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AL
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 09:23 pm: | 
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Monday, April 1, 2002
3 injured but alive after crash off cliff
Three people escaped serious injury Saturday after their SUV fell off the side of a cliff near Moab.
The accident came on the busiest weekend in the area's history for off-road enthusiasts, Grand County Sheriff Jim Nyland said.
"This was the only real injury accident that we had, thank goodness, with all the thousands of people here," Nyland said.
The accident left the SUV's driver, Jamie Endow, 22, Ogden, with injuries to his right hand, knee and foot. Endow was treated and released Saturday night from Allen Memorial Hospital in Moab.
His two passengers, Elizabeth Grogan, 19, Tempe, Ariz., and Hailey Cutlip, 19, Ogden, suffered more serious injuries and were taken Saturday night by medical helicopter in stable condition from Allen Memorial to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. Grogan was released Sunday and Cutlip was discharged Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Endow was driving the SUV down the Lion's Back trail, located about four miles east of Moab in the Sand Flats area, a popular off-road vehicle area.
Endow moved to the side to let another vehicle coming up the trail pass.
"The sandstone gave away, and then the vehicle tipped over on its side, slid down the slick rock and then went off about a 45-foot cliff," Nyland said.
The SUV then plunged nose-first into a sandstone crevice.
No one was ejected, but all three had to be removed from the area by helicopter.
Driving on the slick rock is not illegal, and authorities were awaiting blood tests from the driver to determine if alcohol was involved, Nyland said.
The car remained in the crevice where it landed Monday and was expected to be removed in the next few days. |
roverover
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 11:05 pm: |
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got some pictures |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 11:09 pm: |
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that would blow away that other video |
Robert Mann (Oldscout)
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 11:19 pm: |
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q |
Phillip Perkinson (R0ver4x4)
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2002 - 11:33 pm: |
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what video |
Robert Mann (Oldscout)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 12:01 am: |
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They fell off this!
 |
AL
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 12:04 am: |
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no pictures yet,i got it from a local jeep club website. Will post as soon they put them up |
Axel Haakonsen (Axel)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 07:39 am: |
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So somebody started going up while these people were coming down. Morons. This is the kind of people that gets trails closed for the rest of us. |
niall forbes (Forbesn)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 08:35 am: |
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I've never seen the trail in person but it looks pretty damn narrow. If I was coming down and some asshole started driving up, I'd stay in middle and tell him to back the f*ck down the trail. What a jackass. Didn't he notice there was only one set of tire tracks? |
AL
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 09:13 am: |
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Here is the latest scoop,
From: "Marsha Terry"
> I don't mean to be a pain but I need to correct your information.
> Lions Back is not closed. It is fenced off by a private landowner who
wants to
> control access. Most times when I've been there its been open and
unlocked. In
> the high season the landowner has the right to refuse you access but I've
never
> heard of him doing so or seen him doing so. He also has the right to
charge you
> to access his property. Utah law does not hold the landowner responsible
for
> what individuals do on his property without his permission so I doubt he
worries
> too much about people falling off of Lions Back. The accident did happen
on
> Lions Back which is a large sandstone fin. There is no such thing as the
Lions
> Back Trail. The trail you are describing is called Hells Revenge and you
> accesses it via Little Lions Back. In previous years you could access it
via
> Dump Bump which is now fenced but not closed. The fence around Dump Bump
is to
> ensure riders of Hells Revenge pay their 5 bucks to the Sand Flats Assn.
>
> The real story from those that witnessed it and also watched a video of it
less
> than an hour after it happened.
> There were 4 individuals in a Pathfinder climbing Lions Back. 2 Jeeps
started to
> descend so the Pathfinder moved slightly to the right or north and
stopped. The
> Jeeps passed and the Pathfinder continued. At the top of Lions Back is a
small
> bump which they had a difficult time climbing. The driver punched it and
bounced
> to the right (remember he had already moved right to allow the Jeeps to
pass).
