Danger Zone

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Daggerfall
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Hi Almosters

It was a beautiful weekend and as usual its hard to return back to our "civilized" lifes after such connection with the nature brigade.baka-wolf.com

My plan was to come early as possible and spend some time with friends before I go to sleep and took a "longer" rest before the full day drive which I knew will be challenging with regard to endurance.

Everybody came one after another and we had great time under [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] 's huge shade enjoying the food, stories and sound of the rain drops as always in Almost camps. Thanks to all who cared to share as usual grin . I was sleeping outside and experienced rain, wind and sand (Which I enjoyed arr. ) all night but I was feeling really fresh in the morning.

After a great morning gathering together with morning arrivals we started rolling. As planned, we did some warm up drive on the "small" dunes and increased the level "gradually" along the day you're kidding, right . Unfortunately we had some technical issues and some of the cars had to retire but due to great support this didn't affected the agenda of the trip! thumbsup

As part of this exploration trip we went further to the east of this chain, which I didn't do before and I have to say we found some new "treasures" out there grin


Lessons learned from the last liwa trip , we didn't skip the long noon break this time and it helped us to recover from the fatigue of the morning part and kept us relatively fresh rest of the day! Again, thanks who cared to share, it was hard to choose you're kidding, right .


Before the start of the second part, due to my miscalculation of the weight of the food I ate, I sat on my belly (I think it was the pastry!) and had to make a demonstration for "self recovery" during my technical break trip you're kidding, right . Luckily our member(s) were very keen to push me over the huge drop "to save me" from this situation XD


We had great time in the afternoon as well and learned new lessons:

* Importance of keeping right distance
* Importance of good and rapid communication
* Importance of Discipline on applying the correct side cresting technique all the time and the risks involved when you start thinking " Maybe this time with a little bit more gas I can make it" which I call " wishful thinking" and over confidence! develops over time.
* Risks of overtaking on the walls


All in all it was a great day with Almosters and everybody went home safe and sound and I would like to thank to the amazing support made this possible

[mention]alshamsi_m[/mention]
[mention]Rashidjass[/mention]
[mention]Booy[/mention]
[mention]Solmaz[/mention] Great second lead thumbsup
[mention]JockJKU[/mention] Watched over and made sure we didn't left anyone behind brigade.baka-wolf.com


And all adv and intermediate drivers!. They were there whenever we needed them!

Hope to see you all next time and I would love to read the experience you had here during this trip, including the passengers!

See you!
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Hello Everyone,

I was arrived in the morning , and i met [mention]JockJKU[/mention] and [mention]giorgio[/mention] at the gate point and after deflating we drive together to the meeting point, after greeting the campers we had briefing from [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] for nature of this area dunes, and we start warrming up in the technical soft sand dunes toward the Danger Zone as planned killzonesmiley by [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] , [mention]Solmaz[/mention] was the second lead [mention]JockJKU[/mention] as sweeper and [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] , [mention]Booy[/mention] [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] floating around, with our expert advance between us in the convoy. well at the time we rich to the high dunes and doing the arch with side crest in the soft sand side my car was lag of power and in one place i did 2 round and then i use the 4 low with 3rd gear , to be honest i stay with that until the end of this trip i wasn't care for engine or gear for continuous using that ratio for at less 6 hr of driving with full pedal press killzonesmiley ! i was enjoying all the moment of this drive.
The other thing i like to share it, with Pedal Commander i was select the 3 step , the pedal was very sensitive for little touch that was most difficult i faced in the drive when doing side crest in the high soft side dunes we came in high speed and a second before the crest we slow our speed by reduce the pedal press, and due to sensitivity when i try reduce the press on pedal it cut the RPM so i loss the power one time and my car near to be stack on top of crest but i press the pedal again and the car move but will jump on the crest and i have to monitor that not do enforced to stay on crest longer as this could be cause to rollover . thanks [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] for your advice to reduce the selection of PC to first step after that my drive was more safely ninja. we finish little early before the time and thanks to God we went out safely all of us from the Danger Zone its really deserve the name.
Thanks to [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] for organizing this trip it was really amazing , and as you feel for second area you was exploring that was our feeling from A to Z for this drive as most of intermediate not being in this area before so you can imagine our feeling wink . thanks to our great marshals, explorer and advance for the great support and to every one that make it happen.
see you all well and have great week with overflow of adrenaline dozen.
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Good Morning All!

Unfortunately i was unable to make the camp for this trip, so i travelled in the morning along with [mention]giorgio[/mention] from Dubai, leaving Jebel Ali at around 4.45am! We got to the entrance gate in plenty of time to find [mention]Nabil[/mention] deflating. After deflating and a quick chat we made our way on the easy track to camp! We could tell it must have been windy in camp because the tracks from the night before were barely visible!

