Two Forum Members Take on Holy Cross

[ColoradoMike]

You see the words "extreme" and "hard core" tossed around pretty loosely nowadays, so when I saw guidebooks and offroad apps describing Holy Cross in those terms, I took it with a grain of salt. I DID NOT take it lightly; I expected Holy Cross to be hard. But it turned out to be a much more severe (and costly) test than I expected. @Wheelin Matt and I teamed up to take it on Sunday, and even on 37s with a solid lift, I think Matt will tell you it was a test. For me in my Rubi XR with XR-stock 35s and lift, it turned out to be more than I wanted.

@Ratbert, I wonder if you're glad you didn't come. @stumblinhorse ... you got your wish.

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[stumblinhorse]

You see the words "extreme" and "hard core" tossed around pretty loosely nowadays, so when I saw guidebooks and offroad apps describing Holy Cross in those terms, I took it with a grain of salt. I DID NOT take it lightly; I expected Holy Cross to be hard. But it turned out to be a much more severe (and costly) test than I expected. @Wheelin Matt and I teamed up to take it on Sunday, and even on 37s with a solid lift, I think Matt will tell you it was a test. For me in my Rubi XR with XR-stock 35s and lift, it turned out to be more than I wanted.
@Ratbert, I wonder if you're glad you didn't come. @stumblinhorse ... you got your wish.

Glad you got it done without breaking something major. It is no joke. Video was good tho. Saw your Byers Peak Float video also. I live very close to there. I was a raft guide and avid kayaker many years ago . So good stuff!

 

[ColoradoMike]

Glad you got it done without breaking something major. It is no joke. Video was good tho. Saw your Byers Peak Float video also. I live very close to there. I was a raft guide and avid kayaker many years ago . So good stuff!

Thanks, man. Yeah, Byers was fun. Believe it or not, that little slip is probably going to cost a lot. Body panel needs replaced and my rack is going to need replaced. But yeah, mechanically... all good. I dented in the skid plate for the etorque batt pretty good, but it doesn't seem a problem.

 

[stumblinhorse]

Thanks, man. Yeah, Byers was fun. Believe it or not, that little slip is probably going to cost a lot. Body panel needs replaced and my rack is going to need replaced. But yeah, mechanically... all good. I dented in the skid plate for the etorque batt pretty good, but it doesn't seem a problem.

Oh yeah, playing with big boy toys means big boy bills. Until you get the hardcore stuff out of your system, I would advise you to not fix it.

 

[ColoradoMike]

I'm fixing it; it's too pretty not to. I'm not driving anything harder than Top of the World in the foreseeable future. Moab Level 6 is my sweet spot, I think. I don't like Colorado boulder gardens.

 

[Wheelin Matt]

Great video, Mike! What a day! Holy Cross was a fun but humbling experience for me too! I hit my limits on this trail for sure & wont be hitting anything this hard again for a while! I feel like it was a good taste of what doing the Rubicon trail would be like, as far as difficulty since it’s rated about the same. My rear driveshaft got scraped up but it hasn’t caused any issues…. But now I will probably replace it with an Adams 1350 and keep the original as a spare for when I do end up on the Rubicon ?
This was an adventure I’ll always remember! Thanks for making the video, I’ll be watching it frequently ??

 

[buffalo429]

Thanks for posting your video. I'm on 35's with a 3.5 inch lift. No skids yet. We are headed there next week and I have some reservations about attempting this trail. I'll circle back to compare carnage. Lol!

 

[Ratbert]

You see the words "extreme" and "hard core" tossed around pretty loosely nowadays, so when I saw guidebooks and offroad apps describing Holy Cross in those terms, I took it with a grain of salt. I DID NOT take it lightly; I expected Holy Cross to be hard. But it turned out to be a much more severe (and costly) test than I expected. @Wheelin Matt and I teamed up to take it on Sunday, and even on 37s with a solid lift, I think Matt will tell you it was a test. For me in my Rubi XR with XR-stock 35s and lift, it turned out to be more than I wanted.
@Ratbert, I wonder if you're glad you didn't come. @stumblinhorse ... you got your wish.

Great video! Man, I wish I didn't have to back out of that run. That looked like such an adrenaline run rush!

 

[ColoradoMike]

Great video, Mike! What a day! Holy Cross was a fun but humbling experience for me too! I hit my limits on this trail for sure & wont be hitting anything this hard again for a while! I feel like it was a good taste of what doing the Rubicon trail would be like, as far as difficulty since it’s rated about the same. My rear driveshaft got scraped up but it hasn’t caused any issues…. But now I will probably replace it with an Adams 1350 and keep the original as a spare for when I do end up on the Rubicon ?
This was an adventure I’ll always remember! Thanks for making the video, I’ll be watching it frequently ??

Right on, Matt! Yeah... maybe if I keep this Jeep for five or six more years and beef it up a bit... the Rubicon Trail would be pretty amazing.
Yeah, "humbling" was a good word choice. I'm not as good as I thought I was before this trail; that's for sure. But hell, we made it. We did it. Most people can't say that.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Thanks for posting your video. I'm on 35's with a 3.5 inch lift. No skids yet. We are headed there next week and I have some reservations about attempting this trail. I'll circle back to compare carnage. Lol!

