Last weekend I hiked Mt. Audubon and Paiute Pk. in Indian Peaks Wilderness. I used the approach from Coney Flats and came across 2 plane wrecks. First one was on the lower slopes of Mt. Audubon coming up from Coney Flats. The second one I found descending down from Paiute Pk. toward the Coney Lakes. Little pieces scattered on the talus slope, two big pieces by the little lake above Upper Coney Lake. Those 2 big parts are actually visible from the summit.
Does anyone have any info about these remains? I guess I've never realized how many plane accidents happen in the mountains.
How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
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Gerlach29
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justiner
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
There's also one between Navajo and Niwot Ridge, as well as one between N Arapaho and Arikaree. I assume there's a map of them all.
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HikerGuy
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justiner
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
The big one is in airplane gully below Navajo and Niwot ridge. Impressive. I've seen quite a few small planes flying low over IPW. I've heard of another wreck off Hessie near Jasper. That one on Audubon I haven't heard of, and have been in that basin.
The B-17 crash sites farther north are interesting. I think they survived the fire. Apparently over 30 B-17s crashed on training flights in CO, many on private land.
The B-17 crash sites farther north are interesting. I think they survived the fire. Apparently over 30 B-17s crashed on training flights in CO, many on private land.
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"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going."
"Bushwhacking is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get."
"Don't give up on your dreams, stay asleep"
Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
Rollins pass is marked on the VFR sectional, and I assume is used by many pilots flying single engine pistons. I would use it when crossing the mountains "up north," VFR, and in a 182. I think I used it one time in the cirrus when I had good weather and didn't want to mess with an IFR flight plan.
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XterraRob
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
Wow
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climbingcue
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
This is one I came across hiking up the valley between California Peak and 13,660 A. The parts of the plane are all over the place, if you like to explore plane crashes, this is an amazing hike to do. Start from Zapata falls.
https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19651215-0
https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19651215-0
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conorpowderhunter
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
Wowclimbingcue wrote: ↑Tue Sep 27, 2022 6:22 am This is one I came across hiking up the valley between California Peak and 13,660 A. The parts of the plane are all over the place, if you like to explore plane crashes, this is an amazing hike to do. Start from Zapata falls.
https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19651215-0
Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
Strangely, most of the wrecks I know about in the mountains aren't on that map, so there must be a lot more than the map indicates.
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HikerGuy
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
Yeah, that map is definitely not comprehensive, it only maps fatal crashes. Still, I think it's missing some of those too. The site appears to be someone's hobby project, nice interface though.
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climbingyogi
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Re: How many airplane wrecks in IPW are there?
There are quite a few mountain airplane crashes discussed in the book Playing for Real: Stories from Rocky Mountain Rescue
It's also just a really good book if you like reading about rescues/recoveries in CO.
It's also just a really good book if you like reading about rescues/recoveries in CO.
