Black Bear Pass - Closed Temporarily

[DylanM]

Staring at the view - drove off edge

Honestly just looks like they drove up to Bridal Veil Falls (Black Bear is two way to that point) and decided to just keep on going through the one way area (above Bridal Veil is one way - down hill) and got distracted and drove off the side.

Precisely, they drove up from the Telluride side past the two-way section and went off the side. Good news is it sounds like they've already towed it off.

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[hayduke-TX]

I mean, at least he was driving a Telluride.

 

[Sweetums]

I may have done some dumb shit, but I've never had the local news not-so-subtly tell me to GTFO of the state and not come back.

 

[Orange01z28]

...on the next episode of M.O.R.R....

"So we got a call"

 

[Orange01z28]

I may have done some dumb shit, but I've never had the local news not-so-subtly tell me to GTFO of the state and not come back.

The dude was on the San Juans Facebook group asking about doing it in the Telluride. Got told no to the borderline of mocking, and still did it anwyay

 

[JTGuy]

Release the brakes and give it a push. Pick it up at the bottom. That is a 4WD trail. not a AWD. Write the ticket. Put him out there to explain why everyone can't do the drive now after driving hundreds of miles to get there. .

 

[WILDHOBO]

DENVER (KDVR) — A South Carolina man drove a Kia Telluride up Black Bear Road on Wednesday and got stuck, leading to a closure of Black Bear Pass.

The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office said that until a tow can make it into the area, the roadway will remain closed because the car is unstable and it is not safe to be driven around.

The vehicle is stuck on one of the switchbacks above Bridal Veil Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls Powerplant, the sheriff’s office said, which is a one-way area on the roadway. The Kia got stuck at about three to four switchbacks past the falls when the driver managed to get his wheels off the side of the road, leaving the car unstable.
Pictures here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...n&cvid=68df141c2b9045fd9854ce645b18d1b6&ei=31

People aren’t bright. It does look like something two jeeps and two winches could recover pretty easily. Hopefully a local recovery group will go after it. But maybe the fact that it’s a rental complicates that, as the driver might not be permitted to contract for a tow. The rental company might have told them they’d handle it themselves to attempt to save the vehicle.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I've read elsewhere so many people saying they should never take a Telluride down Black Bear. While I'm not standing up for them or saying they were in the right, It appears they are at least headed in the right direction, which means they made it through the steps and initial switchbacks, which to my understanding are really the only challenging parts. The rest is just not getting scared on the shelf. The only reason they got stuck is, for whatever reason, they left the trail, and from the photos even some higher clearance vehicles would get hung up in the same situation.

So as much as us 4x4'ers hate to admit, is this really the wrong vehicle for the trail? This appears to be more of a bad driver issue.

It’s both. Having done that trail, that vehicle has no business there. It’s true there are easier sections, but the sections that require lots of suspension travel to do safely would be a disaster in a vehicle like this. They’re luckily they’re alive.

 

[WILDHOBO]

You're assuming they went in the right direction. It's entirely possible they went in backwards, hit a part they couldn't traverse, and turned around.

That’s incredibly likely.

 

[JTGuy]

There will probably be a U tube of the extract of it.

 

[Sweetums]

Release the brakes and give it a push. Pick it up at the bottom. That is a 4WD trail. not a AWD. Write the ticket. Put him out there to explain why everyone can't do the drive now after driving hundreds of miles to get there. .

As entertaining as it would be, I'm opposed to leaving litter, fluids, and off-trail damage behind. There's enough trash on the mountain as it is.

 

[WILDHOBO]

There will probably be a U tube of the extract of it.

I wish. But my guess would be that the rental company won’t sign the video waiver.

 

[Master_Cylinder]

That road doesn’t look tough. I think I could drive it with my Subaru Legacy. And those locals won’t talk me out of it either!

 

[10ecHarry]

DENVER (KDVR) — A South Carolina man drove a Kia Telluride up Black Bear Road on Wednesday and got stuck, leading to a closure of Black Bear Pass.

The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office said that until a tow can make it into the area, the roadway will remain closed because the car is unstable and it is not safe to be driven around.

The vehicle is stuck on one of the switchbacks above Bridal Veil Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls Powerplant, the sheriff’s office said, which is a one-way area on the roadway. The Kia got stuck at about three to four switchbacks past the falls when the driver managed to get his wheels off the side of the road, leaving the car unstable.
Pictures here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...n&cvid=68df141c2b9045fd9854ce645b18d1b6&ei=31

It is back open.

 

[DanJT]

I remember when they closed it in the early 90's due to so many vehicles going over the edge. Made several scenic routes through there going to Cripple Creek from the springs and back until they closed it.

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