Oh man, no additional skids... you are going to have to be CAREFUL, ALL DAY. Plan on eight hours on the trail.
I have an aftermarket engine/oil pan skid, and it is deeply gouged. So I would have to imagine I might have smashed my oil pan without it.
The rocks are so big, so uneven, and so slippery, that people were slipping off and coming down hard on their undercarriage... all day long. Even Matt on 37s with a good lift was high-centered and turtled... You might be a much better driver than me; you might style it. But those rocks are slippery.
Good luck and tell us how it goes!

 

[ColoradoMike]

Great video! Man, I wish I didn't have to back out of that run. That looked like such an adrenaline run rush!

Thanks, John. It was arduous. I honestly felt as much stress as I did adrenaline. Definitely Type II fun.

 

[John VonJeep]

Good video, man. Wish it was a little shorter, but you really bring the viewer into the experience.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Good video, man. Wish it was a little shorter, but you really bring the viewer into the experience.

Thanks, man. Yeah, I was conscious as I built it that it was going to be long.
But... running that trail is a long, arduous grind where you really have to earn every mile, and every obstacle can become an ordeal where somebody's stuck and somebody's getting winched. We scarcely had a single obstacle where somebody didn't have a battle.
And so... the movie captures that. I didn't really expect most people to watch the entire thing. But I made the movie for me and Matt first and foremost, and I made it faithful to what the experience really is.
For anybody thinking about going to do that trail, watching this movie would give them a genuine idea of what to really expect. A four-minute sizzle reel of short punchy highlights would be better entertainment. But this is a documentary, really.

 

[wibornz]

Nice video. I enjoyed it and helped me relive one of my past adventures.


I have run Holy Cross. I run 8 psi with bead lock wheels There were a couple of spots where we placed a rock to make some of the climbs you guys struggled with easier.

It looks like you guys were around 15 psi on the tires. There is a huge difference between 15 psi and 8 psi. Almost 50% less air in the tire at 8 psi, makes the tires fold over rocks and flex better for way more traction. Holy Cross is a difficult trail and difficult trail at times require you to pull winch line. Im my book, there is no shame in pulling winch line.

I have to ask, why is the Red Jeep Driver like standing up in your Jeep looking out of the roof and way outside of the drivers's side window? I would think that would make it very difficult to drive on obstacles. Like how do you work the brake and throttle at the same time while like standing up in a Jeep? Difficult trails would seem like a seat belt would be in order.


The video did flow well and was enjoyable. I liked the actions and it looks like you all had a great time.. Were you able to fix the tail light? Or did you have to order parts to fix it. I call that the cost of wheeling. Great days on the trail with old and new friends; It is definitely a win.

 

[ColoradoMike]

Nice video. I enjoyed it and helped me relive one of my past adventures.


I have run Holy Cross. I run 8 psi with bead lock wheels There were a couple of spots where we placed a rock to make some of the climbs you guys struggled with easier.

It looks like you guys were around 15 psi on the tires. There is a huge difference between 15 psi and 8 psi. Almost 50% less air in the tire at 8 psi, makes the tires fold over rocks and flex better for way more traction. Holy Cross is a difficult trail and difficult trail at times require you to pull winch line. Im my book, there is no shame in pulling winch line.

I have to ask, why is the Red Jeep Driver like standing up in your Jeep looking out of the roof and way outside of the drivers's side window? I would think that would make it very difficult to drive on obstacles. Like how do you work the brake and throttle at the same time while like standing up in a Jeep? Difficult trails would seem like a seat belt would be in order.


The video did flow well and was enjoyable. I liked the actions and it looks like you all had a great time.. Were you able to fix the tail light? Or did you have to order parts to fix it. I call that the cost of wheeling. Great days on the trail with old and new friends; It is definitely a win.

Great thoughts, Ted, and glad you enjoyed the video.
Yes on the tires: I was at 15 PSI and do not have beadlocks. Having beadlocks and going lower PSI definitely would have helped suction onto those rocks. I'm not hardcore enough to want to have beadlocks (Jeeping is only like my No. 3-priority hobby, you know?)... which is why Holy Cross might be on a level slightly above what a guy like myself should be driving.
Yeah, had I been solo, I would have stacked a LOT more rocks. We did stack rocks in places and it helps; could have done more.
I drive the red Jeep, and I love standing up in the saddle; I feel it allows me to look down over the hood better and see the rocks for longer before they disappear from sight. I stand on my left foot and have no trouble moving my right back and forth between the gas and brake while doing so. I usually don't do it when I'm in the thick of an obstacle; moreso as I approach the crux until the last minute to make sure I'm lined up exactly where I want to be. Then I sit down when I go over the lip.
As for the seatbelt question... maybe I will learn that lesson the hard way some day, but I do not like a seatbelt on in the middle of an obstacle at low speed... sometimes I go to move, lean, (or stand up), and the damn thing locks me in place when I don't want it to!

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