Ale Vallecchi

Dear @Hisham Masaad thanks a lot for signing in tomorrow's drive. However, this will be an Intermediate drive, while you have just joined the Club, hence your current rank is not enough for you to join the drive. Therefore, I will have to take your name off the list. I still hope to see you soon in another drive.

ATTENTION: EXACT MEETING PLACE There will be another Carnity drive leaving from nearby our meeting point (Sri's Absolute Newbies). Please reach the EXACT LOCATION listed in the post, which is little more down the dirt road from the turnoff near the roundabout. The other convoy will be meeting at the very entrance of that dirt road. Please proceed further down until you'll see my FJ. See attached image. Thanks a lot.

Well noted @Vijaysekhar. Thanks for the update.

Dear Desertnauts. Time to get ready for tomorrow's drive. Please make sure you show up punctually at 6:00AM sharp. Those who will be early may start to deflate, looking for a pressure of 12-13 PSI. Once you reach the meeting and deflation point you may tune into Carnity Channel #4 (446.081). We'll start the drive heading in an easterly direction, through a first set of tighter dunes, to reach quickly the long, open dunes. We'll then make our way slowly to the south-west quadrant of the Qudra basin, in the direction of the Bab al Shams Resort, through a mix of long range dunes and some lower, tighter dunes (we'll try to minimize this portion), before reaching our exit point on the tarmac road heading back to Qudra Parking. The convoy order will be the following: @Vijaysekhar will be my Second Lead @Athula Dharmadada will follow in place #3 @Pickey Singh will start at #4 @Yasas Dharmadasa will be #5 @Archibald Jurdi will take #6 @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan will be #7 @Ranjan Das will start at #8 @Arda Yagcioglu will wear #9 @Lukas Lewis with the prestigious jersey #10 @Karthik Krishnakumar at #11 @Sandeep Padhi will be #12 @Shital Somaiya will take spot #13 and @Foxtrot Oscar (Angela) will close the convoy in the Flying Sweep position. Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, I wish you a great evening.

Dear @Rinelle Sanaani, @Jun Zamora, @Yousef Alimadadi and @Mehmet Volga. I have received a proposal by @Lorenzo Candelpergher, who is also an authorized drone pilot, to be able to fly a drone during our Saturday's trip, to take shots and movies of our convoy driving through Pink Rock, Big Red and Badayer. This will be part of a "Drone Challenge" which eventually will put together different Carnity drives, with a spectacular set of images. In order to exploit in the best possible way the different hours of the drive, and the different terrains, I would like to move the meeting time to 5:30 SHARP (always at 2 December Cafeteria, as already posted). This will allow us, with everybody's compliance and rapid deflating, to move into Pink Rock proper, and climb it, just before sunrise (first light coming at 5:55am) and shoot the sunrise (scheduled at 6:18am) from the top of PR. Please mind this change, and aknowledge here. Thanks a lot, and see you Saturday.

Perfect @Lorenzo Candelpergher. I'll move the meeting time to 5:30 (knowing the exciting work you'll be doing with the drone, I am sure they'll all be happy to do it). This will allow us to climb Pink Rock just before dawn, so you can shoot the sun rising. Then we can take more shots either on Big Red and/or in Badayer, choosing a bowl that suites you best. Thanks for this very nice opportunity.

Hello @Pickey Singh. Yes!!! You have been added to the drive. See you on Friday.

Ciao Lorenzo. Surely it will be great to have some drone action!! Just wandering if it would be best to anticipate the meeting time to 5:30 (or 5:45), so that we can be moving at 6:00 sharp, and gain some time to reach Badayer earlier (and find a bit firmer sand). What type of action you have in mind? Also check if Badayer itself is also green zone (on the other side of the highway, past Big Red).

