Wasn't a 4wdtrip but keen to put this here to keep our forum members educated on the tracks condition etc.
Readout out yesterday on what could possibly be my most hardest session of Ellis track to date.
We had 40mm of rain fall yesterday and it rained throughout the entire day.
Upon entry to where the big left handed wall is (near gate keeper)
That wall was litrealy a waterfall.
The entire track was slippery, muddy, and very very difficult.
Even with twin lockers and 35s I had to avoid many hard sections as they seemed impossible for me.
Half way up the track was when things got from bad to worse.
My winch stopped working, my compressor stopped working which lead to my lockers not working.
Given the above conditions and quite possibly the hardest track I've done in the wet things just became a recovery fest for myself and the team of experienced drivers I had gone with.
At one stage we had a comp truck (gq patrol) go past us with another single cab gu patrol. Both were twin locked running big 24v winches and on 37s.
Within 50m up the track was when we heard a loud crash and thud.
Only to then find the big GU ended up on its lid with literally all 4 tyres up in the air.
The vehicle had attempted to ride the higher side just before the rock wall to avoid the fitted out section that has 1 metre high banks on either side of it.
It was here it fell and slipped into the (nosedived) and landed in the it's roof first.
The driver managed to escape with no injury.
The drivers of both of these trucks are winch truck challenger event races and were very experienced 4wders.
It just goes to show how crazy Ellis Track can be.
Given I have done it 8 times this year I feel very very comfortable doing Ellis myself and like to think I know this place like the back of my hand. But let it rain 40mm of heavy constant rain and right away I had to throw away all I knew out the window.
The above conditions turned this playground into a gruelling day of wheeling which then made things worse for me given that I was on my toughest drive with no winch , no lockers.
After spending 2.5 hours getting the vehicle in a safe location down hill in the wet avoiding further rolling, we then managed to get the rig over onto it's all 4's and handed the rest of the recovery over to them when there mates come down with prepped up vehicles and tandem trailer in tow.
For us half our nightmare was over, which then involved getting 2 of our rigs unstuck (mine halfway up a track) with a vehicle less capable but with a working winch , which involved getting them up to me with 2 winch set ups and a third involving my rig on the end of a winch extension strap and almost all his usable line in length to give me that controlled pull down whilst getting it to safe locations bit by bit then attaching the front of my car to numerous trees so it didn't slip backwards and roll onto him.
Once I was out and in an area that we could turn around this lead to further challenges as the ground was that wet all it wanted to do was pull me into a massive fitted out hole that was 1 metre deep which we took a good half an hour to get one of the other boys out of (he slipped I to this whilst attempting to drive forwards like the other car up ahead that rolled)
Once we had my car facing down hill, I had to maneuver around a tree to my left, whilst doing this it was sending me slipping down towards my right off the edge and I to the big hole which could have tipped me on my side.
What we then did was strap a tree grinch protector to the tree on the left and attached it to my passenger side step.
This allowed me to drive forward but as it did, it would start sliding down towards the massive rut.
Whilst doing this I had to trust that the plan would work and then give it some berries to sling shot me and swing me up as I used the throttle to power me whilst the tree truck protector guided me in a backwards "C" shape motion onto safer ground.
Once there and detached the biggest battle was making my way down Ellis in the slop.
I had a few butt tensing moments and found that I could barely throttle going down hill and every time I pressed the brakes even feathered would send you sliding anywhere between .5 metres to 8 metres at a time.
We negotiated the tracks in a very experienced manner and I was lucky that the guys I went wheeling with this time were blokes who have been racing and wheeling for a very long time.
It took up all of our recovery gear and all of our United experience to safely get ourselves up and back down Ellis to safer ground.
My point to this Trip report is this: No matter how good of a driver you are and how well set up your vehicle is , and regardless of your track conditions.... The most important tool to take with you on every trip out is common sense.
Common sense is the most important thing to remember when heading on any 4wd trip meet and all meets regardless of whether you're doing a trip on here or with mates.
This site allows us to meet up with other like minded individuals but can easily end up on a trip with someone who may not know his own limits and or his vehicles capabilities.
These people don't do this on purpose and just may not see the dangers involved in themselves and or others until the unthinkable happens.
Please make sure you know your track conditions before each trip, and or be prepared to tackle the tracks you attempt to hit with the right tools and recovery equipment.
The will save you and your vehicle when the going most certainly gets tough.
And most importantly , if you're unsure don't do it. If you're unsure speak up and ask.
None of us are better than the other, and will not look down on you if you turn to another for answers.
Remember we are all here to help eachother and and lend a helping hand when in need.
Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and managed to stay drier than a nuns nasty!
Until next time!