Loading the club
Photo Mike McBey · CC BY 2.0
Pikes Peak in June, Moab at Easter, and pass dates that decide the whole calendar.
Mountain West Chapter covers Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and New Mexico. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb runs in late June: 12.42 miles, 156 corners, and 4,725 feet of climb to a summit at 14,115.
The passes run the calendar. Independence Pass at 12,095 feet feet closes in early November and reopens the Thursday before Memorial Day, with nothing over 35 feet allowed. Trail Ridge Road is shut from November to May. The Million Dollar Highway on US 550 is the exception and stays open all year apart from storm closures, which is worth knowing before you plan a winter route around it.
Moab is the other pole. The Easter Jeep Safari runs in late March and early April, put on by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers, and 2026 was its sixtieth year.
Altitude is the running argument. A naturally aspirated engine gives up roughly 3 per cent of its power per 1,000 feet, which is close to a fifth of it by the time you are in Colorado Springs. Forced induction gives up less. Everything from gearing to cooling to brake pad choice follows from that one fact.
For any car or motorcycle owner in the Mountain West. Open with approval, and an ownership photo so chapter runs are made of real vehicles.
What happens here: pass opening and closure dates as they are published, route cards for the high passes and the Million Dollar Highway, Pikes Peak week planning, Easter Jeep Safari trail selection and vehicle prep, altitude tuning, cooling and braking threads, recovery and self sufficiency standards, and shop and fabrication referrals by state.
Not open in your country.
This club is open to members in the United States.
Checked by hand. Documents are only seen by the reviewers, through links that expire in 15 minutes.
No approved members yet. The first application could be yours.