What route do you guys like for getting over to Glenwood Springs? Never flew in there. I was thinking Rawlins, Granby, Kremling, Glenwood.

Let me know what you guy's like best, I won't have O2.

Thanks!

Jim

I generally like the route you mentioned via Rollins pass (charted as Corona pass), then cutting the corner from the Granby area west of Winter Park making a straight(ish) line via Eagle to Glenwood. I've also just followed I-70 via Loveland pass and Vail pass, but only in the winter if the winds are low. Going back east, if the conditions are right (and I want a long flight back home to KLMO), I pass via Independence pass possibly making a stop at Leadville then passing just south of the big mountains near Buena Vista.

very new to flying here, but per the regs, you aren't required to have 02 below 12,5 right? and Rollins pass is at 11,6. Loveland at 11,9. this is doable right? or was your comment or more saying you would have to stay low, so passes would be a must?

was just planning a trip from BJC to Kremmling recently to scout my hunting unit.

also, Coloradokevbot, I would love to check out your pacer one day if we could meet up, I've been dreaming of buying one for a while now. Just can't quite make funds work yet.

Spdcrazy wrote:very new to flying here, but per the regs, you aren't required to have 02 below 12,5 right? and Rollins pass is at 11,6. Loveland at 11,9. this is doable right? or was your comment or more saying you would have to stay low, so passes would be a must?

was just planning a trip from BJC to Kremmling recently to scout my hunting unit.

also, Coloradokevbot, I would love to check out your pacer one day if we could meet up, I've been dreaming of buying one for a while now. Just can't quite make funds work yet.

Pilot (and req'd crew) only needs O2 above 12.5 if there for 30 minutes or more and any time above 14. Above 15, O2 must be available for the pax. I believe the regs are sec 91.211. I try to have a minimum of 2000agl when crossing these passes so you're in O2 territory but only for a few minutes while making the pass.

@ Spdcrazy unfortunately I'm moving back to CA on Tuesday and I'm planning on taking the Pacer out there sometime this winter/spring. If I come back to CO around Xmas, I'd definitely be game to meet up! Pacers are underrated and it makes a great 2 seat + camping gear airplane around here, but I wouldn't go any less than the O-320 and we're considering an O-360 during (upcoming) rebuild.

wow, timing seems to be horrible all around! everyone seems to either have sold their pacer or is moving. I very well won't buy until I move to sealevel anyways (AK) and thatll be 2019. but we will see.

and yes. 150 or better yet 160 for me. i'm already looking at all sorts of mods. but first thing first.

I should have been more clear. I'll not be able to just pop up to 14K like I would in the V35B (I have O2 in the Bo).

Thanks guys!

Jim

For a second I thought you meant heading up to WY to Rawlins. I'm assuming now you mean Rollins/Corona Pass.

I've taken that route before, but didn't actually land at GWS because I was just passing through. It's the obvious route from Boulder, but FTG may be far enough south to warrant a southerly route (no idea).

As a novelty thing, you could go further north to Milner Pass (Trail Ridge Road in RMNP). It's very scenic, and it's up by the headwaters of the CO river. Then just follow the river to Glenwood. Heck you could follow the river to Moab, Grand Canyon, or Mexico. Being in Boulder, Milner can be nice because it gives you more distance to climb, it's more sheltered than Rollins/Corona if there's winds, and really not much more time.

Enjoy the trip!
-asa

Rollins is often the best bet, especially as winds increase, particularly from more northerly directions. You will be able to clear the pass in calm conditions with ease at 12,500 or 13k. Winds(30+) make the crossing better taken much higher, and waves are often hanging out in the area. If the DEN winds aloft shows rapid changes in direction or speed between 10k & 15k, you may encounter moderate chop (pencils flying around), and when things swing more northerly, it can push the bounds of "moderate" pretty far unless you are over 14k.

Afternoon arrivals from either direction in Glenwood can be lively.

Just because the FAA says 12,500', 14,000', and 15,000 are the magic altitudes for oxygen, per Kev's post, that doesn't mean that your oxygen needs are at those levels. I have no idea how they (the FAA) arrived at those levels, and I used to think that they were plenty adequate--after all, I've spent a goodly part of my life at high elevation homes (Fort Collins now at 5,000' and previously Laramie at 7200'), so I should be acclimated, right? Wrong!

Before it became fashionable, I decided to buy a pulse oximeter, largely because someone (my doc, maybe?) told me that as I got older, I'd have need for oxygen at a lower altitude--and whoever that was, was right. I now go on oxygen any time I'll be over 10,000' for even a few minutes--and that's necessary because without it, my oxygen saturation percentage falls below 90%. That magic number is what the "experts" say is where cognitive abilities start to diminish as the percentage falls below 90.

