N TX to Gunnison

S

Sierra Victor

Pre-takeoff checklist
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May 14, 2014
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Denton, TX
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Sierra Victor
For you mtn fliers what route do u suggest, other than direct? What are your winds aloft minimums and cloud ht? Will the winds at Monarch be relatively accurate that far south?

I fly a T206 w/o2
500hrs w ifr but zero intention of using it on this trip
Full load---wife and kids

WX will have to be vfr
Will put the family on a commercial flt if wx is an issue-no problem!
I have flown cross country through the rocks but only in the summer.
I'm a chicken so if this is a bad idea no worries.

Thanks guys
 
Follow Highway 285 south of Mt Evans, then across South Park to Salida and follow the highway over Monarch Pass and then onto Gunnison. Get pireps and wind before leaving. If the clouds are above the highest peaks, its usually ok to go cloudwise (depends). Winds greater than 30 or so are problematic. Hint: Try and time it so its the "day after the storm". High pressure and clear blues skies, still air! It will be a fabulous day everyone remembers! Good luck! Its not a bad idea if the weather is good. Bring plenty of fuel but go as light as you can. Morning is better, so consider overnighting around KBJC.

Monarch, Copper Mountain and Crested Butte ski areas all have webcams. Take a look at those.
 
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Depends on the weather. Cobluesky posted one way to do it. Another way is to come in from the southwest. I really don't suggest salida/monarch in high winds. When calmish it is no problem. Be flexible.
 
Coming from the southEAST, North pass is lower than Monarch. But if Monarch is too windy, it will probably be windy too. Follow I-25 north then it would be Walsenburg, La Veta, Alamosa, Saguache, North pass, Gunnison. Again, morning is better. Good hotels in Raton or Pueblo. Anywhere really. This route is faster for you, no need to come to Denver if the weather is good. Call for a briefing. If you get a good briefer, they can steer you right. Seldom is one route to Gunnison from the east significantly better than the other. If its that iffy, its a no go either way.
 
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Thanks for the input fellas.
Greatly appreciated.
Sounds like an afternoon arrival in Gunnison isn't the norm.
 
I'll second that Monarch is bad in any sort of winds. I think Monarch is #2 in number of aircraft wrecks overall, even though it's not a high total number.

The Alamosa route USUALLY has better weather when the front range and Plains are socked in but winds are low, but you can see problematic weather on either side of the ridge where one side is great and the other sucks, as far as visibility and clouds go.

Like ColoradoBlueSky said, if it's iffy at all, somewhere along that total route will suck enough that it's a no-go. You really can't guess too far ahead on that entire route being good or bad either, so have some "outs" planned and land and wait it out if you must.

This weekend looks crappy for mountain stuff. Snow and a front coming to the front range on Friday. But there's days that will surprise you where the forecast was just flat wrong this time of year on a micro scale.
 
There are many stories about mountains and weather. One in particular is the guy who just had to get home (Houston) from some north central Colorado airport. Front Range weather was crap. He ended up smearing his aircraft and his family on the side of some mountain southeast of Breck.

Guess what? It was severe clear on the western slope. A bit of deviation to the west and they could have gone home safely.

When I say southwest I mean southwest. Think big picture when flying to/from a mountain destination. Sometimes going a long distance out of your way is the only safe choice if ya just gotta get there today. Sometimes even when ya just gotta, ya can't. Any kind of ice at destination means ya can't when going into the mountains. Just cloudy between here and there, go around or go over. I've gone to 18,000 to get to the destination. I've gone to Raton and then Taos on a flight from Denver to Alamosa. Aircraft operate in 3 dimensions and the magenta line is just one option.
 
You can follow the Gunnison River up from Grand Junction. That is from the west.

I still remember flying from Telluride to Gunnison pretty much direct. THAT is from the southwest. Right by Red Cloud and/or Uncompadre Peak. WOW! It was crystal clear little wind day. What a thrill. Dont mess with that in clouds or even dodging clouds by much. Theres ALWAYS ice in those clouds up there. But if its clear, and not turbulent or too windy, its an amazing trip.

Have to have that "Day after the storm" high pressure day. You can go anywhere.

But thats not on a route from Texas.
 
Monarch Pass route shouldnt be any worse than frequently traveled Rollins pass. Its actually lower I think. But North Pass (which is south of Monarch), is signifigantly lower. Its the lowest pass over the divide in Colorado.

Alamosa then North Pass is probably the best route from Texas.

Keep in mind you need clear below 14500' MSL. So at a 7000' airport you need 7500' or higher broken or overcast. So the airport can be green on aviationweather. gov and you cant get in. There are 14ers all over the place.

For a first timer, you really need clear to the moon. Maybe one or two little wisps here and there. And negative turbulence. High Pressure!
 
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I can't recommend a route - haven't looked at it yet.... but... in the future... if you are going to do a lot of mountain flying, the Colorado Pilot's Association has a great Mountain Flying Course. I learned a lot from it and feel much more confident planning and flying in the mountains now.

Dean
 
coloradobluesky said:
You can follow the Gunnison River up from Grand Junction. That is from the west.

I still remember flying from Telluride to Gunnison pretty much direct. THAT is from the southwest. Right by Red Cloud and/or Uncompadre Peak. WOW! It was crystal clear little wind day. What a thrill. Dont mess with that in clouds or even dodging clouds by much. Theres ALWAYS ice in those clouds up there. But if its clear, and not turbulent or too windy, its an amazing trip.

Have to have that "Day after the storm" high pressure day. You can go anywhere.

But thats not on a route from Texas.
Click to expand...
You aren't getting it but that's okay. I'm sure your interpretation of the written word is perfect and never needs to be reconsidered. I'm sure that you know every possible way from Texas to anywhere in Colorado. And I'm also sure you know the moral of every story ever told and you always follow the magenta line perfectly. Pardon me while I bend over and fart in your general direction. HTH and HAND
 
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