Death Valley Riding Conditions

Gotcha.

Guy at Panamint (employee) on Sat was actually bitching that CHP was patrolling the county road as well as the sheriff however... so maybe they are both giving out tickets.

the washout is right where the word 'Trona Wildrose Rd' in the middle.

there are plenty of other ways around that we took. again, not noob friendly.

We camped at the entrance to Ballorat on Wildrose Rd. on Saturday night. From there I had a clear view of the barricades that close Wildrose road (about 150 yds away). During the night and early Sunday morning quite a few vehicles drove up, moved the the barricade, drove through, and then replaced the closed signs.

How does Saline valley / North Pass to the spring looks like right now?

thanks

I was wondering the same thing... Got snowed out before Thanksgiving.

Cheers,

JG

I headed down north pass from the north today. About 12 miles down I ran into a pretty bad ice section on a downhill. Is was like a zamboni machine went through there. I was by myself so I turned around. I might have made it down but I doubt I could get back up it. Its thick and in the shadows so it may be there a while. A 4x4 would probably make it.

Good to know, as I've been getting the itch to give it a go, seeing how beautifully graded the road is. I'll wait until the spring thaw and try to get in before it turns into washboard madness.

Any new info on South Pass or Hunter Mountain Rd?

Thanks!

anyone been up from Warm Springs?


Thanks,

CBIG

We did Lippencott/South Pass/Saline Valley on Saturday. Some snow and ice at South Pass but nothing serious... still easily passable. Saline Valley Rd. has been graded and is in excellent shape. Lippencott was about the same as last year. Interesting that it has been removed from the maps. :huh

I did Titus in my 4Runner Sunday. No worries.

They probly don't want tourists trying to drive down that with their SUV.
What's the top entrance look like? Any changes? Just the sign still?

My last time in, just before Thanksgiving, we encountered a couple of Asian tourists in their rental Chevy Cruze at the intersection of Saline & Lippincott, about to head over Lippincott to get to the racetrack, following their GPS. Nothing we said could dissuade them. I wonder what became of them.

Probably ended up with a very expensive lesson, like this couple who tried it last "summer". :eek1 Story here: http://davidsworld.org/2013/06/27/stranded-in-death-valley-part-i-of-iii/
.

How to almost kill your girlfriend in a sedan.

I guess. The girlfriend was a more or less innocent bystander...

I couldn't read more than part 1 (of 3). Apparently the sense of shame is a lost art. That combination of stupidity and wealth should activate an automatic darwin switch...

Man, thanks for that link. What a complete, utter, total, fucking moron. He replied to one of the comments on the last page and it's painfully obvious that he still has no idea how close he was to dying out there and how many things were sooooo close to being the root cause. The guy was driving through a blinding forest of red flags and he kept going.

He talks about how he was experienced, his skill guided him and that's the reason he got out alive. The fucking moron took a Camry on Lippencott, IN JUNE? I mean...seriously? It hasn't even been shown as a road on the Auto Club DV map for well over 40 years (yes, I have a mid-60s print of that map). He needs a square punch in face for that whole excursion.

He says he paid 16.5k to the car company, but didn't say if he got to keep the car!

Tourists...... Pift

I think we're getting a bit off topic with the dumb tourist story.