Moab 2006 rally - Lion's Back photos

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ArdraF

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Feb 12, 2006
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Some of you may recall that one afternoon the FitzGeralds and Griefers went out for fuel and didn't return for quite a while because Jerry decided on the spur of the moment to show Al and Judy what Lion's Back looked like.  For those of you who haven't seen Lion's Back, it can only be described as one of the most challenging hill climbs in Moab.  In all our years of coming to Moab, we had never seen anyone even try to go up but this time, as we were getting ready to leave, a Jeep Rubicon club arrived and two of their group wanted to do it.  Needless to say, we hung around while they obtained permission from the owner and did their thing.  Because we had only been going out for fuel, Jerry didn't have his camera to record this event, but being the shy person he is he managed to find the club's photographer who sent us the web sites to see the photos.  I said I would pass them on to those who were interested.  We watched the white Rubicon go both up and down but only saw the gray one go up.  Obviously from the photos you will see he made it down okay.  The bottom of Lion's Back begins at about a 42-degree angle so that gives you some idea of the difficulty.  In the middle the climb the angle lessens to 18 degrees but then becomes steeper again.  Also, the top is very small and requires about six back-and-forth motions to turn around.  You might notice that when the Jeep Rubicon comes over the top and starts down there is a very steep downward angle (probably about 45 degrees).  The driver cannot see anything before the turn down and has to depend on the spotter to stay on the driving track.  The fellows in the white Rubicon spent a lot of time up there and said the view was really neat.

http://macs4x4adventures.com/gallery/Moab_Trip?page=1
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9368/lionsbackwide6zj.jpg
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/1757/lionsback3sv.jpg

For those of you who have seen Lion's Back in past years, yes, the wreck that didn't make the climb is still wedged in the crack between Lion's Back and the hill next to it.

ArdraF
 
Thanks for the links Ardra. Al showed me some photos he took that day. That's definitely not for the faint of heart.
 
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