We arrived to camp in time to have an hour break, and some great food offered from the campers making breakfast! I can confirm that I am a big fan of Turkish Sausage and Egg!!! Thank you to all that shared, it was most welcome and very much appreciated.

We had the briefing where [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] told the convoy that this drive is going to be a higher level drive than any of the Inters had had before. We set off for what [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] called the "warm up". To give you an idea of the level, the warm up was similar to a Sweihan drive from a few weeks ago! I am sure at this point either the Inters did not believe that this was just a "warm up" or they were thinking they were in for something special!!

After a while we started heading to the bigger dunes in the chain and [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] announced that the warm up was over! He was right, the dunes kept getting bigger, crests higher and sharper, bowls bigger, and eventually a great wall!!! It was hard to tell what was happening ahead, the convoy had good distance and i was sweeping so a lot of the time I guess i could not hear the radio's very well from the front and i would guess i was over a km from the lead driver! Although i could not see, from the back the flow felt very good and i enjoyed the drive very much!

We only had a few minor issues with no calls for 2nd tries and at one point the 2nd tries were blind sidecresting from a bowl next to the track back onto the track, where the convoy could not see them coming.

Hope all the cars we lost along the way and at the end are not serious and are back on the drives very soon!!

It was a great drive, which I enjoyed very much!!!

Thanks to all! Till next time,

Jock
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Danger Zone:

Chosen Play ground for this drive was the Abu Tais area. In my opinion, this is best value for you money area. The area provides mid to high dunes with a terrain more than challenging for the intermediate level, while at the same time the drive from Dubai drivers it is only 1:40 min versus 3:30 min for Liwa.

At this drive i could not attend the camp, so i was one of the drivers that arrived at the camp early morning.

I teamed up with [mention]JockJKU[/mention] and we drove together. While driving to our destination we encounter rain O_O and the road was very slippery especially on the runabouts.

Reaching at the gate we found [mention]Nabil[/mention] already deflating and we were in communication with [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] for his arrival time so we can all together enter the dunes.

When we finally arrived at the camp all the campers were up and preparing Breakfast. I would like to thank [mention]Agalon[/mention] and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for the morning offerings ( [mention]Solmaz[/mention] now i understand the meaning be-careful what you wish for, so next time i will not try to be polite and argue on the size of the offered food portion blank )


With the breakfast time coming to an end, we all gathered for the trip briefing and after receiving the radio frequency the convoy departed for the danger zone experience.

The lead car [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] was kind enough to give the drivers close to 20-25 min of warm up (something that it was highly appreciated) before we enter the big dunes and the challenging (for this driving level) terrain.

The drive menu included all you can eat buffet of: Arches, Side-cresting, soft sand, big climbs, wall adventures, and a bonus play area where everyone had the chance to individual play and practice their driving skills and car performance.

As always in an challenging area like this one, the losses were inevitable. We lost a total of 3 cars where 1 of them had to be towed out and the rest two manage to bring themselves out but not before the entire convoy contribute tools, ideas and expertise to bring the required task to completion.

The drivers over all ( to my opinion) did fairly well. The interruptions of the drive included the usual suspects: Second tries (and plenty of those), one pop out, crest stuck ( I will take the honers on this one, thank you [mention]Barish[/mention] for the recovery I owe you one ), and finally loosing the track.

In the middle of the drive we had a lunch break and all drivers had to switch hats from drivers to car mechanics. We all refuel ( not the double tank FJ's) we inspect our cars and clean our air filters.

Lesson's learned from the drive :

a) Rapid Decision Making: In this level of driving you, need to be ready to assess the situation and come up with an action plan almost instantly. I cannot say that as a convoy really nailed it but at least we managed to eliminate unfortunate events.
b) Radio Communication: Someone may think that in this level the radio communication should have been something of the past, but this is not the case. As the drivers are been stressed to co-op with all the new skills been process during the drive using the radio is just another challenge that needs to be met. So yes there were several times that the radio communication was not there and that resulted in unnecessary confusion and disorganization of the convoy's flow.
c) Adrenaline Crazy: Pay respect to the desert and its challenges. We are safe as long as we follow the rules, just a moment of deviating from the basic principles of out club regulations can result to unpleasant invents.


Closing my report i would like to thank [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] for selecting this amazing area ( one more new treasure discovered) all the supporting crew just to mention some [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] , [mention]Solmaz[/mention] , [mention]Agalon[/mention] [mention]Barish[/mention] [mention]JockJKU[/mention] , [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] [mention]Booy[/mention] and all the rest.

It was a great drive and i am looking forward to return to the same area and do that again.

For the newbies reading this report make sure you remember this name drive and request (when you get to the intermediate level) from your Marshall's to have a trip there and live this experience from first hand. It is a drive not to be missed.

