Crossing the Rockies in May

Kaye

Kaye

Line Up and Wait
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My family reunion next year is in California on Memorial Day weekend. I'd like to make it an adventure with the Trinnie. And to make the best of it, I'd like to fly a northern route one-way, the southern route the other way. But I'm guessing the northern route could be a little too interesting for me in May. What's considered "normal" weather that time of year?
 
Weather in the Rockies (at least where I live) is VERY unpredictable in May. Some years we will have weeks of CAVU, some years we will have lots of rain / thunderstorms / snowstorms. As long as you have a cushion of time for Wx delays, you should be able to make the trip though, as most of our bad Wx that time of year doesn't last but a day or two.
 
1) Do you understand mountain flying in/around/above mountains higher than what you have on the east side of the country?
2) what type of aircraft will you be using?
3) what do you consider 'the northern route'?
4) and what do you consider 'the southern route'?
 
I expect you see a lot of lousy weather and a lot of good weather along a trip like that in the spring.

If you plan enough weather days and keep your route flexible you'll have a great trip.
 
murphey said:
1) Do you understand mountain flying in/around/above mountains higher than what you have on the east side of the country?
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I understand that I have much to learn, that's why the planning starts now.
murphey said:
2) what type of aircraft will you be using?
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TB20, no it's not a turbo.
murphey said:
3) what do you consider 'the northern route'?
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Not sure, don't have charts yet, but I've always heard I80.
murphey said:
4) and what do you consider 'the southern route'?
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I planned a southern route maybe 3 years ago. Haven't pulled out the charts yet, but I recall it hanging close to the Mexican border.

Trust me, I'm not treating this as a frivolous deal, but I also don't consider it an unattainable goal.
 
I've crossed the Rockies a few times in a TB20, but it's been a while. Be sure to check MEAs and compare them to your service ceiling. Even if you're going VFR it good info to have.
 
Kaye said:
I understand that I have much to learn, that's why the planning starts now.

TB20, no it's not a turbo.

Not sure, don't have charts yet, but I've always heard I80.

I planned a southern route maybe 3 years ago. Haven't pulled out the charts yet, but I recall it hanging close to the Mexican border.

Trust me, I'm not treating this as a frivolous deal, but I also don't consider it an unattainable goal.
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Excellent! But now that we have more info, we can offer better suggestions and warnings.
 
FWIW, Marias Pass is the lowest (5213 MSL) crossing of the Divide north of New Mexico. In good weather and with benign winds, 10,500' is a comfortable cruising altitude westbound, and offers spectacular views.
 
What's your idea of a "northern route"? I-80, or up in Montana? I-80 should be no problem as long as you watch the weather.
 
stagecoachco said:
Here is what I would suggest for a Northern Route:

http://www.runwayfinder.com/?loc=KBFF;MBW/V;CKW/V;OCS/V;FBR;CORIN/F;LCU/V;LWL/V;KEKO&view=vfr


The whole thing can be done at 10,500' and it keeps you out of the Salt Lake Bravo, plus it keeps you close (in western terms) to airports along the way.
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Thanks! Looks like the I-80 route with a slight deviation. Ordered charts an hour ago so I'll soon get to look at brown pieces of paper. Sure is different from the "green" charts I usually play with. :smile:
 
Pilawt said:
FWIW, Marias Pass is the lowest (5213 MSL) crossing of the Divide north of New Mexico. In good weather and with benign winds, 10,500' is a comfortable cruising altitude westbound, and offers spectacular views.
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That I would love to fly. I may keep that as a possibility as I know I'll get lucky with gorgeous wx the whole trip! :wink2:
 
May should be a good time for a trip with the cautions folks have offered. With the trinnie you've got enough speed to hold off deciding on northern (I-80) or southern (I-40) routes until you're on your way - just aim for Colorado Springs and then go north or south as it suits you. Plan to go through the hills early in the day and have a stop option by noon or so when you're in the high country. Some of the afternoons can get really bumpy and it's best to be on the ground. On other days the afternoons can be just grand and it's good to just cruise on. Gotta play along with whatever the weather gods give you.

It would be a good chance to get some mountain & high density airport operations training. There are plenty of really good (experienced and dedicated) instructors in the Denver area that we (POARs) can steer you to if you'd like.
 
Whatever you do, plan a stop at KMYL to take the mountain flying course from Lori McNichol's Mountain Canyon Flying. Getting to land at the backcountry strips in that area is a real treat, and the flying portion really made my entire trip out west.

Also, even though I know you'll plan the heck out of it (hey, that's part of the fun!), be flexible with both time and routing. A trip like that should be fun - And that means that once you're in the brown area of the sectional, it's much better to be VFR than IFR. On my grand adventure I spent a whopping 0.3 or so of the 63-hour trip IFR/IMC. The sights you'll see out there are spectacular, don't miss 'em by being in the clouds!

Also on my trip, looking at the outbound portion only (KMSN-S21), Less than half of the airports and NONE of the overnights were where I originally planned them. That's part of the fun, too! :yes:
 
Kaye take the southern route out and the northern route home that way you can stop at the FlyBQ on the way home :)
 
AdamZ said:
Kaye take the southern route out and the northern route home that way you can stop at the FlyBQ on the way home :)
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I suspect the weather will dictate which route you take, plan both. Prefer Adam's on the off chance both are doable at the same time.

BTW, where in California are you meeting family? If it's SoCal, I can probably find you a hangar and help with logistics. I understand you'll be busy.

Joe
 
My favourite route through the Rockies in dubious weather is (East-West) Bear Lake - Soda Springs - Pocatello, keeps away from Salt lake City and all the noise.
 
