Before starting this, I want to say that my AltRider skid-plate did a GREAT job protecting my Super Tenere. I don't know how others would of fared (except that the Yamaha unit would probably have resulted in damage to the motor).....
It all started on Tuesday, 13 Sept leaving out of Crested Butte, Colorado heading west to the town of Marble. We hit a long dirt road climb out of Crested Butte up to the Paradise divide, over the top at 10,707ft. Then proceeded on to Schofield Pass / Gothic Road intersection and head west to Marble along the Crystal River thru the 'Devils Punchbowl'. Only a distance of 24 miles that ended up taking us (my brother-in-law on his 650 Dakar and my ST) almost 7 hours.
Here is a video of some of this trail....take a look at 3:30 to see how extreme the terrain was (I need a GoPro!)...oh yeah, this is listed as a 'Double Black Diamond' route....
Here is what http://www.atvtrails.org/co/Schofield_Pass.html has to say:
"Schofield Pass starts as an easy road as you ride through an open area with a few houses in it, but quickly turns into one the most difficult and dangerous trails in the State of Colorado." and "The section of trail is know as the Devil's Punch Bowl and is very difficult. Trying to come up this area in the rain was very difficult and very scary. The entire time you are right on the edge of the cliff and one wrong move could be your last. On July 9, 1970 nine people died as their car fell into the punch bowl. "
The terrain is extreme, there were steps 2+ feet in height that we ended up having to walk the bikes down....with 300ft shear drop-off's, boulder's the size of basketballs, steep loose, rocky descents, boulder strewn river crossings (100ft + & 18" deep - running very fast). And more. Much, much more. It was probably the most extreme terrain I have encountered in my 40 years of off-roading. Maybe it not being desert terrain makes it seem much more extreme?
I did things with this bike that Yamaha could only dream of! And the AltRider skid plate took a beating...being dragged over the rock ledges (I wish the ST had a couple of inches more ground clearance), bouncing off large boulders, being wedges between rock outcroppings, etc. The plate prevented damage to the motor!
WHAT A ADVENTURE....(not one that I want to do again, even with my light KTM).
It all started on Tuesday, 13 Sept leaving out of Crested Butte, Colorado heading west to the town of Marble. We hit a long dirt road climb out of Crested Butte up to the Paradise divide, over the top at 10,707ft. Then proceeded on to Schofield Pass / Gothic Road intersection and head west to Marble along the Crystal River thru the 'Devils Punchbowl'. Only a distance of 24 miles that ended up taking us (my brother-in-law on his 650 Dakar and my ST) almost 7 hours.
Here is a video of some of this trail....take a look at 3:30 to see how extreme the terrain was (I need a GoPro!)...oh yeah, this is listed as a 'Double Black Diamond' route....
Here is what http://www.atvtrails.org/co/Schofield_Pass.html has to say:
"Schofield Pass starts as an easy road as you ride through an open area with a few houses in it, but quickly turns into one the most difficult and dangerous trails in the State of Colorado." and "The section of trail is know as the Devil's Punch Bowl and is very difficult. Trying to come up this area in the rain was very difficult and very scary. The entire time you are right on the edge of the cliff and one wrong move could be your last. On July 9, 1970 nine people died as their car fell into the punch bowl. "
The terrain is extreme, there were steps 2+ feet in height that we ended up having to walk the bikes down....with 300ft shear drop-off's, boulder's the size of basketballs, steep loose, rocky descents, boulder strewn river crossings (100ft + & 18" deep - running very fast). And more. Much, much more. It was probably the most extreme terrain I have encountered in my 40 years of off-roading. Maybe it not being desert terrain makes it seem much more extreme?
I did things with this bike that Yamaha could only dream of! And the AltRider skid plate took a beating...being dragged over the rock ledges (I wish the ST had a couple of inches more ground clearance), bouncing off large boulders, being wedges between rock outcroppings, etc. The plate prevented damage to the motor!
WHAT A ADVENTURE....(not one that I want to do again, even with my light KTM).
