Rte 50 in Colorado

Drove tractor trailer over it many times. Just a hard pull but not bad. Beautiful scenery. There's only 1 way to learn mountain driving, drive the mountains.

wolfe10 wrote:
I am always a bit reluctant to offer advice on mountain driving.

There are TWO aspects that must be considered:

The rig.

The driver. While advice from a guy living and driving most of his life in the Rockies with exactly the same rig could, with all confidence say NO PROBLEM, that exact same route might be extremely challenging to a "flat lander".

Knowing how and when to use engine braking, how and when to use service brakes, the need for brake fluid to be good (not hydrated), etc do not necessarily come with a driver's license.

My thoughts as well.

check road conditions!
one year there was an accident on 50 and we were routed up 9 to Hartsel
no fun!

Drove it last September and wasn't bad, I only went as far west as Gunnison before heading north to Crested Butte/Taylor Park. Love the drive along the Arkansas between Pueblo and Salida, just beautiful. Monarch Pass isn't too bad.

Side note, since I'm from Kansas we call the river Ar-Kansas instead of like the state Arkansas, get some funny looks from people sometimes. Well it is our Kansas river as it flows through Kansas anyway, lol.

Last year there was a lot of construction with 1 lane areas controlled by lights. Not sure if it will be done this year, as I'm not sure what they were doing.

I am always a bit reluctant to offer advice on mountain driving.

There are TWO aspects that must be considered:

The rig.

The driver. While advice from a guy living and driving most of his life in the Rockies with exactly the same rig could, with all confidence say NO PROBLEM, that exact same route might be extremely challenging to a "flat lander".

Knowing how and when to use engine braking, how and when to use service brakes, the need for brake fluid to be good (not hydrated), etc do not necessarily come with a driver's license.

rickwellman wrote:
Probably middle of June 2018

Lucky You - Great time to be in Colorado - you will be fine, just don't get in a hurry - couple other things to be sure are on the schedule - Buena Vista and the Collegiates - Crested Butte - Ouray and Lake City - Alpine Loop - Marble - Redstone - Maroon Bells - Silverton.

As others have suggested look into RT 24 out of The Springs - little tight in the beginning but the drive out is great as you can see the Collegiates as soon as you come out of the Mountains - Just Beautiful, and the Arkansas River is there waiting for you, along with Q's and Quincy's.

If you were to stay for a few nights in Buena Vista you could drive over RT82 to Aspen/Independence Pass/Maroon Bells for a day trip in the Toad (RT82 is a restricted road, but a beautiful day Drive)

Biggest problem you might face is just not enough time to drive More of the Great Roads in the SouthWest part of Colorado.

Take 1,000's of pictures and report back.

Best of Luck,

We took that route last June with our rig and no problems. You will have to cross Monarch Pass as others said. Take your time and enjoy the scenery.

When we took that trip last summer it was really slow. A couple of bridges into the Blue Mesa Res. there were single lanes and the waits for your turn. This occurred until the last pass before Montrose. The damage in several areas was obvious erosion being repaired in August. Quite graphic and I could not see it being fixed by now which evolves into summer availability. Due to repair seasons I could not see it being fixed by summer 2018. However that is just an opinion. AND I give you this opinion so you can go and check the condition of your route. I ... did not.

we have taken that route several times over the years and had no problems.