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Article and Photos By: Kimber Rau
Edited by:  Randy Wheeler

Vernal, Utah was the scene for the culmination of UROC's 2002 Rockcrawling Series. For some it was their first time on the circuit. Others came to get their feet wet for next year. Many others, however, came to vie for the top spots that had eluded them so far. While the bitter taste of vehicle carnage or tactical errors is rarely tempered by the sweet taste of victory, these competitors form a united group that love their sport and those who share in it with them. Often times you would see adversaries helping to repair, recover, or even analyze a difficult obstacle with an opponent. The camaraderie alone is worth getting involved into this sport.

Technical Inspection & Registration

Craig Stumph's formation of UROC has had its growing pains, but he has made the necessary adjustments and improvements as it gets bigger and better with each event. This time he loaded the plate with vendor displays, live music, free food from Johny's Tacos courtesy of Randy's Ring & Pinion, articulation ramp challenges, and a van for those inclined to test their skills at car crushing with their rig. The Vernal branch of the National Guard was there also, complete with camo shade tents to take the edge off the afternoon sun and a red, white, and blue Hummer that got your Patriotic pulse pumping.

Registration & Tech inspection has become a show in itself with eye candy everywhere.

The clues were all there that the day was going to be a scorcher, but in the mayhem of excitement, many overlooked the fact that there was no breeze for appeasement, sweat was prevailing on every brow by 9am, and there wasn't a sympathetic cloud in the sky. The engines revved to life, tires started screaming, and the crowds started to take perch on rocks that offered little or no shade as the hours flew by. The awesome guys from Randy's Ring & Pinion, Paul and J.D., adopted me for the weekend and offered there shade, lounge chairs, and bottled water for my comfort whenever I needed it, which was often. They also had the best view of 3 of the most "Hammer Down" obstacles for the event. It was here that I perched for quite a while on the first day to take in the vain attempts and spectacular rollovers of the contestants that were assigned to start the competition on these courses.

The course that wins the most deceptive and impenetrable award goes to Number 11. This obstacle, like most of them, started with a sandy bottom that gave no quarter to the Traction Gods. A slight incline of this abrasive stuff pointed straight to the chasm that was to be the demise of most competitors in the form of timing out, vehicle carnage, and/or topsy-turvy displays. John Gilland, the first one in line, made this obstacle look easy as he effortlessly guided his Jeep Liberty skinned rig through the tapered crag that served up a 4' ledge to hold off foes at the lower end of a 60 degree climb. To reinforce this narrow opening in the Utah slick-rock, the path was edged with 50' walls on each side that didn't give way until the competitors had struggled their way up an equal length of stone. At the top of this stretch, the spotters had to carefully guide their drivers through a hard right turn that led to the exit gates. Most teams were chewed up and spit out at the first ledge as they tried everything from crawling to full-on throttle to get up and over.  This often times led to some spectacular wheels in the air, twisted suspension, tire squealing, and engines tached beyond max action for the two day event.

Courses 11 and 10 gave more than crowd favorites (l-r): John Gilleland, Brandon Gillen, and Tom LeBlanc (Captain America) a run for their entry fees.

Immediately to the left of that challenge was Course 10. This section formed a "V" and had it's share of rollovers and wheel stand action. Teams were first faced with a 45 degree climb up a suspension flexing section about 50' long for the first leg. At the top they had to maneuver their vehicle either hard right into a near switch back to form the 2nd leg of the "V" or as some chose to do, simply back down the last section. Since the rules do not stipulate that the course be completed in forward motion, many chose the backward path, thinking it was the easiest way to beat the clock and avoid the dreaded points, or roll-over, that come with errors made on the course. While it appeared the saner way, they soon learned that backing down was usually more perilous than the alternative motion as they struggled with severe off camber rises on the left side of the rocky slope and a tire grabbing crag on the right that wanted to pull the rig beyond its level gauge limits. Spectators often were privy to a spectacular showing of vehicles on their left side as high dollar tires showed what they were made for as the drivers used side-wall rotation to move the vehicle from driver's side down, back to rubber side down. Brandon Gillen and his spotter Chris Durham, took the unconventional route of head first and showed amazing teamwork and communication as they got through relatively unscathed.

Course 12 started on the backside of #10 and looked like a boomerang in shape. As the shape implied, it tossed a few competitors back to the beginning with time running out, vehicle demise, or too many negative points to continue. It started with the standard sandy bottom leap up a series of steps that were at different heights for the left and right tires to grapple with. If they finessed the rig up the nasty climb of about 10' they had a short section in which to gasp for breath before trying to trudge up another 5' high step. As they were making their way back to ground level via a rough rocky stretch, they had one more pitch down into a sandy trough that had the sole purpose of reducing traction and tilting them off camber enough to add the required "pucker factor" as they clawed their way out of its depths and up the last 5' vertical section. Jutting out from the face of this ledge was a jagged piece that seemed determined to grab anything below frame level and hang on.

Around the corner from this contest between men and stone, was Course 9. This course had its roots in the ever present sand and required "Get It" technique on the throttle to launch up the 70 degree rocky face of the entry gate and then turn hard left over a progress-inhibiting bulge at the top. Curt Hildebrand, series point leader at the start of this event, showed the crowd how it was done with a breath taking left tire lift thrown in at the top for suspense. The amount of rubber burned off of the tires as they spun at high RPMs to conquer this climb was worthy of BFG recycling for next year's competition tire supply. After they crested the testy bulge of slick-rock, the teams hit the sand again before starting another 60 degree climb. This climb brought them immediately into a plunge down a two-step series into a Moab worthy "hot tub" section just big enough to get in and not big enough to let them escape without a fight. 

The Great Walls of Vernal, #9 and #8, and had competitors spinning their way to the top or over on their sides.

Next to and facing # 9 was Course 8. The entry gates to this testing ground brought the driver's and spotters face to face with a rock wall that was as close to 20' straight up as it could get. Many rigs were seen spinning all four tires while engines screamed out all they had to give and steering assemblies yawed back and forth in search of solid traction and forward movement. California grown and Rubicon trained Troy Muse, was sent packing after his Toyota fell to the rigors of his attempted assault and blew out first the right rear leaf spring and hanger, and finally the right rear tire gave out just as the tranny died a painful death. Those competitors that successfully mastered this climb had to make and immediate hard left into an abyss that matched in depth and degree the climb they had just conquered. After such an extreme struggle, the narrowed notch at the top of a 3' climb must have seemed a breeze to gain access out and down to the closing gates of this obstacle.

Moving left again, was Course 7. Judging by appearances, it would be short and sweet. . . .WRONG! Short maybe, but sweet? Hardly. The first challenge was deceptive in what it was hiding behind its rocky formation. The teams entered the first gates from the obligatory sand and then had to climb up about 7' of rocky knurls that tilted them one way then the other as they made their way up and over. On the other side, they took the easy way down to the sand dune a few feet below where they literally made a u-turn to align for the real obstacle this course had to offer. Sand was hurled from beneath tires that spun faster than the eye could fathom as they tried to launch over an impressive rock outcropping. It was formed by Mother Nature with a 2 step defense system, the first being 4' visage up from the sandy bottom and the second 5' jutting above that. In case a particular rig had the correct wheel base to tip-toe through this, good ol' Ma threw in a "V" notch that stuck out craftily between, and dead center of these two steps, with abundant camouflage to keep its presence hidden until momentum was stopped. It took the extreme skill of both members of the team to do their part in timing and aligning each move correctly to crest this last section.