Almost4x4

The weather on the drive day has been covered by predecessors already..... The experience it brought was exceptional as well..... Never had I experience such strong winds accompanied by sand that it got along and then refreshed by rain and rainbow.....

Had a large group gathered for @Barish 's All Stars - LE IV.... Convoys split in 10+ & 10-. I was with the 10+ lead by @presa , supported by @Solmaz , @mpodroid , @orlantsev , @Petr & @brett watch us at the tail end. rest of @dorudoru, @CARLOSS , @Ehab , @fj.cing , @ImranFJ , @Laarni , @Darwish line up in the convoy

Started off leaving the dark storm clouds behind, very soon to find out that the sand storm were chasing us from behind as you look at your rear view mirrors as if it was from some Hollywood thriller.... soon to realize that we were no where to race with the forces of nature and had to take a break till the storm settle down a bit. The break just made me realize the fierce face of the desert and then you really appreciate life that goes around in that environment.... Truly amazing.... !

I had my family with me on this drive and this made an exceptional experience for them too....

To drive in a desert is exceptional, however to drive in an desert with exceptional weather makes you extra special.... All thanks to ALMOST4x4 family...!!!

Shall see you all later for some new adventures....!

Regards,
Nabeel.

Hi Almosters, we had a great drive this Friday afternoon.

Due to costs and difficult on bringing such a sandstorm and rain to the drives, @barish only does it every 2 or 3 years, so whoever was not at this drive will have to wait for another sandstorm & rain drive

I was leading the 10+, with most of the usual suspects and some new 10+

Solmaz and Orlantsev were floating, while Marco and David were within the convoy doing their fair share of rescues.

Drivers did well, but a closer attention to distance and radio communication will be needed for next drives.

Much was mentioned but the top three moments for me were when we decided to stop due to the sandstorm. Visibility was low and wind can be scary, so I decided to make a stop. While looking for a high flat ground, Solmaz request to have a pause to reunite the convoy and wait for better visibility, meaning we were with the same assessment of the situation.
We had the Japanese Dune, were on a front crest 10+ times the japanese cars had to do a 2nd try, or be pulled, while each of the jeeps did well at first. This is so unusual that we named that dune after it :)
To finish, after the Japanese Dune, we had stuck car with a flat tire, that was fixed in 15min. Due to the fixing, sunset was gone, so we covered 7km from Japanese Dune to the meeting point on a faster pace with partial light. Might be a new experience for many in the convoy.

Looking forward to see you guys!

Hello everyone,

What an amazing experience this drive was! I had been in other drivers where we were hit by sandstorms but this time with heavy sand blowing matched with rain was a different experience. I was assigned to do rescue training on the convoy of 10- drivers lead by our founder @alshamsi_m, with @Barish (our organizer), @Rashidjass and @Mahmoodyasin floating and supporting the convoy. The terrain was not challenging and it was an easy drive for all. Few stucks were there and it is normal for this level. The most fun was during the time we were in the middle of the storm where you can’t barely see anything. Wipers were put to the test. Was hoping that the windshield didn’t get scratched too much due to the sand which became mud. I had to rescue a heavy Expedition and needed to pull twice to get the car out of the crest where it was stuck. It was a nice experience.

Overall the drive was very much enjoyable and all had a blast. After the drive the sitting area overlooking the terrain gave all the drivers good quality time to catch up. Thanks @Barish for organizing and to my fellow support guys @Tomvanhouten, @David and @Sorin.

See all again soon!
Jasper

Hello my fellow Sand-Hoggs.

Sunny and Hot, Crazy Sand storm, Hectic rain and then clear sky amazing late afternoon..... this was our 4 hour drive on Friday, what an experience your have to love and respect mother nature.

As always we had an amazing drive lead by @presa who is always ready to help guide and advise, supported by @Solmaz, @Petr, @mpodroid, @brett who kept us safe!! Thank you guys with out your support and leadership these drives are not possible.

Not only was it my first experience driving in a sand storm, but my first time i observed FJ's getting stuck and being rescued by Jeep's (Go Jeep) and we had a few Jeeps in our convoy. We had some good radio banter on that subject .

I also need to thank all the newbie 10+ drivers who joined who with out we would not be able to drive. @Laarni, @Ehab, @Nabeel and the rest.