You can't determine our oxygen needs by how you "feel", because that simply doesn't work. In fact, the better you feel at high altitudes, the more likely you're deprived of oxygen, because one of the most common responses is euphoria. Different people react in different ways to lack of oxygen--some act drunk, some just get stupid, some get horrible headaches--there are a variety of inconsistent symptoms. You can be totally legal, and yet totally out of it.

So the only way you'll know what your own oxygen requirements are is to use a pulse oximeter. There are cheapie versions for $50, but if I'm going to rely on something that is really needed, I'd rather spend a little more and get better. When I bought mine, that meant about $300 for a Nonin (makers of medical versions that most hospitals use), but now you can get a pretty good Nonin for between $125 and $150. It's worth every penny.

Cary

^We keep one of those fingertip pulse oximeters in the seatback of our plane! It's a nice tool to have for quick checks.

I keep an oximeter in my plane as well. Especially after my cancer treatment, I want to make sure that my altitude oxygen levels haven't been affected. Interesting that the US alts are that high, in Canada it's over 10500 for 30 min or over 12000 for any length of time.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

Cary wrote:Just because the FAA says 12,500', 14,000', and 15,000 are the magic altitudes for oxygen, per Kev's post, that doesn't mean that your oxygen needs are at those levels. I have no idea how they (the FAA) arrived at those levels, and I used to think that they were plenty adequate--after all, I've spent a goodly part of my life at high elevation homes (Fort Collins now at 5,000' and previously Laramie at 7200'), so I should be acclimated, right? Wrong!

Before it became fashionable, I decided to buy a pulse oximeter, largely because someone (my doc, maybe?) told me that as I got older, I'd have need for oxygen at a lower altitude--and whoever that was, was right. I now go on oxygen any time I'll be over 10,000' for even a few minutes--and that's necessary because without it, my oxygen saturation percentage falls below 90%. That magic number is what the "experts" say is where cognitive abilities start to diminish as the percentage falls below 90.

You can't determine our oxygen needs by how you "feel", because that simply doesn't work. In fact, the better you feel at high altitudes, the more likely you're deprived of oxygen, because one of the most common responses is euphoria. Different people react in different ways to lack of oxygen--some act drunk, some just get stupid, some get horrible headaches--there are a variety of inconsistent symptoms. You can be totally legal, and yet totally out of it.

So the only way you'll know what your own oxygen requirements are is to use a pulse oximeter. There are cheapie versions for $50, but if I'm going to rely on something that is really needed, I'd rather spend a little more and get better. When I bought mine, that meant about $300 for a Nonin (makers of medical versions that most hospitals use), but now you can get a pretty good Nonin for between $125 and $150. It's worth every penny.

Cary

+1

As a Kansas pilot hoping to get into mountain flying soon, I have been doing lots of research.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfF2MTnqAw

This video helped convince me never to play around with hypoxia. The altitudes are higher in the video, but the point can be clearly seen.

Wow
What a great video. Really shows how quickly things can get out of control.

Back in 1965 at AFROTC summer camp, I had an opportunity to "ride" in a high altitude baro chamber at Peterson AFB, near Colorado Springs. As a 21 year old in good physical shape who had lived at Laramie's 7200' elevation for the last 4 years while in college, I was absolutely certain that I'd blow away the operators of the chamber with my abilities at high altitudes.

Basically the methodology was that we were taken to a pressure altitude of something like 18,000' and given a series (8 or 10 as I recall) of pretty simple questions to answer. We were to take off our oxygen masks and then write down our answers as quickly as possible. While I couldn't read my answers very well (my writing is bad, but it was worse when oxygen deprived), I was able to answer all of them without much trouble. Ha! Piece of cake (I thought). In reality, though, I'd taken almost 4 minutes to answer those few easy questions.

Then we were taken up to 28,000' as I recall, and we were given a new series of easy questions. We pulled off our masks, and started answering. Suddenly (as I remember) I was fighting off my buddies, who were trying to put my mask back on me--I recall arguing that I was fine, leave me alone so I could answer the questions. I was told afterwards that what had happened was that after some 2 minutes, I was falling over, I had dropped my pencil and paper, and although I wasn't quite out cold, I was close. Within seconds, though, once my mask was forcibly put back on my face, I was reviving. By the time they'd brought us back down to local altitude, I was fine.

What about my answers? Well, I'd answered the first one right, the second one wrong, the third one couldn't be read, and the fourth one just had some hen scratches as the answer. The other 6 or 8 questions were blank. Wow! I'd accomplished close to nothing.

What about my symptoms? I didn't feel anything unusual. I didn't have blue fingernail beds, I didn't have a headache, I didn't feel particularly euphoric (although as I said, I thought I was doing better than I was).

I'd love to take the course again, this time monitoring my pulse/ox and using more realistic altitudes, i.e., the ones I can fly with my airplane, and this time doing things that are relevant to piloting an airplane. But the course certainly taught me that hypoxia is pretty insidious. It fools one into thinking that everything's OK when it's not.

Cary