Day 2 Event 2: The Hill Climb
Gravity is funny. Not funny ha-ha, but funny in the sense that it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. In the case of our approximately 600-foot-long Hill Climb, gravity is without question the enemy. Our Hill Climb takes place on a steep hill that we strategically pepper with holes and loose dirt and it has an average angle of 60 degrees. Well, unless a competitor is in one of the holes and then it could be more or less. This event tests each competitor’s ability to think on-the-fy as they try to peer over the hood of their rig to see something besides sky and the poison oak that borders the course. New this year we allowed each competitor 5 minutes to tackle the hill. During that time they could stop, back up, or winch if the need arose. If a competitor exceeded the limit, traveled out of bounds, or ran out of time—they received a DNF at that point. This year the Hill Climb stopped three vehicles.

The Play-By-Play
Austin: Did not run due to damage sustained in the Obstacle Course.

Burton: Very composed, steady run. Utilized the rear steer often and either drove through or straddled some of the large holes.

Campbell: Fastest run of the event. Drove like he was out in the desert and was unfazed by the angle and deep holes.

Duffy: Fast run with some incredible wheel lift along the way, especially coming out of the last hole.

Ellis: Had been plagued by a transfer case that wouldn’t stay in low range, so prior to this event he removed the case and welded the outer gear to the front output shaft so the T-case would be locked in four-wheel drive but still offer high and low range. The paddle tires stuck to the hill like glue and were key in pulling the little Suzuki to the top in what would be one of the fastest times.

Fox: With approximately 1:01 on the clock the TJ was perched about halfway up the hill with the driver-side front Goodyear hanging high in the air and the passenger-side rear tire in a deep hole. Entered the last hole near the top with 2:15 on the clock. Great driver-spotter communication.

George: Smooth, steady progress the entire way up the hill with a huge amount of front driver-side wheel lift coming out of the last hole.

Gray: Came to the event after a trailside fx to repair damage suffered in the Obstacle Course. Had trouble just about every step of the way and at one point was crossways on the hill. Became hung up in the fnal hole and the power steering belt fell off. Chose to end his run with approximately four seconds left on the clock.

Green: The torque of the Cummins turbodiesel and the traction of the ag tires made short work of the course. At one point the passenger-side front tire caught a rut and tugged the steering wheel out of Green’s hands so he had to get off the throttle for a moment to recover.

harrell: Super fast run, especially considering the driver was dealing with a twisted pitman arm that was damaged at the end of the Obstacle Course. Crossed the fnish line at a surprise angle.

Karwath: Steady, fast crawl with very little wheel lift from the Fox coilover-equipped triangulated four-link suspension. Blew an O-ring in the power steering pump along the way, but it was repaired before the next event.

Kraatz: Wheeled the fuel-injected, 460ci, rearengine machine up the hill quickly and with little drama. Never used the rear steer.

Montpas: Amazingly undramatic run that saw the tall rig easily maneuver the length of the hill. The custom double-leaf suspension swallowed up the terrain.

Naeger: The supple four-link coilover suspension with King triple-rate remote-reservoir coilovers swallowed up all but the deepest holes so there was little wheel lift. The throttle-activated NOS nitrous system never kicked in because the engine never spun over 3,100 rpm, which is the activation point for the nitrous system.

Sanders: Great run, especially considering that the only way the power steering would work is with the 406ci engine screaming at around 6,500 rpm.

Thorson: First competitor. The vehicle rolled onto its passenger side with 30 seconds on the clock. A quick winching maneuver had the vehicle back on its Mickey T’s with 2:06 on the clock. With 3:40 on the clock the vehicle had rolled onto its side again. Another quick winching job had the vehicle back on its wheels with 4:40 on the clock. Timed out a few yards from the top of the hill.

Waddell: Ran with 4 psi of pressure in the front tires and 6 psi in the rear tires. The fexy four-link suspension worked really well and the big Mickey T’s stayed close to the ground during the run. Some backfres through the intake due to a fuel injection programming issue.

Wager: Second competitor. Ran with no front clip due to damage sustained in the Obstacle Course and with the air suspension defated due to a damaged controller. Huge rear wheel lift early into the course. Slow, careful run. With 3:30 on the clock they were winching. With 4:00 on the clock the engine was off due to an electrical problem that was causing a dead short in the battery (ongoing crash damage). Chose to end their run with 4:30 on the clock.

Finish Line Quotes
-“We learned a little from the frst one. It wasn’t a race to the top it was a get to the top.”
– Brent Burton

-“I have way too much adrenalin fowing right now for my brain to think.” – Tony Fox
-“Piece of cake.” – Mike Karwath

-“So far everything that beat me last time I’ve got my revenge on.” – Ron George
-“Can’t be a pansy about it.” – Alex Sanders

-“I didn’t have a plan. I just drive it when I see it. There’s no other real way to do it.”
– Jerry Duffy

-“I was just driving too slow that’s all.”
– Shannon Campbell

-“We did really good here in ’09 and I was hoping we could just carry that luck on here and we had a good run.”
– Dave Green

-“It feels good, I’m used to it you know, I’ve been driving this thing for 12 years, so I know its limits.”
– Steven Montpas

-“It was awesome. We just tried to keep it real smooth, we didn’t hit the nitrous. We want to keep it together, we got one more event today.”
– Randy Ellis

Results
(elapsed time or ranking order if DNF)
1. Campbell ...............................................32 sec.
2. Harrell ...................................................33 sec.
3. Green ....................................................39 sec.
4. Ellis ......................................................41 sec.
5. Montpas ................................................43 sec.
6. Karwath .................................................44 sec.
7. Naeger ..................................................48 sec.
8. Duffy .....................................................49 sec.
9. Kraatz ...................................................50 sec.
10. Waddell .................................................53 sec.
11. Sanders ...................................... 1 min. 04 sec.
12. Burton ........................................ 1 min. 29 sec.
13. George........................................ 2 min. 07 sec.
14. Fox ............................................ 2 min. 27 sec.
15. Gray ..........................................................DNF
16. Thorson .....................................................DNF
17. Wager ........................................................DNF
18. Austin .......................................................DNS