Whistler BC

83trekker wrote:


Well i got back from doing this trip, thats quite the road i must have to say holy ****. As per the pic above i just fished coming down and the sharp very quick hair pin turns that just pop up on you were pretty freaking intense. By the time i got just to the 15 degree hill I pulled off just to the right as in the pic above where the runaway lane is and my truck brakes in the back were smoking. I didnt run the brakes alot but had to crank on them good when i hit these hairpin turns that you just dont see coming.

The 15 degree hill was not bad , i threw it into first gear threw the 4 way flashers on and crawled down, that was prob the easiest part of the whole road.

After everything was good and my brakes actually felt like they had more of a bite to them for the rest of the trip lol

Trekker.

Glad you enjoyed the trip and that you made it safely down Duffey Lake Road.

As you noted, the hairpin curves can creep up real fast. Not that I pull as long or as heavy as a trailer as you, but I have found that the top portion of the hill near Joffre Lakes Provincial Park is where I stay off the brakes and let the transmission and engine do most of the work so that the brakes stay cool for the hairpin curves. I usually drop down into 4th then 3rd when needed which will slow the truck and trailer enough that only occasional braking is required until the grade gets steeper and the hairpins start at which I time I alternate between 1st and 2nd and the brakes to safely descend.

Like any mountain road, once you drive it a few times, you slowly get to know the idiosyncrasies of it and is knowledge learned for the next time, so don't allow the naysayers and negative comments here take away from your experience. I have driven the Duffey Lake Road too many times to count and I still learn something new on every descent.

PS. Glad you enjoyed the Seton Lake campground. Can't ask for a better campground experience in that area.