Morning Intermediate Desert Drive - "Al Bataeh Jumble" - An Exploration Drive - Sharjah - 6 May 2023

[Varun Mehndiratta]

1 hour ago, Rajiv Sam said:

confirm iam available 

Thanks @Rajiv Sam. 
All - updated the convoy order. 

[Fabien Monleau]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:54 AM, Tareq Al Turq said:

Confirm

I will be 10 min late

[Varun Mehndiratta]

Dear Sand Sailors 

Thanks for joining in for the this unique exploration experience - was it a desert or a forest, I am still not sure . True to the theme it was one real Jumble, thanks to your company and the awesome adventure we had, I will remember it for a long time. As sticker on  @Benjamin Jeep said - a true Jurassic Park experience. 

We have all experienced steep climbs at Sweihan, have faced super soft sand in Liwa and have enjoyed those awesome @Frederic signature scenic drives through farms and vegetation - this drive combined it all togather and nature somehow zipped it all into a small area - just forgot that it meant no space to loop around for those steep climbs, crazy irregular ridges with vegetation on both sides (reminded me of Floor is lava 😀) and powder soft sand. 

It was wonderful to see how you all individually and as a convoy transversed through this terrain. We had our fair share of refusals (I stopped counting after 15) however nothing that took more than 5-10 min of collective effort to clear off. It was a busy morning however the camaraderie kept it free flowing fun. Usually we all focus on maintaining momentum, this drive was all about maintaining control through sudden shifts - a super tech challenge and the whole convoy did amazing. Bravo. 
 

In terms of data - we covered around 36Km in 4 hours, climbing up around 650mtr 😮- as @DP1011 mentioned during the drive as well, terraced shape of dunes meant while all climbs were super challenging it never felt that real cumulative ascent to be this high - this is usually a number we do in little sweihan and Faqa area - when we do climb a lot. So yeah quite a positive reflection on what we achieved. 
 

@Rajiv Sam couldn’t have asked for a better SL. It undoubtedly was the toughest terrain i have led through but with you as my wingman I was convinced that we will sail through and so we did. 

@Alexanderrr its not easy for a Pajero in this terrain - especially with sudden super steep climbs. Was really motivating to see your smile while managing the challenges. Brilliant work. 

 @Jaro Tuzinsky @Benjamin@Gok Krish apart from some minor refusals on those crazy ridges you all did amazingly well - always in control of your rides. 

Thanks to our sweep and platoon leaders @Fabien Monleau @DP1011 and @Sunil Mathew always there to support through all countless refusals despite all the heat and humidity - yup we are in summer and yesterday we all got a good flavor of it. 

Since this was an exploration drive, I look for your feedback on how you assess this terrain and drive - should we bring it as part of regular drives with @Carnity ? My take on it is as below

- In it’s present form I.e. as we experienced it - I would say a good overlanding experience for FB and perhaps even Nb level. Don’t get on the crazy climbs stay on and around  sabkas to maneuver through the vegetation. A one off Int challenging drive just to get a feel of something different than usual. 
 

- During summer hopefully the vegetation goes down - well expect sand to be softer than what we experienced. This might be a good area for Intermediate. But then also need to take into account that ridges were too irregular and in summer with wind might be a bit tricky. Perhaps a tech challenge drive for int. 
 

- Before the rains, early in winter  - might be a good area to explore for all levels. 
 

So a good addition to our treasure to be treaded with caution. 
 

Thanks again and looking forward to see you all sometime soon.

Refer below for  comparison of 2021 drive (the graph on top) with our drive this Saturday. Very similar route and overall elevation profile, just the vegetation made the diff in speed a bit. Low stop time a good reflection of the way you all managed the terrain. Cheers

 

[Benjamin]

8 minutes ago, Varun Mehndiratta said:

Dear Sand Sailors 

Thanks for joining in for the this unique exploration experience - was it a desert or a forest, I am still not sure . True to the theme it was one real Jumble, thanks to your company and the awesome adventure we had, I will remember it for a long time. As sticker on  @Benjamin Jeep said - a true Jurassic Park experience. 

We have all experienced steep climbs at Sweihan, have faced super soft sand in Liwa and have enjoyed those awesome @Frederic signature scenic drives through farms and vegetation - this drive combined it all togather and nature somehow zipped it all into a small area - just forgot that it meant no space to loop around for those steep climbs, crazy irregular ridges with vegetation on both sides (reminded me of Floor is lava 😀) and powder soft sand. 

It was wonderful to see how you all individually and as a convoy transversed through this terrain. We had our fair share of refusals (I stopped counting after 15) however nothing that took more than 5-10 min of collective effort to clear off. It was a busy morning however the camaraderie kept it free flowing fun. Usually we all focus on maintaining momentum, this drive was all about maintaining control through sudden shifts - a super tech challenge and the whole convoy did amazing. Bravo. 
 

