Fantastic is all I can say. The oarticipation, the enthusiasm, the patience, good food, great time and amazing people.
I would like to thank @EmVarlet, @skumar83, @Gaurav, @Asif Hussain and @Nikhil who helped in carrying out duties beyond themselves and were selfless during the entire drive to help the newer people adjust and kept the convoy moving successfully.
A big thanks to @Javier M, @Emil, @Jocreative, @Pwn, @Maxiben, @Shafeel, @AlexGeorge, @Julien V and @Brette to join this amazing morning drive. We met on time and moved on to the deflation point at which we had our absolute newbie brief. @Shafeel thank you for understanding and leaving you ride at the deflation point and guving me company, it was great to have you onboard.
We started off with really easy dunes and as all managed well we moved to level up gradually. I was pleasantly surprised to watch everyone do so well. There were a couple of evasions where I felt I would hear over the radio that there has been some stuck, but nothing more than a couple of refusals.
We decided to stop at one good looking dune for the more experienced drivers to have a go at side slopping, everyone managed it beautifully. Special mention to @Nikhil and @Pwn who did very well, pleasure to have them on board. We than headed to our shaded area to grab a bite and some cold drinks to rest for a while and discuss the drive thus far. Thanks to Sonia who felt each part of the challenge as successful. She was surprised that the newbie drive included actual handling of the dunes rather than a track drive. As I explained to her that is my way of leading a Newbie drive and enhancing the learning for everyone in a safe environment.
As we moved after the breakfast towards the Fossil Rocks, everyone tend to keep up, before I could realize we were on top. The descent seemed rocky and unfavorable, but still I tried and a bit of scraping under the car I still was thinking about different angles. All the Wranglers were able to make it down without any hiccups.
This time @EmVarlet bravely came forward to try an angle which could set the path for rest to cross. But it was not meant to be. Within a few seconds our hearts were set racing as the angle had seemed to be too much of a challenge. His car was hanging very thin and quickly we had 4 people hanging from the right side of his car. My hats off as everyone kept their cool and managed everything with lot of patience and good coordination. @Gaurav slowly and steadily came back up on Fossil Rock from where he was to help in the situation. He secured his car behind with his winch and pulled slowly and steadily as believe it or not but pulled it back and @EmVarlet was able to reverse onto safe grounds. Lesson learned on many accounts. No matter what angle but recovery is possible, and when the feeling is not there do not attempt.
Safely exited by going around Fossil Rocks thanks to @Asif Hussain and @Gaurav. This lead to an easy path out to the Adnoc pump, where we inflated our tires and headed back. Thank you to all who attended and looking forward to many more adventures.