Hello @Ahab Shamaa. I am adding you to the WL, at the moment of my reply you are #2. Thanks a lot Hello @Bhaskar. At the moment you are #3 in the WL. Thanks

Dear Desertnauts. A few tidbits to wet your appetite before this Saturday's Intermediate drive. We are looking to execute a fast paced drive, starting from 2 December Cafeteria, climbing one side of Pink Rock, to circle it and dive into the red sand plateau that separates it from Big Red, and Badayer's entry point. In fact, the plan is to extend the drive to Badayer's pyramid dunes, skipping from one to the next, across the technical areas that separate each group, until it's time to head back to Badayer Shops. Even though this area's most famous attractions are Iftar Bowl and Super Bowl, we'll focus on some of the other, un-named, pyramids, to the west of our entry point, looking to enjoy surfing in and out of them, up and down their tall slopes. @Najeeb Mohammed, @Lorenzo Candelpergher, @Rinelle Sanaani, @Jun Zamora, @Yousef Alimadadi and @Mehmet Volga, be concentrated, be motivated, be ready to have some good fun, riding as a single unit on this red sand playground. More news will follow on Friday. In the meantime, enjoy your week.

Dear Desertnauts, time to provide some information about this coming Friday's Newbie drive. While most drives in Qudra start near Qudra Lakes or from Solar Park, we have chosen to start from an alternative point, along the road to Bab al Shams. This is the western quadrant of the Qudra area, which is characterized by long sets of open white sand dunes, sometimes separated from each other by small technical areas (where the dunes are lower but closer, and call for a more careful navigation and a more controlled style of driving). The area is also still a part of the Al Marmoon Conservation Area, so it will present the opportunity to drive by a few feeding and watering stations for gazelles and oryxes, which we hope to be able to see along our route. Part of the drive will take place in areas with quite an abundant low, bushy vegetation, while we may will also encounter some solitary thorny trees, both near the start and toward our exit point. The skills we will be able to practice will be straight crossing of dunes and controlled side-sloping, all at a leisurely pace. We will take some time during the drive to give a technical briefing on some of these skills, and more. It would be best to be carrying a compressor, to re-inflate at the end of the drive, as the nearest gas station (Adnoc at Qudra Parking) has a very weak and slow compressor, and is usually taken by storm by all unequipped off-roaders. @Sandeep Padhi, @Yasas Dharmadasa, @Lukas Lewis, @Yusuf Esaf, @Archibald Jurdi, @Arda Yagcioglu, @Karthik Krishnakumar, @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan, @Shital Somaiya, @Athula Dharmadada, @Ranjan Das and @Vijaysekhar, Welcome to the drive. I will provide more information before the drive itself. In the meantime, enjoy the week.

Hello @Pickey Singh. I will add you to the WL.

Hello @Lukas Lewis. It will be good to meet. The drive will be in a very nice area with the possibility to test and work on several skills. See you on Friday.

EXPLORATION DRIVE "SEA TO MOUNTAIN" COMPLETED - Trip Report Fog, crispy wet sand, un-scalable dunes, free ranging camels, wild donkeys, longitudinal (Seif) dunes that suck your car down into their molasses-like sand, and, most amazingly, wide open plain areas with the look and feel of a savannah. This are some of the amazing situations and sights we found and saw during this first ever exploration of this un-named area, between the new Ritz-Carlton Al Wadi Desert Resort and the farming/industrial village of Al Ghail. Fog was the protagonist of the first hour of the drive. It hung on the whole area like a blanket, with visibility of less than 20 meters. Tired of waiting for it to clear, we ventured off the marked track, only to be bounced back on that same track by an un-scalable sand wall, made very slippery by the thin layer of wet sand on top, and at the same time very sticky by the soft sand underneath. Hence, we followed the marked track around the first group of dunes, very careful not to lose ourselves, having to venture out of the car at times, to take a better look at the many pockets and unseen drops that suddenly materialized in front of the lead. With only a stuck and a few refusals, and having to re-route only a couple of times, we finally found our way out of the fog, to emerge in an area inhabited by free ranging camels and wild donkeys, and characterized by stunning longitudinal dunes (or Seif), a few kilometers long and separated from each other by vegetation-rich stretches of flat land. The first and second sets of these amazing dune formations were divided by the greatest surprise of the whole drive: two huge sabkha areas with a completely flat and smooth surface made of an almost black hard soil, dotted with lonely acacia trees. Beautiful places for camping, in fact one of these "savannahs" was occupied by a small group of locals training their falcons. Here we rounded up our cars in a circle around a giant tree, for a quick stretch and to allow Najeeb to play with his drone, (which was luckily spared by the falcons 😅). From here we progressed toward the tarmac road which separates the industrial area of Al Ghail from its farming district. After crossing the tarmac we proceeded into the last stretch of the drive: a small but interesting plateau, full of intricate and very soft yellow dunes (some of which with hugely tall, Liwa-like, slip faces), which ends abruptly where the desert literally slams into the dark foothills of the Hajar Mountains. We could finally say: Mission accomplished. Thanks to all the Explorers who joined this "blindfolded" drive: @Wrangeld and @Jeepie, for advising me on a couple of tricky re-directions, which surely saved us a lot of headaches and precious time, @Yousef Alimadadi and @Jun Zamora for showing excellent control and continuing to show impressive progress in their driving skills, @Pancho for relaying all radio information to the back side of the convoy (even adding some personal touches and interpretations to the messages, that kept the whole convoy entertained), @Desert Dweller for managing to drive extremely well even at that horrific hour (it must have felt like sleep-walking) and @Foxtrot Oscar for sharing the ride and drive with Jamy, bringing her enthusiasm and energy along, @Najeeb Mohammed for documenting his first Advance trip from the sky, and finally @Kalahari, who took the sweep's position in great stride, and perhaps felt at home on a terrain which, in places, greatly reminds of some parts of South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. At the end, we drove for 60.3 Km, in 3:44 hours, at an average speed of 16 Km/h (22 Km/h while moving), and reaching from a lowest altitude of -63 m under the sea level to 230 meters (with almost 1 Km of total climb). Looking forward to the next Exploration drive (somewhere out there there are still little visited stretches of desert waiting for us), I wish you all a great week. No worries. It's very much appreciated. We'll soon post this drive again, as we now know that it can be adjusted also to a Fewbie level. In the meantime, I am looking forward to driving with you (and to your promotion, soon),