I have flown that Northern route a few times (9) going east and west. A straight line between Rock Springs and American Falls is a good crossing point It will take you over Bear Lake area and the three corners of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. I flew my 182 VFR each time I crossed over there. I don't know about the one Jeff is talking about but I am sure he does.
 
This is the Marias Pass route I mentioned. It follows the route of the Great Northern Railroad and US Highway 2 along the south border of Glacier National Park. These photos were taken westbound at 10,500' in late May 2002, over East Glacier, over the pass itself, and coming into the Flathead Valley approaching Kalispell. Beautiful trip.
 

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Areeda said:
I suspect the weather will dictate which route you take, plan both. Prefer Adam's on the off chance both are doable at the same time.
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I'd plan both routes and take the northern on the way out if the wx permits. You're more likely to run into impassable wx there and by going north first you've got a better chance of flying both routes. The I-80 path doesn't really present many of the challenges of "mountain flying", if you know how to deal with higher DA's than you're used to and pay attention to the weather you'll be OK without a full blown mountain course. IIRC, AOPA has a pretty decent online course that covers all the basics. OTOH if you're interested in flying some canyons and/or hitting a back country strip or two, some time with a mountain savvy CFI in those areas is highly recommended.
 
coach said:
I just flew that route at 10500 last week, a good way to go.
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That's pretty much the route I always take from MSP to SLC. I suggest staying on V6 after FBR rather than going all the way around the SLC Class B on V288. The MEA pops briefly up to 12000 on V6 but it's 16,000 on V288 and I don't think SLC approach will give you any trouble on V6. The underlying terrain on V288 peaks out at a bit over 9000 MSL vs under 8000 on V6. Plus V6 is slightly shorter.
 
Got my charts over the weekend. Forgot how intimidating the brown charts could be to an east coast flatlander. :p

Areeda said:
BTW, where in California are you meeting family? If it's SoCal, I can probably find you a hangar and help with logistics. I understand you'll be busy.

Joe
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I'll be headed to HMT. But the husband can only join me one way, so I'm hoping to get a reasonable priced fare into ONT or SNA, and then see if I'm brave enough to pick him up there. :hairraise:

AdamZ said:
Kaye take the southern route out and the northern route home that way you can stop at the FlyBQ on the way home :)
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You moved up the date, so it'll by my "practice" weekend. Think you could find some mountains for me??? :rofl:

gismo said:
I'd plan both routes and take the northern on the way out if the wx permits. You're more likely to run into impassable wx there and by going north first you've got a better chance of flying both routes.
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That's what I was thinking.

I'm planning 2 weeks for the round trip. Of course, the weekend in between is the reunion. I won't be doing back country strips, but I do hope to take in a few hours training at one of the front range airports on my way out. Another wish from the husband is a stop in Vegas....luckily he's used to stopping wherever the weather takes us, so no disappointments if it doesn't happen.

Keep the info coming on the northern section while I get used to looking at dark brown ridges. :D
 
Kaye said:
I'll be headed to HMT. But the husband can only join me one way, so I'm hoping to get a reasonable priced fare into ONT or SNA, and then see if I'm brave enough to pick him up there.

....
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Never been to ONT but SNA is not bad. It's not very big and it's hard to get lost.

greg
 
ONT is not bad, either, just two long parallel runways, Clearance, ground, tower, and SOCAL.
 
bbchien said:
ONT is not bad, either, just two long parallel runways, Clearance, ground, tower, and SOCAL.
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Yes. Ontario is very straightforward for a somewhat busy airport. You can't get lost, it's not overly busy, and ATC is good. It's just like a busy class D. I bet even a student pilot wouldn't really have a problem there.
 
Both Ontario and John Wayne are relatively GA friendly. SNA tends to get busier than ONT. FBO at both will pick hubby up and bring him to your airplane. Last time I picked someone up at SNA I got charged $20 (I think), ONT didn't charge.

If you get here early and want to do a practice run, I'll be happy to provide moral support and maybe a few tips. Not that it's necessary.

Joe
 
coach said:
I just flew that route at 10500 last week, a good way to go.
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I once attempted crossing the Wasatch Range westbound at 13,500+ near to that route. I hit strong wave and rotors and decided it would be better to land at the nearest airport for some trans fat. Watch out when there are strong winds, which is frequently.
 
ChrisS said:
I once attempted crossing the Wasatch Range westbound at 13,500+ near to that route. I hit strong wave and rotors and decided it would be better to land at the nearest airport for some trans fat. Watch out when there are strong winds, which is frequently.
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Yep, the weather can change everything.
 
coach said:
Yep, the weather can change everything.
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Weather is one of the reasons to participate in some mountain flight training.

Of course it might be tough to get much mountain weather training outside of an organized course. I really liked and have benefited from the Colorado Pilots Association course. Probably should go back next year for a refresher...
 
If I am at S49 in may, I would love to fly with you into one or two of the easy backcountry strips. Something like Johnson Creek or Sulphur Creek. I know maybe Oregon is to far North if you are going to Southern CAl. But, we could work on a little mountain flying. A bonus would be I work cheap. ( read FREE here)
 
Bob Bement said:
If I am at S49 in may, I would love to fly with you into one or two of the easy backcountry strips. Something like Johnson Creek or Sulphur Creek. I know maybe Oregon is to far North if you are going to Southern CAl. But, we could work on a little mountain flying. A bonus would be I work cheap. ( read FREE here)
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Now there's an offer that shouldn't be refused! After I was done with the mountain flying course, I went to see Bob and he flew me into some strips so narrow I think I leaned away from the door. :rofl:

He's a helluva pilot and a prince of a guy! :yes:
 
Oh, my! That sounds like the best excuse I've ever heard to fly to the other side of the continent. Better be careful making offers like that, Bob- you might have more business than you'd want.
 
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