In terms of data - we covered around 36Km in 4 hours, climbing up around 650mtr 😮- as @DP1011 mentioned during the drive as well, terraced shape of dunes meant while all climbs were super challenging it never felt that real cumulative ascent to be this high - this is usually a number we do in little sweihan and Faqa area - when we do climb a lot. So yeah quite a positive reflection on what we achieved. 
 

@Rajiv Sam couldn’t have asked for a better SL. It undoubtedly was the toughest terrain i have led through but with you as my wingman I was convinced that we will sail through and so we did. 

@Alexanderrr its not easy for a Pajero in this terrain - especially with sudden super steep climbs. Was really motivating to see your smile while managing the challenges. Brilliant work. 

 @Jaro Tuzinsky @Benjamin@Gok Krish apart from some minor refusals on those crazy ridges you all did amazingly well - always in control of your rides. 

Thanks to our sweep and platoon leaders @Fabien Monleau @DP1011 and @Sunil Mathew always there to support through all countless refusals despite all the heat and humidity - yup we are in summer and yesterday we all got a good flavor of it. 

Since this was an exploration drive, I look for your feedback on how you assess this terrain and drive - should we bring it as part of regular drives with @Carnity ? My take on it is as below

- In it’s present form I.e. as we experienced it - I would say a good overlanding experience for FB and perhaps even Nb level. Don’t get on the crazy climbs stay on and around  sabkas to maneuver through the vegetation. A one off Int challenging drive just to get a feel of something different than usual. 
 

- During summer hopefully the vegetation goes down - well expect sand to be softer than what we experienced. This might be a good area for Intermediate. But then also need to take into account that ridges were too irregular and in summer with wind might be a bit tricky. Perhaps a tech challenge drive for int. 
 

- Before the rains, early in winter  - might be a good area to explore for all levels. 
 

So a good addition to our treasure to be treaded with caution. 
 

Thanks again and looking forward to see you all sometime soon.

Refer below for  comparison of 2021 drive (the graph on top) with our drive this Saturday. Very similar route and overall elevation profile, just the vegetation made the diff in speed a bit. Low stop time a good reflection of the way you all managed the terrain. Cheers

 

@Varun Mehndiratta The drive was incredible with plenty of vegetation and track finding. Our first obstacle was finding an entrance to start our adventure much like the beginning of Jurassic park, we saw wildlife such as camels... I mean raptors, and found our way through vegetation galore. 

My take of the drive I reckon it's perfect for FB or FB+ depending on the track due to softer sand. the drive in all was a nice for a scenic drive with a splash of excitement with some awesome dune heights. I recommend  

[Sunil Mathew]

Excellent drive in an interesting terrain @Varun Mehndiratta...felt like more of an overlanding trip than a desert drive, but it was fun exploring the area . navigating through all that vegetation and climbing whatever dunes were available to us, occasionally reaching heights giving us beautiful views of the area. My last drive here was in 2021, FB drive with the erstwhile blitzkrieg marshal Lorenzo - forum post below , if anyone interested to skim through

 

 

The terrain looks more plain in those olderphotos, i think..... All in all , it was a well spent saturday morning with the company of great drivers - @Rajiv Sam - great SL, @Alexanderrr, @Benjamin @Jaro Tuzinsky  @Gok Krish @Joji varghese along with our "always ready and able" ST members @Fabien Monleau @DP1011

 

[Fabien Monleau]

Back at sunrise, summer is coming… Strange drive… The dunes of Al Bataeh are not higher than the dunes of Al Faqa, only color changes, green… It was a real intermediate drive, to slalom in between high bushes, in soft sand… To ride irregular ridges with humps at the bottom, sharp drops on the top, almost impossible to pusch…

In this challenging terrain, @Varun Mehndirattalead us smoothly, playing with the obstacles…

Some refusals and stacked, quickly recovered by very good intermediate folks…

It has been a pleasure to drive with all of you…

Have a nice week 😉

[Rajiv Sam]

@Varun Mehndiratta in this driver had an incredible adventure exploring the desert or (forest?) most of the location the SAND was SUPER SOFT. When you mentioned that Rajiv needs more gas due to the super soft sand, it helped me to understand that I should increase my own acceleration as well. 

after 3 weeks break from desert drive, it was a good start for me push vehicle to the limit and to see how to handle unexpected challenges. It's also great to see the convoy were overcome any obstacles. It sounds like a memorable and exhilarating experience!

@Alexanderrr You did an incredible job. You demonstrated to the convoy that the Pajero is a vehicle that is rugged and refined, born wild but raised with elegance.