It seems like so long ago we were exploring the Colorado mountain roads with our new classic-car-friends, but good things take time! Between engagement photos, ceremonies, and cake cutting, our Photographer-Extraordinaire was busy editing the Hagerty Silver Summit gallery and has finally finished! Andrew Snucins has posted 121 images from our Hagerty Silver Summit Colorado Adventure. Click the thumbnails below to head over to the image gallery!
I awoke for day three of the Hagerty Silver Summit at 4am. Something didn’t sound right. I could hear water flowing off the hotel, which meant the storm from the evening hadn’t moved on. Would we awake to rain…or snow?
A 6am look out my window, and I knew I had a challenging morning ahead of me. The snow was definitely sticking, though the roads appeared clear. The mountain pass we were planning to use out of Keystone was so snowy, chains were required. The back-up plan, through the Eisenhower tunnels, wasn’t going to work either. Road reports and cameras showed a slushy, icy, slippery mess. One entrant awoke to find his flights home from Denver had already been cancelled. The snow had certainly hit the fan!
Having explored all the roads in the area earlier this year, I knew there was one last option, but being a smaller route it wasn’t featured on our usual sources for road conditions. I’d have to go for a morning drive. Andrew Snucins was deployed in the role of organizer, relaying the message to entrants that the driver’s meeting would be delayed but I was working on an alternate route. I buzzed down the highway, exploring our last opportunity to get out of the resort…and wrote a new route book at the same time. While our entrants dined on breakfast, I typed up a quick and dirty set of route instructions.
I explained our new route in front of the windows of our hotel, as the snow fell behind me. We handed out route instructions and maps, and ensured that everyone understood the plan exactly before heading out. We were standing at 9,280 feet above sea level, and I was sending the group over Hoosier pass, an 11,000 foot mountain pass a little to our south. Despite the group being incredibly adventurous and easy going all weekend, it was understandable that some of them were a little concerned. I took on the role of sweep this morning, not because I wasn’t willing to lead the charge over the mountain (I had been up there once already), but because I wanted to ensure each and every one of our guests made it over without problems. We loaded up, added another layer of clothing, and set off down the road…
There is something magical about following a group of enthusiasts who are determined to make the best of any situation. Instead of simply blasting off onto the route, groups of friends (newly formed over the weekend) traveled together. At the top of Hoosier pass, snow falling but not sticking, a number of cars stopped for a group photo. Without it, no one in their respective clubs was going to believe the story!
A few miles down the road, on the other side of the mountains, the snow and rain stopped…and the sun came out. We enjoyed mile after mile of winding pavement, dark menacing clouds over the mountains to the left, and blue skies above us. Soon we rejoined the original route in the book, and cars were pulling over to remove windows and clothing layers. Central City, Blackhawk and Rollinsville rolled on by, and soon we were together as a group for one last time in Nederland.
Patricia Fredrick was awarded the Hard Luck Award, her T-Bird failing on day one. Kevin Lewis was awarded the MacGyver award for his ingenious repair for a broken exhaust hanger. Without any wire to hold it up, he used the lanyard from his name tag! Knowing it was going to melt, he recruited a few other entrants to ensure he had enough lanyard to make the finish. Fred Phillips was awarded our first ever “Spirit of the Summit” award. Not only was his enthusiasm throughout the weekend contagious, but he also roped four other friends into joining the Hagerty Silver Summit.
Honestly though, I wish I had created 46 Spirit of the Summit awards this year, one for each person on the event. The weather, at times, was more than anyone had bargained for. But each and every person smiled, shrugged it off and made the best of it. The roads were enjoyed to maximum, every entrant was watching out for each other and ensuring each and everyone one made it through the adversity. When we met at the end of each day, it was smiles and laughter and cries of “Adventure!”
Often at the end of an event the fatigue and desire to ‘get home’ clears out the finish pretty quickly. Not so with the Hagerty Silver Summit. Our friendships forged over the weekend became obvious as each guest was ensuring they said goodbye to each and every other participant. No one was to be missed, we had come too far together to simply drive off without a goodbye.
A year and a half ago I fell in love with Colorado because of the roads. I cannot wait until next year’s Hagerty Silver Summit. We’ll be planning great roads, anticipating your great cars. But the truth is, I’m coming back for the people. We have a new ‘Colorado Classic Car Family’, and can’t wait to add more members next year.
-Dave
A selection of Andrew Snucins Photography photos below:
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Whew! The weather gods smiled upon us today, and we all enjoyed a proper day of Classic Car motoring.