Well done to @CARLOSS for managing his brand new FJ as well as he did, i know he ad some concerns but that was soon gone.

@Ehab, @mpodroid your videos are always amazing and it captures the action perfectly.

Thank you @Barish for planning and setting up this drive for us.

See you in the Sand.....

Hi All
All stars was an exclusive trip, and for our newbie members along with the learning experience, they also got to drive in sand storm, rain, heat and any other possible challenge that could be thrown in the desert.
@alshamsi_m led the -5 convoy with @Barish and @Rashidjass keeping a watch. our intermidiates assigned the rescue duty, while i was floating to support.
on the way in the drive there were some second tries, some stucks and a single case of pop out, but relatively the members drove above the expectations considering the challenges on the day.
@David @Sorin and @Tomvanhouten did very well to fix the pop out in the rain with all the slush around.
Point to be learned : as @alshamsi_m specified many a times, "keep 20meters distance between yourself and the car in front", this will allow you to see the behaviour of the car in front, the dos and donts and also this will make sure the convoy remains intact, just so no one wonders away.
Great to see smiling faces viewing the sunset at the end of the drive.

thanks @Barish for organising the trip, @alshamsi_m for the wonderful drive, @Rashidjass for watching our back, the intermediates and the members for a wonderful company.

till next time
Mahmoodyasin
White fj cruiser
Blizzard

"Riders on the storm"

All started as a regular day till the briefing ended, mother nature wanted us to enjoy the drive so she welcomed us with thunder & lightning . I can say in my limited driving experience, this will be the best for many years to come. Newbie 10- convoy lead by @alshamsi_m who also handed us the club flag, wrist band & a car decal at the start was helpful along with all the other who helped me to get out of a tricky pop out situation when I got in the dune with some visibility & then right at the bottom of a small dune the visibility was nil, thanks to@Rashidjass @Barish @Tomvanhouten @David @Sorin @Mahmoodyasin , apologies if i have not mentioned names who helped.

Drove with a flat tyre nearly till the end of the drive where I crested again to be rescued by @Jasper. Meeting at the end point with karak tea & some cookies, discussing various topics was relaxing.
It was just another day for the experienced off roaders & for us it felt like baptism by fire.

Thanks to all who participated in this drive & thanks to GOD that we all made it out safe & sound, most importantly with a big smile on our faces.

Hello Almost 4X4 family,

I just regret not having the change to post this a week ago. The all starts trip was fantastic and again proved again to be another happiness day on the desert thank you @Barish for organizing!!

My NEWBIE lesson, make sure I put ALL the equipment in the car the night before: So, my journey started when I went to the meeting point with plenty of time... all of a sudden on the 311 junction with the E66, I see a jeep with the typical bent flag around the tyre... don't even remember if it had the Almost sticker but it made me realized that I forgot mine on the garage... #$%^#$%^#$%^%... I thought on loosing the trip for 15 seconds but immediately made it to the 611 back home... I'm just very lucky for not having speed fines Thank you @CARLOSS for the support when I finally got to the meeting point at 3:08 (48 minutes late).

This trip was lead by founder and mentor @alshamsi_m, supported by @Rashidjass @Barish @Mahmoodyasin @Sorin @David @Jasper and @Tomvanhouten ... THANK YOU all, you always very kind whenever I get stuck and that comes with my next NEWBIE lesson.

2nd NEWBIE lesson for me: Make sure wipers are in good condition!! It is well known that we have a crazy storm and wipers is something I never checked in UAE due to lack of rain... mistake!
I was very lucky to follow @alshamsi_m on the second position of the convoy, I learned a lot, but at the very beginning I was seeing nothing... especially the driver wiper was literally tearing in pieces on every wipe and with the rain or any water was only getting worse. At some point I got a bit nervous I could not focus and you know the story... GOT stuck twice in was everyone probably saw a piece of cake except me. Thank you to all support team who came immediately to assist despite weather conditions. After that, our lead Marshal figured out an easy way through the sandstorm and everything changed for the good pace on the convoy (or basically me )

My third NEWBIE lesson. Always have googles in the car.... you never now when you need them the most.

Not less important, to all members on the convoy: hope you had a great day as well... I'm starting to recognize some names already and wish you all had a happy journey last week
@Shakkas @Balmori @derrik316 @TobySparrow @Adonisalsissi

Cheers everyone,

Carlos