Extreme Training

So... I got to enjoy a 'single' whole day off (Sat Nov 1) which was spent sorting out my missing lease, finding my new apartment, and fitting it out with the barest of essentials (i.e. a spoon can do the work of both knife and fork aswell:). The very next day was drug test day ...always a little akward :) cos as everyone knows I am CONSTANTLY doing them ;D ...and then we were into training.

The next ten days, two Aussies, a Texan, a Jamacan, a couple of Argentinians and way too many wonderful Kiwis, waded through paperwork, class tests, physical tests, vehicle, valley, international & local airport orientations. And don't forget the REALLY cool stuff, pushing our vehicles to the limit which involved the standard 2 hour drive down to Denver...



...Fortunatley, as you can see, this was shortly after the area was blanketed in snow :D

The first of above series, is the Eisenhower Tunnel the WORLDS HIGHEST automobile tunnel at 3249m above sea level, and 330m below the sumit of this part of the continental divide.

...often a different world as you exit...

The van above #128 ...shortly after a massive sheet of cardboard came loose from a "glass window" carrying truck, and plastered itself over the front of the vehicle at 65mph (104km)!!! An early taste of one of the milder dangers we face travelling to and from Denver. A bit of action early on in our season and some tense moments for all those onboard.

On the horizon in the larger photo in full size actually captures Denver in the distance. The last being a distant photo of Denvers central business district.

...And then came the "Extreme Parking Lot"...

The cornering, reversing and paralell parking field.

After an attrocious first attempt a parallel parking these rediculously large vehicles, my second attempt on the other side of the vehicle was outstanding! I had to take a photo of it for potential later driving tests, because I know I will never be able to repeat the result :)

I took these photo's in the event that I had to parallell park on my Colorado Driver Licence test... I could pull these photo's out and say "Here's one I prepared earlier!" :D

This is the only one of its kind in ALL of the USA. Our skid simulation vehicle... this was fun, and the co-pilot (skid maker) had a great sense of humour, skidding one person even as they were pulling up to park after training was over. Never let your guard down :)

The rear wheels on the Train 2 Skid vehicle use a hydrolic system similar to the ones that make gangster-low riders jump up and down. Only they work to push and steer the rear wheels laterally... I think I actually drove forward in a straight line for about 40m at one stage, no big deal untill I mention that I was at pointed at an angle that exceeded 45 degrees OFF the line of travel :) like I said, it was heaps of fun.

Unfortunately I did not get a photo of the two traffic cones I hit in the ABS breaking challenge, of which one I know for sure, sacrificed its life... as I placed it back in position I tried in vein to disguise the fact I tore the cone from its base. Amazingly I still passed, dispite my seemingly poor results, my instructor was laughing his ass off as he still passed me. Even though I think I hit cones all but once, I had the principles down, I just wasn't leaving as much margin for error as most. But that's just Daniel, if you don't keep push the limits they just keep getting in your way!!!

After a hard morning slipping, skidding and sliding around the extreme carpark, our half of the class headed to lunch, and my first official introduction to BURRITOS :)... Most people may already know my opinion on Taco's :b

And then we decended the Rocky Mountains once more to return to base, wash down the vans, and head home.

With a breif detour to do some real life circle work in a snow burried carpark which shall remain un-named. A huge thanks to our lead drivers who exposed us to real life conditions even though they were later repremanded after a ski patrol (who shall also remain un-named) called our antics into head office (well we wern't exactly discrete with Colorado Mountain Express plastered all over the vans) But it was a very valuable experience! ...And Van #128 you really had to turn the traction control OFF - if you wanted to do what we were doing ;D...

Daniel sideways in snow :D ...Yeehah!! And sadly we had to head home.

Action photos by: Mel (Thankyou:)

And I can't forget the "Jet Center" training at the spectacular Eagle County Airport - we get to navigate our way through private jet parking fields to transport the wealthy directly from their disembarking doors to their holiday home front doors (well often mansions :)

Jet Parking Lot

The back drop at Eagle Airport is undoubtedly the most spectacular of any airport I have seen so far, and as with most photo's I have taken of the landscape they do not even come close to capturing what they look like in real life, it is like walking around in a fantasy land some times! And it amazes me that by the end of the season I will probably be taking it all for granted!!! Dispicable :D

...Oh and whilst at the Jet Center we were treated to a helicopter that decended along the run way and taxied along the same taxi ways that all the other jets and planes would have to. I never knew that they had to do this too. Aparently helicopter pilots from all over the country travel to Eagle Airport as it is home to a unique high altitude training program and/or facillities.