Four Corners Furtherance: Flatlanders battle the Rocky Mountains and a car gets altitude sickness

After a couple of hours driving on the Colorado plains three Saturdays ago, the Marathon Pundit family hit a wall of sorts--the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Halfway up Interstate 70 into Golden, our Ford Focus overheated while enduring stop-and-go traffic. We were not alone. Our car is in the middle, on the right is a car salesman--who didn't close the deal to sell that overheated station wagon--on the left is another "hot car." There were six such vehicles in the little parking lot next to the US Route 40 exit.

We thought our trip had been ruined. Mrs. Marathon Pundit was driving, it was 1:00pm, just when every auto shop was closing for the weekend. We made a few phone calls, and Mrs. MP's boss, who knows a lot about cars--gave us this advice: Wait a half hour, continue taking the car up the front range, and stop and rest the engine if it happens again.

While in our cool-down phase, a Jefferson County sheriff's office pulled into the lot, he said cars overheating "happens all the time" in Golden and that Mrs. MP's boss gave us sound advice. But tow truck drivers were doing a brisk business that day and I guess they always are, benefitting from naïve flatlanders like us. Welcome to Colorado.

We had a couple of close calls during the rest of outbound trek on I-70--by this time I was driving--and we overheated one more time near Eckerd, on the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway. I called ThirdWaveDave, who I know has driven the Donner Pass, and he concurred with our driving-and-resting strategy. We waited another half hour, and gamely made it to our destination for that evening, Cortez. At 1:00am.

There are all kinds of possible reasons why the car overheated. By the way, if you have doubts about driving at altitude, please consult your mechanic.

1) Our car, a 2001 Ford Focus had 105,000 miles on its odometer when we left Morton Grove. But I took it up the Continental Divide several times before, albeit in the northern Rockies and not with as long of an ascent as in Golden, nor as high of an altitude as we later encountered. We did have the Focus thoroughly checked before we left--besides overheating on high grade climbs, we had no other problems. When we got back home, we had the car inspected again. No issues.

2) I called my car dealer, he informed me that our car is tuned to run at 500 feet above sea level. At the Loveland Pass tunnel in central Colorado, the altitude is 11,100 feet.

3) The car performed particularly poorly in stop-and-go traffic. Less air gets in the engine to cool it (so I've been told), which causes the car to overheat. But traffic was smooth near Eckerd. On the other hand, I had the accelerator pressed to the floor of the engine while I tried tame a mountain.

4) While in Utah, I devised a game-plan to deal with the trip home. I noticed on steep inclines, the transmission would kick into a higher gear--at that point, I backed off the pedal. That worked. Slow and steady wins the race.

I discussed my findings with Mrs. Marathon Pundit, and she assigned me the task of driving from Grand Junction, Colorado until the plains.

And you know what? We made it. Although at times I was driving at just 40 miles per hour--but some other cars were slower. Many trucks struggled. Near the Loveland tunnel, we got caught behind a semi--which at one point, not purposely, began backing into us. Thankfully the shoulder was unobstructed, which prevented a serious accident. A pickup truck that probably didn't make it up the pass--I don't know how the semi fared--was pulling a trailer with two horses. Foul black smoke from the vehicle could be seen from a half-mile away. Yes, I did label drivers who called tow truck drivers in Golden "naïve," but some cars and trucks just can't climb mountains. Why didn't they pull over? Again, see a mechanic about your vehicle if you are planning the same trip. And consult another one.

As for that antique red car, it also struggled.

Surprisingly, there is very little internet documentation on the common ailment of automobile altitude sickness.

But the next time I drive a car up the Colorado Rockies, I'm going to ask a lot of questions and have a lot of tests performed on my car.

Oh, how could I forget! Watch those brakes: Excessive braking on downhills can cause brakes to overheat as well--which could mean you'll have no brakes.

As for the terrain? Gorgeous. But you knew that already.

Next: Gerald R. Ford

Earlier posts:

Buffalo Bill's gravesite

Buffalo Bill's Scout's Rest Ranch

My rattlesnake sighting



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