JK-X Helldorado Challenge
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JK-X Helldorado Challenge
Wrangler's up to the challenge.
The 2011 JK Experience Helldorado Challenge is in the books.
What an event it was!
When we thought of an area that would best challenge the Jeep® Wrangler JK and it's drivers, one area in particular came to mind, which happened to coincide with the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab Utah. That area is known as upper Helldorado in Area BFE.
Not knowing how many willing participants would want to take their JK through this abusive world renowned trail, founder and co-owner of the JK Experience, Mel Wade of Off Road Evolution, thought upper Helldorado would be a good inaugural location. This trail would definitely determine the who's who in terms of drivers and after market parts manufactures willing to put their JK through such a menacing trail.
This event was open to all JK owners as well as parts manufactures that wanted to challenge themselves and their JK.
We had 10 initial participants sign up but when the push came to shove only 6 brave JKs showed up on that rainy and chilly Saturday - April 23rd:
The line up was as follows:
1st: Presenting sponsor - Andrew Hoit of Falken Tire
2nd: Joe Daro of Absolute Offroad
3rd: Drew Burroughs of Poly Performance / Synergy Suspension
4th: Larry McRae of Poison Spyder
5th: Jeremy Purick of Rock Krawler
6th: Tail gunner, Mel Wade, owner of Off Road Evolution and founder / co-owner of JK Experience.
"We knew coming in with 37 inch tires we were bound to be challenged, especially when compared to the heavy weights that showed up to play, said Andrew Hoit, but after tackling Pritchett Canyon earlier in the week, we had confidence that our Wildpeak A/T tires would give Upper Helldorado a run for its acclaimed fame."
As the crowd gathered, it was apparent that a group of JKs getting ready to tackle upper Helldorado was not an everyday occurrence.
Upon lining up to attack the first obstacle, "Gatekeeper", it was clear that these JKs were all previously battle tested given the equipment and setup of each. Though you would not know they were battle proven as they all looked as if they came off the SEMA display floor.
One by one each made it through the first obstacle with the help of their spotter and/or the JKX trail guide/spotter, industry veteran, Chris Durham, who voluntarily assisted the JKX crew. Our goal was to conquer each obstacle with little to no carnage, this challenge was about JK and driver skill and capability not about intentionally destroying everybody's vehicles.
As the JKs and crowd moved on to the "Squeeze" full attention of the spotters and drivers was focused on the windshield frame and rear corners as the natural slope of this obstacle tends to grab these areas of any vehicle that attempts to pass through.
To the crowds dismay the "Squeeze" only claimed one U-joint and a couple scratches of paint as all 6 JKs were victorious.
With only "Breakover Rock" standing between the JKs and the final obstacle, "Waterfall," spectators lined the trail and the Waterfall as the drivers/spotters had one last decision to make...Give the Waterfall a shot or use their WARN winches to safely climb out and over the Waterfall?
It was evident early on, after a few determined JKs tried their best to conquer the Waterfall, that pulling their WARN cables would, in the end, be the only option for our participants.
"As the event founder I wanted something that was really going to challenge all JKs that participated to their fullest capacity, said Mel Wade. I believe that upper Helldorado fit that billing to a T. As the owner of EVO manufacturing, I couldn't have been happier seeing 3 of the 6 JKs on the trail with our EVO Double ThrowDown suspension, keeping vehicles stable and flexible through every obstacle. We have proven that our suspension can, not only run with the competition buggies at the king of the hammers, but also make the toughest trail in Moab look like a walk in the park."
To see all these JKs complete the trail and still be able to drive back to town (no trailers necessary) WAS a huge feat, all participants have every right to celebrate their accomplishment.
After the challenge was complete and drivers and spotters started swapping stories of their own experience of conquering upper Helldorado, the conclusion by all was an astounding and unanimous consensus of what an amazing vehicle the Jeep® corporation and the engineers of the JK platform have built for the off road enthusiasts.
To take a base production vehicle - add suspension, drive-train and safety components and be able to tackle the same trails as competition rock buggies with professional drivers is a true testament of the Jeep® Wrangler JK and the manufactures that decided to come out on this day to successfully test their products on a trail such as upper Helldorado, on the Off Road Evolution JK Experience "Helldorado Challenge" presented by Falken Tire.
Thank you - all that participated and all that came out to watch and support the JK Experience. Visit our facebook page to see pictures. Stay tuned...we've got two more events to come in 2011.
Off Road Evolution, located in Fullerton, CA, is a full service custom 4X4 fabrication and installation shop specializing in Jeeps. For more information about Off Road Evolution, please visit www.offroadevolution.com.
Falken Tire Corporation, a part of the Sumitomo Rubber Group, is based in Fontana, CA and is a manufacturer of Falken branded High Performance tires and Ultra High Performance passenger tires, as well as Light Truck tires, SUV tires, and Ohtsu branded medium truck tires. For more information, visit Falken Tire’s website www.falkentire.com or try it’s new mobile website at m.falkentire.com.
RCH Designs, located in a 6,000 sq foot facility in Huntington Beach, CA, is a full service photography/video studio, marketing specialist, concept development, consulting, graphic and web design organization. For more information about RCH Designs, please visit www.rchdesigns.com.