Hello @Alexander Alcala. Nice to hear from you, and thanks for your message. I totally understand your interest. On one hand, the good news is that it's possible we'll offer a trip like this one at Fewbie level, soon. We found the area has a lot of tracks, made by locals travelling between camel farms, which can make the going easier and more accessible to many more drivers. On the other hand, when we plan these kinds of trips (first ever exploration drives) we usually open them to no less then Intermediates (and more likely Advance drivers), since we may encounter situations that will require a great command of the car and more sophisticated skills (we did encounter a couple of such situations yesterday, which would have proven tricky to Fewbies). In any was, being promoted from Fewbie to Intermediate will only require a bit of time and dedication, which I am sure will be even easier in your case, given your experience. In fact, with our current ranking structure, you can apply for promotion, which will be certainly taken into consideration. Looking forward to meeting you.

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Off-roader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic. We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving. Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops... No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it. Drive Details Level: Intermediate and above When: 17 October 2020, Saturday Meeting time: 6:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) ACTION PLAN: A faster paced drive, from Pink Rock to Big Red and beyond, into the kingdom of bowl riding Meeting Point: 2 December Cafeteria https://maps.app.goo.gl/E3cQ1iFYLPkmytnV9 Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10:30 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL END THE DRIVE AT A POINT WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 Intermediate and above drivers. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE BELOW CALENDAR

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Off-roader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic. We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving. Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops... No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it. Drive Details Level: Newbie and Above When: 16 October 2020, Friday. Meeting time: 6:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) ACTION PLAN: Navigate around and through some long range dunes, with opportunities for straight crossing and some side sloping. We may cross occasional technical dunes, where more precision and finesse will be required. The pace of the drive will be leisurely. Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/X2wqrqwm1fWTZzpk8 Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL STARTING AND ENDING THE DRIVE AT THE SAME POINT, WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 Newbie and above drivers. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE BELOW CALENDAR

Congratulazioni @Asif Hussain, Master of Sweihan. Can't wait to drive with you soon.