> At that point one of the passengers got out to help guide. The driver
again
> tried and again gave it too much gas when he bounced right off the north
end of
> Lions Back into a crack between Lions Back and Hells Revenge. No sandstone
gave
> away, they were not on Hells Revenge and they were not part of any
organized
> event taking place in Moab. That side of Lions Back is the "short" side.
The
> drop there is stepped by smaller fins and rubble. The most they could have
> dropped was about 60'. They were lucky and landed on one of the smaller
fins so
> their drop was closer to 35'.
>
> So that you understand I know Utah and its 4x4 trails. I'm the 4x4
> representative on the Utah State OHV Council and past Vice President of
Utah 4
> Wheel Drive Assn. Local 4 wheelers have been working hard correcting the
media
> on this story. At first they reported the kids were on a Jeep Safari trail
and
> were participating in a Safari run. We've gotten them to correct that
error but
> we are still having a problem with the media understanding what the Jeep
Safari
> really is. Right now they think it is some sort of competition. Oh well,
each
> report gets a little better so I guess we'll keep trying.
>
> By the way Lions Back Camp Park is for sale. You get a campground, Lions
Back
> and Dump Bump all for a measly 1.8 million. After paying all those bucks
you
> don't even own it, you've bought yourself a long term lease from the BLM.
>
> Marsha |
Jeff Bieler (Mrbieler)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 10:07 am: |
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My friends from the Xterra club (yes the same guys that we got into a pissing contest with last year) were at Moab for a Nissan outing at the same time. They have some pics on their board.
It's also being investigated as a DUI incident. Haven't seen any video, but have seen pics of the aftermath.
As to why there were multiple vehicles on Lions Back at the same time, I can only wonder. |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 10:31 am: |
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"So somebody started going up while these people were coming down. Morons. This is the kind of people that gets trails closed for the rest of us." Axel, you are so right.
mike w |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 10:33 am: |
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But THEY were the ones going UP!!! (at least according to the followup post.....)
-L |
Kyle
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 11:02 am: |
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Well , they werent going up for long now were they ?  (Completely tasteless I know) but I would rather see ignorant behavior hurt the ones displaying it rather then how we see it so often , and that is the morons hurting the innocent bystanders... I am more and more amazed each day as to what people will try. There is room on the fin to pass , but not a hell of alot.. Considering whats at stake only a moron would do it...
Kyle |
Ron A
| | Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2002 - 07:42 pm: |
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I don't know who Marsha Terry is but she (or he) should know that there is a trail referred to as "Lion's back trail". This trail climbs from the backside up to the top of Lion's back.
Rick Russell (sidekick) sells a video call Moab Extreme that highlights this trail. Someone also had a nice 20 min. AVI on the web documenting this trail. Apparently it has a very hairy off-camber as you near the top.
The other video you may be asking about was from the 1990 EJS (if memory serves). A blue 70-something blazer was descending Lions back from about a 1/3 of the way down when the brakes let go. It careened to the left and then back over to the right where it when off the side about ¾ of the way down. It hit heavy on the front bumper and went over once. I was in Moab about two weeks after this happened and the organizer of our event had gotten a copy of the video.
As the story was told to us a man and his wife had make the ascent and the wife was driving the descent. Supposedly the Blazer had a micro-lock brake that gave out and the husband was trying to help(?) by shoving the trans into park but also knocked the t-case shifter into neutral. The video is quite spectacular and is shown every now and again on a reality video show.
Again as I understand it the Blazer had a full cage and 4 or 5 point harnesses and the passengers were released from the hospital a couple of days later.
Ron A |
Blue (Bluegill)
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 03:29 am: |
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I've been up Lion's Back in my old jeep and lots of times on bikes. It's a stupid stunt, that's all. I hate to imagine the kind of asshole that would get into traffic up there. Waste of helicopter fuel extracting those morons. Should have let the crows pick at them. Just a bunch of dipshits in my book. |
Zinhead
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 09:28 am: |
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Judging from "Marsha Terry's" post, The kids that fell were on the trail first, and moved out of the way for a couple of Jeeps to descend. That contributed to thier fall. I would blame the jerks in the Jeep for starting down the trail while there was another vehicle on the way up just as much as the guys in the Pathfinder. |
Robert Mann (Oldscout)
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 11:53 am: |
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There is a few photos and a well done report here:
http://www.moabtimes.com/ |
Paul D. Morgan (V22guy)
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:01 pm: |
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Damn, that would be ugly to see in person. Not a lot of room to navigate around others. A question for the masses: "Who has the right away; people going up or people going down?"
