spanked too many times.:dunno:
 
I've flown Monarch once, east bound at 16k, no issue, but I was higher than the terrain anywhere around.

Last time I crossed the same line I did it at Tincup pass, but again I circled over South Park untill no climb was needed to clear anything.
 
Ok, starting from a strait line on the chart what I* would do is head direct BV (AEJ) then go west over Tincup at no lower than 13000. It was a fairly easy pass to fly as I recall. Draw back being the lack of a paved road to get help if you do go down.

From there I'd head down to Gunnison and take 50 to Montrose. Then SW to TEX.




*I am no expert here, this is just from a little local knowledge and a chart, and I'm comfortable using O2
 
murphey said:
Which reminds me, the Colorado Pilots mountain class is this coming weekend (Sept 7) at KBJC (the airport formerly known as Jeffco). Full day ground followed by the optional 3-6 hr practical flight scheduled between you and the CFI. Counts as a BFR, too!

www.coloradopilots.org and click on Mountain Flying

Personally, I do the ground every few years just as a refresher and reminder how dangerous is can be for spam cans. Since it's cooled off, doing the flight later in the week (us locals leave the Sunday flights for people coming in from out of state)

[Note to Nate: yes, I'm flying with Jer/]
Click to expand...

I cannot get the link to work.
 
denverpilot said:
Looks like Murph is going to have to call a certain TBM guy and see why the website no workee. ;)
Click to expand...


We've known about the website problem since this morning. Unknown if we've been hacked, DOS, or something has screwed up the DNS server. Not my problem (fortunately) but it is being worked.

If anyone wants to register for the mountain class, send me a pm and I'll send the registration form and info by email.
 
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