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Wrangler's up to the challenge.
The 2011 JK Experience Helldorado Challenge is in the books.
What an event it was!
When we thought of an area that would best challenge the Jeep® Wrangler JK and it's drivers, one area in particular came to mind, which happened to coincide with the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab Utah. That area is known as upper Helldorado in Area BFE.
Not knowing how many willing participants would want to take their JK through this abusive world renowned trail, founder and co-owner of the JK Experience, Mel Wade of Off Road Evolution, thought upper Helldorado would be a good inaugural location. This trail would definitely determine the who's who in terms of drivers and after market parts manufactures willing to put their JK through such a menacing trail.
This event was open to all JK owners as well as parts manufactures that wanted to challenge themselves and their JK.
We had 10 initial participants sign up but when the push came to shove only 6 brave JKs showed up on that rainy and chilly Saturday - April 23rd:
The line up was as follows:
1st: Presenting sponsor - Andrew Hoit of Falken Tire
2nd: Joe Daro of Absolute Offroad
3rd: Drew Burroughs of Poly Performance / Synergy Suspension
4th: Larry McRae of Poison Spyder
5th: Jeremy Purick of Rock Krawler
6th: Tail gunner, Mel Wade, owner of Off Road Evolution and founder / co-owner of JK Experience.
"We knew coming in with 37 inch tires we were bound to be challenged, especially when compared to the heavy weights that showed up to play, said Andrew Hoit, but after tackling Pritchett Canyon earlier in the week, we had confidence that our Wildpeak A/T tires would give Upper Helldorado a run for its acclaimed fame."
As the crowd gathered, it was apparent that a group of JKs getting ready to tackle upper Helldorado was not an everyday occurrence.
Upon lining up to attack the first obstacle, "Gatekeeper", it was clear that these JKs were all previously battle tested given the equipment and setup of each. Though you would not know they were battle proven as they all looked as if they came off the SEMA display floor.
One by one each made it through the first obstacle with the help of their spotter and/or the JKX trail guide/spotter, industry veteran, Chris Durham, who voluntarily assisted the JKX crew. Our goal was to conquer each obstacle with little to no carnage, this challenge was about JK and driver skill and capability not about intentionally destroying everybody's vehicles.
As the JKs and crowd moved on to the "Squeeze" full attention of the spotters and drivers was focused on the windshield frame and rear corners as the natural slope of this obstacle tends to grab these areas of any vehicle that attempts to pass through.
To the crowds dismay the "Squeeze" only claimed one U-joint and a couple scratches of paint as all 6 JKs were victorious.
With only "Breakover Rock" standing between the JKs and the final obstacle, "Waterfall," spectators lined the trail and the Waterfall as the drivers/spotters had one last decision to make...Give the Waterfall a shot or use their WARN winches to safely climb out and over the Waterfall?
It was evident early on, after a few determined JKs tried their best to conquer the Waterfall, that pulling their WARN cables would, in the end, be the only option for our participants.
"As the event founder I wanted something that was really going to challenge all JKs that participated to their fullest capacity, said Mel Wade. I believe that upper Helldorado fit that billing to a T. As the owner of EVO manufacturing, I couldn't have been happier seeing 3 of the 6 JKs on the trail with our EVO Double ThrowDown suspension, keeping vehicles stable and flexible through every obstacle. We have proven that our suspension can, not only run with the competition buggies at the king of the hammers, but also make the toughest trail in Moab look like a walk in the park."
To see all these JKs complete the trail and still be able to drive back to town (no trailers necessary) WAS a huge feat, all participants have every right to celebrate their accomplishment.
After the challenge was complete and drivers and spotters started swapping stories of their own experience of conquering upper Helldorado, the conclusion by all was an astounding and unanimous consensus of what an amazing vehicle the Jeep® corporation and the engineers of the JK platform have built for the off road enthusiasts.
To take a base production vehicle - add suspension, drive-train and safety components and be able to tackle the same trails as competition rock buggies with professional drivers is a true testament of the Jeep® Wrangler JK and the manufactures that decided to come out on this day to successfully test their products on a trail such as upper Helldorado, on the Off Road Evolution JK Experience "Helldorado Challenge" presented by Falken Tire.
Thank you - all that participated and all that came out to watch and support the JK Experience. Visit our facebook page to see pictures. Stay tuned...we've got two more events to come in 2011.
Off Road Evolution, located in Fullerton, CA, is a full service custom 4X4 fabrication and installation shop specializing in Jeeps. For more information about Off Road Evolution, please visit www.offroadevolution.com.
Falken Tire Corporation, a part of the Sumitomo Rubber Group, is based in Fontana, CA and is a manufacturer of Falken branded High Performance tires and Ultra High Performance passenger tires, as well as Light Truck tires, SUV tires, and Ohtsu branded medium truck tires. For more information, visit Falken Tire’s website www.falkentire.com or try it’s new mobile website at m.falkentire.com.
RCH Designs, located in a 6,000 sq foot facility in Huntington Beach, CA, is a full service photography/video studio, marketing specialist, concept development, consulting, graphic and web design organization. For more information about RCH Designs, please visit www.rchdesigns.com.
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