Paul |
Robert Mann (Oldscout)
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:14 pm: |
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Traffic?
http://www.moabtimes.com/issues/2002/020404/images/lionsback.html
 |
Blue (Bluegill)
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:15 pm: |
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yep, that is indeed traffic. |
Kyle
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:22 pm: |
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Indeed Zin , we are out numbered and surrounded..
Kyle |
KJ
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:29 pm: |
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Wow, I think I had an idealized notion of Moab. I read the article and the campgrounds were swarming to over flowing. I understand it was a big event and Spring Break to boot, but I dunno, that doesn't fit my pictures of camping.
Karen |
Kyle
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:32 pm: |
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KJ , it isnt like that all the time. EJS is the biggest event of the year. And most of those pics are taken at the "Hot spots". Out on the trails its still pretty remote feeling even though its really not.... Its a great town when its not packed like that....
Kyle |
Blue (Bluegill)
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 12:37 pm: |
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yeah, you gotta go in the "off-season" otherwise it can be a three-ring jeep circus. all those ragtops can't take the cold, so go in the winter hehehe |
Curtis
| | Posted on Friday, April 05, 2002 - 05:21 pm: |
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Ron,
It is called "Lions Back" That is all. There is no "trail", "avenue", "road", or anything else after it. Repeat after me: "Lions Back". It IS an optional beginning to Hells Revenge. I guess you could put "trail" after that.
KJ - It is not like that at all. I live 3 hours away. I can shoot down in high season and hit the most popular trails while rarely or never seeing a soul except for a dirt bike or two. I avoid the hell out of the place in late March...
Curtis |
KJ
| | Posted on Saturday, April 06, 2002 - 02:10 pm: |
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Kyle and Curtis,
Glad to hear that! It looks so wonderful I was just shuddering to think it was overrun. Couldn't really figure Kyle would drive all that way if it was crowded, knowing how much he likes "extreme" in his outdoor locales (VBG).
Karen |
Ron A
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 01:32 pm: |
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Curtis, I think we agree that there is not an official trail called 'Lion's Back Trail'. I am speaking of a ‘trail’ that approaches Lion’s Back from the opposite side of where most people climb (for a fee) up Lion’s Back. This trail is naturally referred to as the “backside of Lion’s Back” and also “the Lion’s Back trail”. Whether this reference is correct or not I don’t know, but I have been trying to obtain more information on this route.
According to postings on the web (so take it for what it’s worth) the only deaths on Lion’s Back have been a couple of guys that were attempting the backside at night.
Ron A |
Kyle
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 01:59 pm: |
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Ron is correct. That back way is very narrow and much worse then the one that everyone gos up and down on the front side.
Kyle |
Curtis
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 03:45 pm: |
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Ron A,
Good to hear that you are sane then I cannot tell you how many times I have heard Lions Back Trail. Since the accident the local news and paper has been all over it calling it "Lions Back Trail" Sorry about the confusion.
I never have been up Lions Back at all. I am not afraid of heights. Widths bother the hell out of me though. There is a little knoll just before you get to Lions Back on the left. It has a trail that runs up it if memory serves me right. I think if you take that trail it will lead you around. You can also access it from Hells Revenge, but that is from the top.
Curtis |
Ron A
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 08:08 pm: |
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HA HA - I have never been accused of being sane when behind the wheel of a truck.
Ron A |
Ho Chung (Ho)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 09, 2002 - 08:19 pm: |
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and also when hanging off a bumper.
 |
Ron A
| | Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 11:57 am: |
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Ho it took me years of therapy to rid myself of the nightmares Dan gave that day.