Until next time drive and be safe.
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Hello Everyone,

This trip report would be a long one as there is so much to write about this Friday. I would, however, try to keep it concise but no promises if I get carried away with pleasure of Friday memories :lol: .

As many of you know that Megatron is grounded for the last 2 weeks therefore, I was about to pull out from this trip with a sorrow heart :cry:. But I had no clue that this misfortune would actually make me fortunate and I would get the opportunity to enjoy LAVA in BU TAIS ORLY. The Guardian Angel [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] asked me to come to the drive and offered me that both him and myself can drive LAVA. From my past experience with him, I knew that even getting a passenger seat with him in such an area is quite a learning so, even if I don’t drive I will learn a lot for future drives still. So, I agreed but made up my mind that I will not drive and would attend the drive as a passenger. I simply love and respect ‘almost4x4’; this amazing family is very near to my heart. Even though I had no car, no food, no water with me but still I had no issues throughout this trip – you all are beautiful people at heart and I am fortunate to be a small part of your circle have a nice day.

Well, I met with Rashidjass on the way and we started our journey towards the camp site together. On the way, we found Optimus Prime and thought its [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] but later found out that it’s [mention]Booy[/mention] and Bu Salem is coming in his Jimny ORLY.

Desert fun started the moment we entered the sand after the dirt road and started getting messages from the people who had reached to the camp before us to guide us about the exact location of the camp. The night was pleasant and it drizzled also up to the extent that we had to sit under the shade provided by Bu Salem. Setting up the tent and going to sleep by 1am but keep getting up on and off due to rain and strong winds was part of the fun. Couple of times I thought that my tent will fly away with me as the wind was quite strong but I think I have put on some extra weight and the tent did not fly grin.

We had the beautiful morning to greet us and after the breakfast and a little chit-chat we started packing up. [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] opened all the doors of his FJ and put the music on full; that was enough to warn people about his plans ninja (reminded me of Al Wagan when he did the same and then we had the blasting drive that I witnessed as a passenger you're kidding, right).

Daggerfall and Bu Salem gave the necessary briefing and then Daggerfall told about the convoy car order and I got surprised to find out that I am also driving somewhere in the middle of the convoy wtfsmilie. Actually, when he was telling the convoy order I was not paying attention and was just hearing and not listening but when I heard my name it was sort of a ‘wake-up’ call for me 2 z Z. I could not capture that I am going to drive behind whom so, went to him after the briefing and asked again about my position to which he said that I am placed behind [mention]giorgio[/mention] (love your exhaust sound bro thumbsup). Until that time, I knew that I am a passenger (and would drive in between on some walls wherever the convoy would stop to play) but Rashidjass had other plans. He said ‘Go and Enjoy the on fire’ and he started walking towards [mention]SINGH[/mention] to be his passenger innocent. Well, I was struck with many surprises:

First, I am not a passenger
Second, I am going to drive actually
Third, I am going to drive LAVA
Fourth, I am going to drive in Bu Tais where I have never driven before
Fifth, Rashidjass is not going to be in LAVA

Thank you for your trust and confidence Rashidjass bhai – love you loads thumbsup

The drive started and it was to ‘warm us’ up but from the nature of that 'warm-up' I sensed what is coming our way you're kidding, right. I think after 20 min, Daggerfall said to get ready for action. In this drive, I relived the memories of Al Wagan and hats off to Daggerfall for his lead and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for the second lead. We had [mention]JockJKU[/mention] sweeping the convoy (sorry could not hear you well on radio most of time because it was a long convoy - especially missed your compliment that I was told about in the afternoon thumbsup). [mention]Booy[/mention], Bu Salem, [mention]Shah[/mention], Singh, [mention]Agalon[/mention] and [mention]Barish[/mention] were floating around (hope I have not missed anyone). The drive was, as expected, fast paced with full of high climbs, sloping dunes, big arches and on top of all that packed with sharp side crests on-the-sky. Before the lunch, some cars had to leave due to technical issues and the convoy continued to move till lunch break. Straight after the rejuvenating lunch break, we had the self-recovery demo by Daggerfall on one of the crest; assisted by the mighty Singh thumbsup. The second part of the drive was equally enjoyable and I think by 3pm when the convoy took a break I told Rashidjass to take back his LAVA (I was sure that I was not satisfying what LAVA wanted to do on those dunes arr.). I then became passenger of Singh (the cleanest and most fragrant FJ I have ever sit in 8-)). We continued driving for couple of more hours I think and then took the sabka and exit to the road.

