Vail Pass-Commando-Minturn TR

[gonzo]

I was out in Vail with my folks for a family vacation a few weeks back - unfortunately my brother broke his ankle our first day biking, so he was out. My buddy Will got the day off during the week and we shuttled up to Vail Pass in his truck and rode in and up along the ridgeline via the "commando route" and down onto Two Elk trail through the back bowls down the drainage into Minturn and then back to the deck of the Red Lion in Vail Village for beers and food after the log ride. It was a pretty great day - took about 5 hours. People do this with skins and it muct be a serious workout. Even though we shuttled up to 10,000 feet-ish at the pass, we probably climbed at least 2,000 - 2,500. We then had 4,000-ish of descent . Here are some pictures.

Unloading at Vail Pass


Climbing...it got pretty steep at several spots...with the altitude meant we pushed em a bit...


dizzy...wheezing...


The trail was in great shape and had sicky sick views...


Gat timer shot with the Gore in the background. 1-70 is in the valley behind us...


nioce...


up high.


coming into the back bowls from tha rear. that is the top of I-70 bowl


down into the back bowls. the flowers were pretty cool. that is red square up to the right.


the trail got pretty tight and rocky down in the drainage towards minturn. this is will after his second endo of the day with a few more to come. we were pretty tired at this point. i think this is a good "irish" shot too.


the trail was freaking beautiful the whole way down though. the last few miles were definitely hairy (this is not a picture of said hairy), but it was a great ride. Definitely recommended!


Word to the mummyfucker.

[Vicious]

Very cool...great TR. I've wanted to do that ride for a while and after seeing the pics I can't wait. Now I just have to find something other than my squishy bike for the ride.

[Dromond]

Excellent TR. The quality of the trail.... the quality of the dirt looks just fantastic. I bet that was a great time!

[Godwin-Austin]

great pics....looks like a different world in the summer.

[Benny Profane]

nice. Do it in 3 weeks when the world lights up in there.

[p-tex]

I just did that ride on Sunday. Ran into a couple other groups. Usually no one around on that one. Great ride and tons of fun. Super fast single track.

[hev]

nice work. gotta hit this upcountry shuttle some time, looks like a blast.

[Particle]

OK that just made me reallllly miss CO! Fortunately, winter in UT will soon erase that feeling