That was the first and last time I ever played 'tick' on a LR.
Ron A |
Ho Chung (Ho)
| | Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 12:37 pm: |
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LOL
tick action. LOL |
Ron A
| | Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 07:37 pm: |
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hate to beat this dead 'lion' but a quick google search is all that was needed to find the video of "back of the Lion"
it's worth the watch. now if I can just find the trail route.
http://www.moab-offroad.com/EJS98/98Trails/BackofLion/
ron a |
John Lee
| | Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 08:13 pm: |
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Ron,
There's a rule or something that says one must do the front of Lion's Back before the back of it. If the pics are any indication, the front is a walk in the park compared to the back. |
Curtis
| | Posted on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 02:48 am: |
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Ron,
I could not find the video on that page, but...
I did see another video there on EJS. It was a pretty boring 4 minute clip. At the very end of it they zoom down a parking lot to a...Defender!
Thought that was pretty cool. Looked like Johns Milk Truck in stock form.
Curtis |
Ron A
| | Posted on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 12:21 pm: |
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sorry about that Curtis, apparently 4x4NET is no longer available. To bad because it’s hard to find someone that will host full length features on offroading.
I agree John, the backside certainly is not for first timers on the fins. I’ve driven up and down the front a few times including once at sunset for the view. The drive down in the dark was a bit different. The only problem I had was getting a carbureted engine to climb the first 20 feet because it’s almost 45 degrees.
Ron A |
John Lee
| | Posted on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 01:16 pm: |
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Ron,
A night run on Lion's Back? You are freakin crazy. |
Curtis
| | Posted on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 04:54 pm: |
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ROn,
Shame about the video. It seems like 4X4.net lost thier lease on the site. Looks like a bunch of non-related links now. Oh well.
It sounds like you get down to Moab a lot. Where do you live? We should meet up next trip. Maybe we can even drag John & Ho along for the ride
Curtis |
Ron A
| | Posted on Friday, April 12, 2002 - 06:35 pm: |
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I'm out here in the land of EE (so. cal.) but have only been out to Moab 3 times including last year with Ho and John (see Moab on the EE trail section). Plans are to be there the first week of May but I'm just now getting all the parts together for a small rebuild on my RR. And I'm a little worried that Kyle won't be there to fix Dan's truck this year. 
The first time I went to Moab was with my Bronco and Lion's Back was a bit of a novelty so we went up and down a couple of times. Then a husband/wife asked if I’d drive their Explorer to the top so they could take pictures. OK. Later that night I met a local at one of the bars and we decided to do a night run. Thank goodness my brother was with me and since he doesn’t drink he drove it up and back. Good thing too because I damn near fell off that rock.
These days I’m a little older and slower (smarter?), but that backside trail looks like a lot of fun.
Ron A |
Curtis
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 01:03 am: |
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"These days I’m a little older and slower (smarter?), but that backside trail looks like a lot of fun"
It would look like a blast to me also if it were not for that short fall that would occur if an lapse in judgement happened. I'm just a big chicken though
It looks like I will be down the last week of this month. Was planning on it this weekend, but plans fell apart. The first week in May might be doable. John - you listening? I am not driving my rig up the backside, but I would not mind riding along and doing the camera work.
Curtis |
John Lee
| | Posted on Saturday, April 13, 2002 - 12:21 pm: |
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Curtis,
Sounds interesting but I doubt I will ever do the back of Lion's Back. I haven't seen it in person, but the pics are Armgeddon. The pics make the trail look as if it's a giant winchfest all the way up. That itself isn't bad but if any part of the rigging fails, it looks as if the vehicle will fall a great distance. Again, I haven't seen it in person so I'm not sure how hairy it is. But for the time being, I'll stay on the sidelines and watch. |
Curtis
| | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 12:55 am: |
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John,
LOL - that is why I offerred to do the camera work
I figured we would let Ron A drive...find some other poor sucker to go first and pull winch bitch. We could then go do sane trails later.
Curtis |
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