CO Hwy 550 - Montrose to Durango
How is this route? According to the trip planner it looks like all mountain driving to me. Anybody familiar with this route? Would you recommend using it with a 34' travel trailer in tow?
Forum Discussion
During the years I lived in Ouray, I was a volunteer on the Ouray County ambulance and hauled numerous patients off of Red Mountain. One bicycle rider was coming down from the top, north bound when he decided to pass a car. His front end on the bike went into a death wobble and dumped his body on the pavement. The car stopped to help and called in for help. The car driver told me he was doing at least 55mph when the bike tried to pass him. The bike rider had a broken leg, arm and probably deposited a pound of skin on the pavement.
Then I was also a deputy sheriff and a deputy coroner for the county. In those roles I helped remove the remains of several people from vehicle wrecks on Red Mountain, both car passenger and OTR truck drivers. Some of those truck drivers are no more prepared for that road than some of the flatland car drivers, usually men. Women tend to be smart enough to recognize their driving limitations, based upon their experience and training.
One night just north of Ouray, I was on patrol duty and spotted a loaded 18 wheeler south bound on Hwy 550. Let him get to about the hot springs pool area and lite him up with my overhead lights. He told me he was headed to Durango, first trip for him over Red Mountain pass. So I asked for his trip sheet and sure enough his dispatcher hadn't routed him over Red. So I gave him the option of calling his dispatcher to get permission to go over Red or we could do a safety check on his truck, which shouldn't take over 5 or 6 hours to do. He chose to call his dispatcher. I was about 8 ft away from him and could hear the dispatcher screaming at the driver, he wasn't pleased at all. Then the driver's boss got on and he screamed for awhile and told the driver if he tried to drive over Red Mountain pass, he was fired.
This all got the driver's attention. I had found out he only had a gas station road map in his truck cab. Had forgotten his brief case with his truckers atlas, etc. Anyways I showed him which block and helped him get headed back north to Grand Junction to get on I 70. Many of the trucks running the pass are specially equipted with auto chains, built in sanders and well trained drivers that drive the route weekly, weather permitting.
I have been run off the road by truckers that were white knuckling it straddling the center line before on 550. Not fun. Sure, most people make it across safely but some don't. Many times these people only got one "opps" and they were goners.
Ouray, as of today, April 16, has a winter storm warning out for the area, including Silverton, Telluride, ect and the forecast is for an accumulation of between 12 and 24 inches of snow by tonight, with wind gusts up to 45 mph. March and April are the two months of heavy snow fall that I remember. And it takes a while to melt in the high country. Ouray is at about 7,000 ft of altitude.
Beautiful drive south out of Ouray, but not for everyone in an RV. If you have a tow, use it for your first trip and decide yourself or rent a Jeep in one of the local towns and use that. Lots of fun to get off road in that part of the world.
A sign put up by Colorado DOT at the south edge of Ouray, looking south on Hwy 550.
Then I was also a deputy sheriff and a deputy coroner for the county. In those roles I helped remove the remains of several people from vehicle wrecks on Red Mountain, both car passenger and OTR truck drivers. Some of those truck drivers are no more prepared for that road than some of the flatland car drivers, usually men. Women tend to be smart enough to recognize their driving limitations, based upon their experience and training.
One night just north of Ouray, I was on patrol duty and spotted a loaded 18 wheeler south bound on Hwy 550. Let him get to about the hot springs pool area and lite him up with my overhead lights. He told me he was headed to Durango, first trip for him over Red Mountain pass. So I asked for his trip sheet and sure enough his dispatcher hadn't routed him over Red. So I gave him the option of calling his dispatcher to get permission to go over Red or we could do a safety check on his truck, which shouldn't take over 5 or 6 hours to do. He chose to call his dispatcher. I was about 8 ft away from him and could hear the dispatcher screaming at the driver, he wasn't pleased at all. Then the driver's boss got on and he screamed for awhile and told the driver if he tried to drive over Red Mountain pass, he was fired.
This all got the driver's attention. I had found out he only had a gas station road map in his truck cab. Had forgotten his brief case with his truckers atlas, etc. Anyways I showed him which block and helped him get headed back north to Grand Junction to get on I 70. Many of the trucks running the pass are specially equipted with auto chains, built in sanders and well trained drivers that drive the route weekly, weather permitting.
I have been run off the road by truckers that were white knuckling it straddling the center line before on 550. Not fun. Sure, most people make it across safely but some don't. Many times these people only got one "opps" and they were goners.
Ouray, as of today, April 16, has a winter storm warning out for the area, including Silverton, Telluride, ect and the forecast is for an accumulation of between 12 and 24 inches of snow by tonight, with wind gusts up to 45 mph. March and April are the two months of heavy snow fall that I remember. And it takes a while to melt in the high country. Ouray is at about 7,000 ft of altitude.
Beautiful drive south out of Ouray, but not for everyone in an RV. If you have a tow, use it for your first trip and decide yourself or rent a Jeep in one of the local towns and use that. Lots of fun to get off road in that part of the world.
A sign put up by Colorado DOT at the south edge of Ouray, looking south on Hwy 550.