It was a memorable drive for me and I learnt a lot. Thank you so much to the organizer, Bu Salem, Marshals, Explorers and Advance members for making it possible. We all came out safe and sound from the DANGER ZONE only to go back again after sometime yuush

Hoping to get back my Megatron soon; I owe you one Rashidjass :)

Cheers to All!
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Raja
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Hello Eveyone

it was not doubt a very good drive and the title of this drive explains itself.

this was my first time in driving in Bu Tais, i was very excited for this trip after watching the previous video from a trip by Daggerfall because it has some good chains of dune that you can jump from one and another.

i decided to go early morning and good to see everyone there and yes cant forget to say one small sharing cup of abu salim's coffee is enough to keep you up at least half day of the drive Psmiley . we started the drive with some warm up and then moved to the big dunes with some good chains, sharp side cresting. this area and drive gave me alot of new experiences and lessons.

i really enjoyed the drive, it was a successful drive and all of us came out safely and excited to join the next drive.

thank you everyone and marshals for supporting us and making this exploration drive successful. see you all again in the next drive.
Raja

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Hello everyone,

Very nice reports thus far.

Since my car was at the workshop for a little massage, @alshamsi_m kindly offered Optimus to me to use for the weekend. Thank you very much. Unfortunately we only enjoyed about 3 hours of playing before we had to make an exist. Train style, we went back to the road, and it was probably more exhilarating being dragged by two FJ's, than doing any of the side crests we did on the day. No option to choose your speed or track - just hold on and pray.

At the end of the day, everyone played hard, had fun in the sand, learnt valuable lessons, and most importantly, went back home safe and sound.

We have noticed some lack of discipline when it comes to the end of a long day, and I want to highlight the importance of remaining focussed and vigilant at all times. There is no excuse for this type of behavior at intermediate level, as you have gone through all the training and mentoring to reach this level. Let's keep on playing safe, always apply what you have learnt, and keep learning on every drive.

See you all in the sand soon.

Regards,

Booy
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Hello everyone

Another amazing drive as usual with Almost4x4 family.
The plan was to meet [mention]giorgio[/mention] and [mention]JockJKU[/mention] at the gate and drive in small convoy to meeting point, but they did it so early than planned brigade.baka-wolf.com so i mad it alone
I reach to the meeting point with my passenger around 7:15 we had the early morning chitchat, breakfast and coffee.
We start prepare our self and car And The call for gathering was the danger Zune song in high volume.
Then the [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] give us the briefing and explain what we are going to expect Starting from warming up Till we reach the High dune and there is a part of exploration.

We was driving and [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] call be ready we finish the warming up.
Then the action start, one sentence I repeat it that day this dune is a highest one that i ever climb, and each dune was higher than the other, all of the dune was so height and mixed of soft sand and verry soft sand O_O
Almost we had experience everything climbing from the soft Side, high arches and continuous side cresting.

Over all the convoy had no major issue except one which it has been taken out to the road safely, big thanks for our marshals and supporting team for the help.
And We had some few minor Issue Tire cut And that was me we try to repair the leak but it was in the wall so we had to replace the spare tire, thank you all for the help.

This time I try a new setting for my camera hope you like it I will leave you with the video to enjoy



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Hello Everyone


Danger zone was a good exercise for me to polish my skills . You are in an area with big dunes, fast pack and you have a car with 80 cc engine??!!

We have a technique we teach it to our newbies 10+ or new intermediates : If you can't follow the same high lines , make small lines but keep the same speed .

Whenever I bring my little cars in fast drives I drive the intermediates crazy secret laugh because they always see me at their tale gate , of course it is not my intention to drive them crazy brigade.baka-wolf.com but the case is I need momentum and space and they need to think for their next move . To make it worse for them I started to use the NINJA moves ninja where the driver will see me behind him before the arche and when cross he will find that I am ahead of him.

My passenger and I had great time during the first two hours, in some places intermediates where doing Side Cresting we were doing Tokyo Drifting " Old School Technique " we don't teach it by the way.

I had to pull out and leave with @Booy where we had an amazing road trip, all in all it ended up good for all of us and I can call it " Another good day".

Till next time we meet please stay safe and looking forward to see you in the sand.


P. S : Thanks Daggerfall , Rashidjass , Solmaz & JockJKU

Cheers
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Hello Almosters,

I was excited to finally be able to camp again. The night was very pleasant, with a nice breeze and a little rain. We woke up to a very beautiful sunrise and then enjoyed breakfast and coffee to have the energy for the long day. redbullsmiley

I would say this drive is the most difficult I have experienced so far. The dunes were huge with sharp crests so it was crucial to maintain the right speed – fast enough to make the climb then slowing down to side crest safely. It was definitely a great learning experience. thumbsup

We took a much needed break at noon to refuel both ourselves and our cars. I really think it’s a good idea for future full day trips so we avoid running out of stamina.

After the break we continued our drive and reached a new section of Bu Tais to explore. playingsmiley

I must admit I was glad to be heading home at the end because I was super exhausted, but still the drive was 100% worth it. Can’t wait to go back to Bu Tais soon. in love

Thank you to our Marshals and rescue team.
See you in the sand.
Good Things Come To Those Who Floor It. redbullsmiley
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