Imogene Pass & Ophir Pass
4WD Trails

The Making of Rick Russell's San Juan Mountain 4WD Trails Video, Part 1

by The Flatlander for

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Rick brief's the group, from left to right; Vern Stankewitz, George Woodring, Rick Russell, Casey Woodring

We were excited to join Rick Russell in video taping his San Juan Mountains 4WD Trails Video.  4X4NOW was one of the video's sponsors and it was the first of Rick's videos 4X4NOW would cover and appear in.  We met at Rick's camp site near Silverton early in the morning along with other drivers who would be in the video.  Rick outlined the day's itinerary in detail and what to expect relative to stops for video set-ups etc.

Rick also shared a story about some excitement at his camp earlier that morning.   It seems that a bear was helping himself to some food supplies outside Rick's tent about 4:30 a.m.  Wisely, Rick stayed in the tent until the noise subsided.  But he was feeling the call of nature - rather urgently.  So how long should he wait to avoid a surprise confrontation with a bear in the dark?  He kept peaking outside the tent to see if it was light enough to make sure the bear wasn't still around.  But it takes a long time for the sun to get high enough to illuminate mountain valleys.   Longer than Rick could wait.  But he found a way.  This experience resulted in Rick Russell's first rule of Bear country camping - "Always make sure there is an empty bottle in the tent."

George Woodring applies a window decal for Durango 4X4.  George provided a Land Rover and Jeep Grand Cherokee for this Rick Russell Off Highway Adventure Video which focuses on San Juan Mountain Trails suitable for unmodified Sport Utility Vehicles.   Pat Gremillion of Pull Pal and Premier Power Welder provided a Ford Explorer and Rick was driving a new Jeep Grand Cherokee.   Sharon drove the the 4X4NOW ZJ.

The morning was sunny and fair.  The trip up the "million dollar" highway to Ouray was accompanied by friendly CB chatter from the eager drivers.  At the edge of Ouray we took the dirt road toward Imogene Pass and it wasn't long until it was time to shift into 4WD low range and begin the trip up the majestic mountain pass.   The 18 mile trip from Ouray to Telluride over Imogene was not going to be without incident and would take longer than planned.

Rick and his crew are always looking for unique camera angles to add interest to the their videos.  Rick asked if he could have his cameraman film the vehicles behind us from the back of the  4X4NOW ZJ as we followed Rick up the trail. We were glad to oblige.

The cameraman set up in the back of the 4X4NOW ZJ

Rick does some of his own video taping. Here we caught him just as he finished and was getting ready to join the group again.

The scenery was extraordinary with the mountain flowers enriching the views with added color

The narrow shelf road near the top definitely keeps your attention

Sharon looks over the impressive vista near the summit.  Imogene Pass is the second highest in Colorado at 13,114 feet above sea level and offers some incredible views.

At the very summit of Imogene the unthinkable happened.  The camera man locked Rick's new Grand Cherokee with the keys inside.  Did anyone have an extra set? No! We tried the keys from the other Grand Cherokees - even the keys for the 4X4NOW TJ, but nothing worked.  From the top of Imogene it is a very long drive to a lock smith in either Telluride or Ouray - if there are any.  Much too long to expect to get any more video taping done the same day.  So San Juans ghost town buff and Jeep dealership sales manager, Vern Stankewitz and cameraman Barry Seybert went to work with a screwdriver to pry the top of the door open and a stiff wire to depress the unlock button.   It was slow and painstaking.  Just seconds after Rick announced his willingness to break a side glass to get going, the sound of the power door locks coming open sent a sigh of relief through the onlookers.  We started down the Telluride side of Imogene with plenty of daylight left and all the glass still intact in the Grand Cherokee.

Arriving in the outskirts of the Tomboy Mine and Ghost Town in Savage Basin.  The group  took lunch here and spent some time exploring the old mining operation.

Barry sets up to shoot one of Rick's roadside narratives at Tomboy

Barry shoots out of the back of Rick's Grand Cherokee as we head down Imogene to Telluride

After leaving Telluride on the way to Ophir Pass, Rick takes a bonus side trip to the interesting ghost town of Alta.  Rick "clowns around" a little "holding up" an old log cabin that is nearly collapsed while Barry sets up the video camera to shoot Rick's narrative on the ghost town.

By the time we reached Ophir it was dusk and starting to rain.   The road is fairly well maintained but the talus is sharp and can cut your tires.   Don't get overconfident and sightsee from behind the steering wheel.  I've seen rusted out hulks of what were once vehicles of some kind at the bottom of the steep slopes.  The Ophir Pass road was originally a toll road between Telluride and Silverton.  It was built in 1891.

Part 2 of Rick Russell's San Juan Mountain 4WD Trails Video includes Picayne Gulch, Placer Gulch and Mineral Point.

Rick Russell #15 Silverton, Colorado Video

Other San Juan Mountain Jeep Trails
Alpine Loop - Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass, Carson City | Black Bear | Picayne Gulch, Placer Gulch and Mineral Point | Poughkeepsie Gulch | Yankee Boy Basin & Governor Basin

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