Middle-Earth: the land in between - Drive report Always with the idea to bring our convoys in less crowded areas, it was impossible not to zero in on that stretch of desert between two often driven Solar Park and Faqa. This is an area that can be reached following the southernmost Qudra bike path, through a set of very technical dunes, and that continues, between sabkhas and long cordons of more or less open dunes, all the way to the boundary with the last phases of Solar Park's project (look for a very tall "chimney" to identify its limit). Initially with quite a lot of vegetation, it then opens up to a 100% sandy desert, presenting occasional feeding stations for gazelles and oryxes, which abound in this area. The drive was designed to introduce @Tbone to his first lead, with me taking the convoy out to the middle of Middle-Earth, and TBone taking over at the beginning of this area's heart (Little Sweihan), to guide the group through its canyons, and the adjacent more open dune field, all the way to the exit point. I must admit that what may have seemed as a daunting task at first (this area can be quite tricky, with an abundance of sand bowls, sharp ridged dunes and some very tight technical sectors) was marvelously overcome and mastered by TBone. With a minimal number of refusals (mostly due to very soft patches of sand), the whole convoy was led in unison, surfing with controlled ease up and down the bowls' walls. My only disappointment with this segment of the drive was not recognizing @Emmanuel and @Kalahari's convoy, which we saw in the distance, coming from Faqa in our opposite direction (sorry guys😊). Absolutely fine performances by all members: @Islam Soliman, @Rajeevan Vickneswaran, @Nabil Bishara, @Heisem, @Ilya Golubinsky, @Jeandre Bezuidenhout and @Gregory Perkin were impeccable, considering the challenging level of the terrain, with @Janarthan smoothly supporting the convoy from the center, and @marksproviding calm advice during all refusals, from the sweeping position. Well done to all, with a special loud applause going to TBone for completing very successfully his first lead!! For the stats' lovers, the drive covered 70.4 KM, driven in 4:13 hours, at an average speed of 17Km/h (25 Km/h while moving). Have a great week, and see you all in the sand soon.

Dear Desertnauts. Ready to explore an area never seen before!? Do not forget to bring along your adventurer's spirit, as we truly do not know what we'll find in this "Sea to Mountain - Part 2". In fact, while Part 1 had already been tested before the actual drive, this second leg of the itinerary has not been driven, ever. So we may either be satisfied with what we find, and be anxious to bring another convoy along, or disappointed, and never think of driving here again. In any case, mystery awaits us. We are not even sure if the meeting point is the right one to enter the desert. We do hope so, but we'll have to check tomorrow morning, after deflating. Our convoy order will be the following: @Wrangeld will take Second Lead position @Yousef Alimadadi at #3 @Jun Zamora at #4 @Pancho will start at #5 @Desert Dweller will be #6 @Najeeb Mohammed at #7 and @Kalahari will Sweep the convoy Upon arrival please tune in to Carnity Channel 2 (446.031). Make sure you arrive with as full a tank as possible, and with all the necessary gear for this driving level. Each car will be responsible for recovering the cars just in front and/or behind, depending on who's in the best position to assist. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning, I wish you a nice Friday evening.

No worries @Biju Abdul. See you next time soon

Dear Carnity explorers. Let's get in the "Middle-Earth" frame of mind by giving out the convoy order. @Tbone will start as my Second Lead @Islam Soliman will occupy his (by now) usual place #3 @Rajeevan Vickneswaran will follow at #4 @Nabil Bishara is going to take position #5 @Heisem will drive in #6 @Janarthan will anchor the convoy at Center Forward @Ilya Golubinsky will follow him at #8 @Biju Abdul will line up at #9 @Jeandre Bezuidenhout with jersey #10 @Gregory Perkin will be starting at #11 @marks will be responsible for closing the convoy's lineup. As mentioned in the drive's preview, we will be facing a variety of terrains. After an initial approach from a sand track, we will enter in this little visited area between South Qudra/Solar Park and Faqa. This area contains sabkhas, technical dunes, as well as longer range, but taller and sometimes tight dunes, which form canyons and bowls, that will test the Fewbie Plus skills. We will be driving mostly to the East: the good thing is that reading the dunes will be easier, as the sun's reflection, that "whites out" depths and perspective, will be mostly at our back, but, at times, the sun may be kissing our faces 😅. Eventually, we'll double back toward the West, until we'll find the exit track toward Solar Park, where our drive will end. Upon reaching the meeting and deflation point, please tune into Carnity Channel 2 (446.031). Please keep in mind that the meeting point is along the dirt road, just past the Solar Innovation Center (the "crystal pyramid"), going further in toward the West. Enjoy the end of the week, and see you tomorrow.

Hi @Tamas Hoffmann. Understood. See you next time. Have a good flight. Hi @David Ortells. Sorry to hear that. Hope to see you next time.