A Jeep Flips on the Gates of Hell Obstacle in Moab

 

If this site has helped you consider a Donation. Donation Info

Learn from this. The driver IS NOT following the spotter's directions.

Hummers on the Gates of Hell in Moab UTI did this obstacle in 2001 with the Hummer Club in Moab. It's a 2-part "obstacle" called "Gates of Hell" on the "Hell's Revenge" trail. There's a fairly steep descent, then about 50 yards or so of sand wash bearing to the left, then a climb up a gully/dihedral rock feature. We had a couple of trucks get a bit off line after I handed off the spotting duties, and I thought we were going to lay one on its side. The obstacle is actually very safe as long as you stay right on the line. It's pretty unforgiving, however - as is obvious by the video if you either don't know the line or stray from it in a critical spot. The jeep just drove right up on his left till he flipped over. Why he did that we'll never know. The key to doing this in a Hummer is to stay level and drive your right tire on the wall keeping the truck level.

There are some horrendous stories of vehicles breaking while on the crux of this move. One guy broke a rear shackle near the top, descended the entire obstacle backwards while still on his tires, and ended up in the sand wash at the bottom. It scared him so badly that he left his Jeep in Moab and never drove it again. To quote an observer "it scared the Jeep right out of him." Funny, but damn serious at the same time.

This is one reason we are so strict about the lines we take and the obstacles we do on our trips. You just never know when someone is going to break something. If it happens at the wrong time it can be disastrous.

It's really interesting to watch the dynamics of the suspension system as this things goes over. One great thing about the Hummer is that it's chassis characteristics don't tend to lend it to the same kind of problem. Rarely does a little problem turn into an enormous problem so quickly in the Hummer.

Flash Movie

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

Click here to Play the Movie in Windows wmv Format