My wife, kids and I are flying from North Bend Oregon to Colorado Springs this coming Wednesday/Thursday. Plan to leave after work Wed and get 400nm or so out of the way before dark. This puts us in the middle of nowhere Nevada, but Elko wouldn't be to far to the south of our route. Any thoughts on hotels in Elko? Airnav shows a Shilo Inn a little under a mile from the airport? Would they pick us up from the airport? I will call them tomorrow, but thought I'd see if I could get some local advice.

If we get a late start, Winnemucca would be about 30min closer than Elko, and Klamath Falls looks like our other choice, but that only gets us 50min or so from home. Another options is Jackpot.....is there good lodging at Jackpot?

Not a lot of places to stop for the night when needing a motel on this route.......am I missing anything? We are flying the Bonanza so the couple of spots I have camped off airport along this route are not going to work.

Anyway, we will plan an early start on Thursday from wherever we stop for the night to hopefully get us into Colorado before the T-storms act up.

Thanks for any advice,
Brent

Anybody care to comment on route, especially the last 150nm or so....

http://skyvector.com/?ll=38.96368010580 ... :A.K2.KCOS

Or

http://skyvector.com/?ll=39.19238720366 ... :A.K2.KCOS

Jackpot is easy and good. Usually fuel is cheap and you can easily walk from the tie downs to the hotel/casino. They have a restaurant or two also.

Thanks for the info Rob. Leaning towards heading to Jackpot if we can get going early enough in the day.

Jackpot for certain. Close to what your looking for. NOT Winiyuki...that's what my wife calls it. Can't speak for Elko but Blackrock and others are there.

Salt Lake 2 is only another hour with lots of options. Great FBO.

AKT

highroad wrote:My wife, kids and I are flying from North Bend Oregon to Colorado Springs this coming Wednesday/Thursday. Plan to leave after work Wed and get 400nm or so out of the way before dark. This puts us in the middle of nowhere Nevada, but Elko wouldn't be to far to the south of our route. Any thoughts on hotels in Elko? Airnav shows a Shilo Inn a little under a mile from the airport? Would they pick us up from the airport? I will call them tomorrow, but thought I'd see if I could get some local advice.

If we get a late start, Winnemucca would be about 30min closer than Elko, and Klamath Falls looks like our other choice, but that only gets us 50min or so from home. Another options is Jackpot.....is there good lodging at Jackpot?

Not a lot of places to stop for the night when needing a motel on this route.......am I missing anything? We are flying the Bonanza so the couple of spots I have camped off airport along this route are not going to work.

Anyway, we will plan an early start on Thursday from wherever we stop for the night to hopefully get us into Colorado before the T-storms act up.

Thanks for any advice,
Brent

Brent, have stopped a couple of times in Elko, They have a nice FBO there, have used there hangar both times, if I remember right they have a crew car there?? Motel is in walking distance tho.
GT

Brent,

Elko is your best option in Northern Nevada. The Hilton Garden Inn (775-777-1200) or TownePlace Suites (775-738-9900). Shilo is ok but not as nice as the other 2. The FBO is nice But there hours are 7 to 7 so that may be outside your arrival departure times. Self Service fuel is available. I can leave a crew cab pickup at the airport for you to use if you are stopping in Elko. Give me a call - 775 three four zero 7 zero 73.

Mike

Mike, thanks for the offer!

I'll give you a call this evening.

Brent

Looks like a TFR popped up near the beginning of your route though you'll likeley be above it in the Bonanza. Seems like a lot of those recently. Have a safe trip!

CW

Monarch pass is straightforward. Stay high if winds are above 25kts or so especially on the return going back west.

I presume you will stay out of the myriad of restricted areas near ft Carson and Cheyenne mtn just outside co spgs. Flight following or an ifr plan is easy to keep you where they want you.

Shout if you decide to come up north a bit.

Soy, Thanks for the confirmation on Monarch Pass. Unless we have to stay under weather we will be at 11500 with flight follow and I have been looking at the restricted areas on the TAC charts. If weather is not an issue and the Airburst MOA is cold, it looks like I can fly the western edge of the restricted space into KCOS?

Monarch Pass is 11,300 - you'll probably be a fair bit higher than that crossing - 2,000 above the terrain is standard guidance unless the weather and winds are very light. There is a mountain awos there - so you'll have good info before crossing. Try to time it earlier in the morning for the best experience.

Others might have more experience than I with this airspace, because I don't tend to talk to anyone when I'm going through there - I'm not even on flight following - but I would lay money that COS approach or FCS tower will bring you east of R2601. I'd ask for the western approach or direct FCS and see if they will clear you. If you are below 12,500 which you most likely will be because you are landing COS, I'd expect to steer clear (ft carson operates a live range there AFAIK). It's easy to stay west of that road that defines the west bdry of the restricted area.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1997-01 ... 7-2242.pdf

When you fly over Florence, CO (near 1V6) make sure you wag your wings at the unabomber Ted Kaczenski who is serving 4 life sentences there. Also there is Timothy McVeigh, Ramzi Yousef, Terry Nichols, Robert Hannson, Pablo Escobars right hand man Danny Mosquera, Zacarias Massaoui, the shoebomber Richard Reid, and a whole host of other really friendly dudes who would just love to be up in your plane.

