By Jason
Lion's Back Tragedy:
On Saturday, during Easter Jeep Safari, some Utah teens made a nearly-fatal mistake. This mistake was underestimating Lion's Back, or overestimating their own ability. Luckily, they will all recover. However, their Toyota 4-Runner will not. It’s likely totaled and non-recoverable. On Sunday, I hiked Lion's Back to take these pictures of the wrecked toy. The stories are widely varied as to what happened. Piecing together as much as possible, it sounds like the following occurred: Several rigs were at the top. The teens attempted to go up, and the vehicles at the top were trying to come down. At the wide spot about 3/4 of the way up, the teens tried to pull over and pass to the right. At this point, they lost control, rolled over and down between the Lion's Back and the side of the Hells' Revenge Trail.
My advice to everyone is to think before you engage your transfer case. If you're not sure about an obstacle, walk it first to gauge its difficulty and pick lines. Remember, rigs coming down a hill should always have right of way. In this case, the teens should have checked with spectators to make sure no-one was at the top.