With an official winter weather warning looming over a short portion of the route, the day began with a slightly foreboding driver’s meeting. Were we destined for more of yesterday, or would today be better? Dave assured the group he had scoured the weather maps, and the route would be mostly below 6,000 feet. With Dave’s lucky flannel (ineffective on day one) retired for the weekend, we headed off and hoped for the best!
Today’s route started with roads that were all about flowing, swooping corners instead of arm-pumping switchbacks. It was a little more relaxed than yesterday, perhaps aimed at the grand tourers vs. the tiny sports cars. We explored abandoned mining roads, hidden farm-country access roads, and finished the day with an amazing mountain pass. Imagine, if you would, a bored road engineer who scribbled his idea of an amazing race track from point A to point B. The ambitious sketch was mis-filed, and Colorado ended up with our chosen pass of the day. As we enjoyed a post-drive beverage at the bar, we were struck by how the group is starting to feel like a close group of friends.
Sunshine (okay, brief sunshine), great roads and more importantly great people. Day two of the first ever Hagerty Silver Summit will go down in the books as a great and memorable day!
A preview of photos from Andrew Snucins Photography is below:
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Day one of our first ever Hagerty Silver Summit is in the books!
The theme for today could best be described as “adventure”, and we sure delivered loads of it.
The day started with our best start location to date. Next door to the Hagerty Collector Car Insurance office in Denver is the “Club Auto Colorado” facility. Once our entrants had checked in, they enjoyed the usual getting to know one another, while exploring the automotive museum and collection at Club Auto Colorado. Once the driver’s meeting was finished, Dave changed into his “lucky flannel”, and we were off!
The first road out of Golden delivered interesting curves and climbs through the sunshine…but it was not to last. The ‘adventure’ started with a brief thunderstorm, with (as Dave would say ‘a slight touch of weather’). But a couple of hours down the road we got some real Colorado weather. Slightly damp in one moment, and 6″ of pure SNOW the next! Perhaps ten miles up the road, sunny and warm for the lunch stop.
And so our day went. Fantastic weather one moment, and a “heavy touch of weather” the next. The mechanical gremlins attacked more than a few cars, with electrical issues being the most popular ailment on the tour. Arriving into the finishing hotel, we were a bit surprised to find smiles, laughter and friendly faces. Even our teams who limped in late were excited about the day. Despite the weather, the road selections were spot on. Our entrants reported that we managed to find some incredible “driving roads” to entertain those holding the steering wheel, and amazing scenery for those in the co-pilot seat. We even managed to surprise Colorado locals with some selections they hadn’t driven before.
Our first day running a Classic Car Adventure in Colorado has taught us two things: 1) the state serves up a healthy portion of ‘adventure’! and 2) we’ve found yet another amazing group of Classic Car friends. Incredible people, and perhaps a touch nuts…just like our Classic Car friends in BC.
…we can’t wait to see what Day two has in store for us!
A preview gallery of Andrew Snucins photography is below:
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Day three of the Hagerty Spring Thaw finally brought the full sunshine! Our run from Kamloops to Whistler was with tops down and windows open, and for many of us the most fun we’ve ever had. Typically on a Hagerty Spring Thaw cars shift out into groups of 3’s and 5’s, and run together at similar paces. A sunny stop just before the Duffy Lake road saw a number of cars bunched up into large groups of 12’s and 15’s. As fate would have it, the paces matched and we travelled towards Whistler in large groups. The air at the finish was one of excitement and joy, with many people commenting on how it was the most fun they’d ever had. Wonderful photos by Andrew and Samantha Snucins are below:
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Day two of the 2015 Spring Thaw saw much better weather than day one! We started with a little bit of light rain, but it was tops down and only the occasionally misting for most cars during the day. This year seems to be the year of the fuel pump, with many cars now sporting replacement pumps ziptied, hose-clamped and/or tied down in the engine bay. While a breakdown isn’t desirable, it’s awesome to come around a corner and see a whole crowd of folks lending parts, tools and knowledge to ensure their fellow entrants will make it to the finish. A taste of Andrew Snucin’s awesome photography below.
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Day one of the 2015 Hagerty Spring Thaw saw quite the weather changes. As some groups mentioned, we got all four seasons plus two or three you probably didn’t know about. Fortunately the entrants seem to be a hardy bunch, and it was nothing but smiles and laughter everywhere we stopped. Check out Andrew Snucins‘ photographs below.
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