Prius in PMRP

[delphyne]

Does anyone else drive a Prius (gen 2), and if so, have you successfully brought it into (and out of!) the PMRP? I have been reluctant to try it, since the car has very little clearance as part of it's drag-reducing design. I have made the approach to Solar Collector/Gold Coast, but scraped bottom (though I did manage to avoid scraping on the way out). It's nice to take the Prius for the road trip for fuel economy, but every time we do, we can't climb all the great crags in PMRP.

[Andrew]

Buy a truck hippie.

[krampus]

with full gear and 4 people we had to push it up the crux of the hill. But earlier in the day, one person with no gear in the car got up the skin on his teeth.

[ReachHigh]

Buy a truck hippie.

sucks to drive a truck with poor fuel economy a 100 miles of high way for 2 miles of gravel.

[Meadows]

I have made the approach to Solar Collector/Gold Coast, but scraped bottom (though I did manage to avoid scraping on the way out).

And you hope for a better experience in going to the PMRP?

Oh, and since you're saving your money with your low riding, fuel economy car, maybe you could consider contributing to the $2,000 that the RRGCC pays out to Charmagne to repair roads we as climbers help destroy with our 4 cyl., two-wheel drive cars.

And if you are contributing ... many, many thanks!

[michaelarmand]

Seriously though...isn't that a county road? With the use it gets from the oil company and climbers, why doesn't the county pave the road? Maybe we just need to make a campaign contribution to some local politician....

[charlie]

Pavement on that road will get destroyed by the Oil Company trucks and their chains in winter. The company is a huge source of tax revenue (being non-profit the RRGCC doesn't even pay property taxes) and it's one of the primary employers in the county so if you think the climbers' concerns trump the company's concerns then think again.

Right now the maintenance is split between Charmagne, RRGCC, and the county. It's actually a nice display of how the 3 entities have come to cooperate with each other over the last few years.

To Meadows' point, try and carpool and please put a little thought into your impact to that road. It's not gone unnoticed how much traffic has increased over the last few years.

[tomdarch]

The other issue is that the road condition varies over time. Right after its been graded, a Prius may have little problem, but it does get into rough shape over time (e.g. small moguls - fun for skiing, sux for cars.) You may not be able to see the condition of the steep parts of the road before you commit to the descent.

[Andrew]

^truth, and buy a truck hippy, you are not saving the environment by tearing up that road, and forcing all those big trucks to haul in gravel and fix it.

[Josephine]

i feel your pain. i have a car that cannot go in/out of the PMRP but i've always been able to meet up w/people at miguel's and carpool.