Highroad-
As Soy mentioned, Monarch is the most direct option, although Monarch Pass and the area around Salida can tend to be a roller coaster ride especially when it's windy. I fly this route a lot, and have found Hayden Pass to be my favorite especially if I'm carrying passengers who haven't flown alot. Also, Cottonwood Pass is higher and more more scenic but surprisingly can also be less turbulent than Monarch.

Here's an example: Link Hayden Option

All these passes can be benign in light winds. Start getting nervous if the winds aloft at 12k or 15k approach 25kts. ESPECIALLY if out of 270 when you are heading back east. You're Bo should be fine - lots of ceiling and power, I'm sure.

Your second option will put you over very high terrain for a very long time. Okay if the weather is good, but make sure you have a backup plan. Both of these routes below allow you to stay low for longer, and the passes are 1 hops with plenty of outs to take you back to airports to land. The second takes you over Rocky Mountain NP - always a nice experience.

http://skyvector.com/?ll=39.92700967719415,-105.72766113550958&chart=301&zoom=3&plan=A.K2.KEGE:G.39.7111308124846,-106.70178222922547:G.39.85465686276653,-106.64501953391496:A.K2.20V:A.K2.KGNB:G.39.943155699028225,-105.67639160426138:G.39.95157819824871,-105.36511230739727:A.K2.KCOS

Or this:
http://skyvector.com/?ll=39.889086657383906,-105.62145996363832&chart=301&zoom=3&plan=A.K2.KEGE:G.39.7111308124846,-106.70178222922547:G.39.85465686276653,-106.64501953391496:A.K2.20V:A.K2.KGNB:G.40.43830714640381,-105.80639648706934:A.K2.3CO8:A.K2.KLMO:A.K2.KBJC:A.K2.KCOS

Again, if you your route brings you a little farther north, give a shout!

Here's an entirely more northerly route that tends to have good weather options and avoids high terrain if you need it:
http://skyvector.com/?ll=41.38587623424158,-110.25769043222598&chart=301&zoom=8&plan=A.K1.KOTH:A.K1.KBNO:A.K1.KMUO:A.K1.KPIH:A.K1.U78:A.K1.U06:A.K1.KEMM:A.K1.KRKS:A.K1.KRWL:A.K1.KLAR:A.K2.KFNL:A.K2.KCOS

and some pictures:

Monarch Pass:


Hayden Pass:

Low point in pass

Edit: Was posting at the same time as you guys were......I'll go back and review your comments. Thanks!

Soy and mtnwest,

Really appreciate the help.......Ya, 2k above hard rock is the plan, although we do plan to be through the area before 10am, so I guess that puts us at 13.5 for a short period coming through Monarch etc which will not be a big deal.......

Soy, your restricted area comments are noted, sounds like I can try for the west route but i'll plan for the eastern route around.

What do you guys think of this route?

http://skyvector.com/?ll=39.29456035709 ... :A.K2.KCOS

I'm not a huge fan of Monarch, ESPECIALLY coming from the west. Pretty tight and the winds are unpredictable. I've done Monarch maybe 10 times and each time was different than the previous - It's just not a great pass, in my opinion. There are several much easier options. If you fly 7 NM to the south from the approach on Monarch, you can cross Marshall and then Poncha and follow the valley down into the Springs - Or cross at Marshall and then Hayden. If it were me, I'd go a little south to "North Pass" and then "Hayden". Both are pretty benign and will give you much more margin. I saw a comment about giving yourself 2,000 feet - That's good advice; stick to it!

Another point: Flight Following will lose you at your flight levels. Don't count on them. I flew down to the cabin last weekend (Westcliffe; about 50 miles from your intended route) and radar services were terminated as soon as I rounded Ft. Carson (in the shadow of Pike's Peak) on my way down.

You might PM Mountainmatt or MTNWEST - I think they both have a ton of experience shooting those passes.

Jim

If you take the southerly route across the central Rockies, after you get past Montrose and heading towards Gunnison, you might look at going slightly south of Gunnison and going thru Marshall pass, then hook a small turn to the north thru Poncha pass and into the Salida/Buena Vista valley over the Arkansas river and then east to the Springs. I would climb to 13 thru the pass for 15 minutes or so and then descend back to your 11,500. Denver center will probably lose radar contact with you for a while at these altitudes if on flight following.

I would not suggest the northerly route you had as an alternative the way you have it plotted, especially later in the day this time of year, if you wanted to do that and come into Denver then south to the Springs, go Eagle to Kremmling to Corona Pass (Rollins Pass) and that brings you over the hills right above Jeffco Rocky Mtn Metro airport, again probably good at 13 thru the pass then descend. I still think your first southerly route to the Springs is the best considering where you're going.

I like this route, especially if mid day to afternoon time frame, still might get some turbulence but majority of the time a little easier route than Monarch, which has had its share of not so great crossings. Good luck

If winds aloft are 25 or better and its later in the day, I'd stay in Junction until early morning.

Well, we gave it a good go getting out of Oregon vfr yesterday but between a long work day, TFR's for fires and low ceilings in the coastal mts, we are stuck riding the cattle car to Colorado. The drive to Medford to catch our commercial flight started at 2:30am....... had to leave half the family at home, and its going to take all day to get there. Oh well, motivation to take a break from landing gravel bars and finish my ifr ticket!

Thanks to everyone that offered advice and vehicles etc.

Brent

Soy, so how is it that you are so familiar with all those gentlemen at Canon city?