Prepare to Survive

[Loca]

Dear Almosters

this was the drive arranged by @Booy to prepare our drivers to the survival experience expected to come soon in Liwa

It was a long convoy of 20+ cars greatly led by Marshal @Booy and beautifully supported by @alshamsi_m , @Barish plus @saad and @Youssef.Abdelhady floating and sweeping

I was given the pleasure to be 2nd lead and it was nice as being a while I was not driving in this position.

The drive was in Al Quadra area. It was smooth and with a good pace, particularly in the first half of the drive where we surfed between the dunes in safari style. The second half was more technical in the small /short dunes area.

All the drivers did a good job and we had no major situations. It was the perfect drive to polish skills on keeping the correct distance. With such a long convoy and and the changing conditions of the terrain keeping the right distance was the key point to enjoy a satisfactory drive

It was great time with Almost4x4 Friends and I'm looking forward to be on the dunes again

Looking forward to meeting you soon

[alshamsi_m]

Hello everyone

I was wondering how can we give a touch of our members should expect in the upcoming Liwa drive and that's it !!! We had some wind which an extra element of what I was looking for

@Booy gave us amazing track today and I guess by now we are ready to take them to Liwa LEVEL 1.

As @Loca mentioned, the right distance "20 m" is an important key to keep the flow of the pack. Secondly, looking for the slop angle to go with the gravity get more power when you feel that you need more power. Thirdly, I would say " know your passenger " if you are bringing a passenger with you make sure he/she can handle an offroad drive or get them anti dizziness medicine so the drive will enjoyable for everyone.

Finally, please make a full check up for your cars and get ready for your FIRST long drive with us.

Toll next time, Stay Safe

Shamsi

[CARLOSS]

Dear All,

First of all, thanks a lot to all the Marshalls, intermediates and the rest of the crew for making possible this lovely drive and special thanks to @Booy who designed an outstanding route (the best so far to me) and to @rapailo & @alshamsi_m for their continuous support and nice words.

We got together in Al Qudra lakes area close to one of the bike's track rings and got surprised by a nice wind making deflating a bit more difficult while "eating" some sand.

After a few minutes of chit chat and trip's briefing we started the journey. As said before, it was a nice combination of cresting dunes and making arches in the first half and in the second became more technical and this is where fun started . Pajero's & Land Cruiser drivers were having some more extra fun

Lessons learned: i) Keeping 20 m distance as otherwise we may get lost. In this case it was easy to follow the tracks but in some others with more tracks or less visibility it can be an issue: ii) Including your snow goggles as part of the tools set for windy days.

I cannot describe how much fun I had that day so thanks again everybody for that!

We will see you in Liwa soon!

Carlos

[Vika]

Hello, Everyone!!!!

I started my journey on Thursday eve by scaring all the camping participants Unfortunately, I did not manage to arrive at the meeting point on time and therefore I had to get to the camp on my own. And for the first time in my life I found myself in the desert at night alone. Last 30 metres and just one big dune separated me and the destination and at night that dune seemed to me just huge. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to climb it, I decided to explore what was there on the other side on foot. Falling on the edge of the dune, I saw the camp. Yuyuyuhhhuuuuu!

Meanwhile, the guys around the campfire
were telling scary stories about some kind of spirit of a woman roaming the desert. @rapailo refuted everything, proving that all this is fiction. And suddenly @Booy saw me on the top of a dune and said, look, there is a silhouette of a woman, everyone turned and can you imagine it? ...... Oh God, what is this, nooooo waaayyyy !!!! At that very moment, it seems that the event was very close to be finished. Apparently, i do have a talent to appear at the right time in the right place We laughed for a long time and enjoyed @rapailo stories. How funny he is.

In the morning we rushed to the meeting point for Prepare to Survive . The convoy consisted of 20 cars in total, leading by @Booy . I followed @Flor in the middle. Also want to fully agree with @CARLOSS that this was the most beautiful drive. In the first half we enjoyed the large arches, large for our level and safari style. When you follow everything, that Marshals are teaching us, and they are the Marshals for a reason, the desert opens up in a completely different way and gives you the opportunity to have great pleasure. In the second half, technical dunes and another rule from @alshamsi_m awaited us, Take everything seriously, even if it's a small climb!!!! How much wisdom and experience are in these words !!!!!

I want to thank all the organizers, rescue and support, and the whole team for such a beautiful drive.

I count the minutes until next weekend. See you in Liwa

Stay safe,
Viktoriia

[Barish]

The drive was a good training for our newbie drivers just before Liwa. It had everything, safari, drops, arches, technical, flat ground, dusty roads..Be ready for more in Liwa.

It was a big convoy since long time through one of the last untouched parts of qudra. Was also good for us to scout for other levels. Thanks to @Booy ..!

Driving distance is quite important for the proper flow of the convoy. Always wait for clearance and as @alshamsi_m said, never ever underestimate a spot; simple looking things can create surprises for you as experienced in this drive. Stucks and second, third, fourth tries are part of the game and at the end always means you did very well as soon as you remember yourself inflating But keep track of lessons learnt..

Get ready for a romantic and unforgettable mark in your memory and enjoy the infinity.

Dont forget, chg never ends if you dont improve.

Baris

[Stephan]

Hello everyone.

I arrived at the meeting point early morning ready for the drive. As always, we started with a short briefing about what to expect during the drive. After the briefing we all lined up and we were on our way.

The first part of the drive was fun where we drove safari style in the desert. We did some big arches and it was fast pace driving. The second part of the drive was small technical dunes, where the sand was very soft at some parts. This is the perfect opportunity to learn your car, when to accelerate and when to release the accelerator.

Thanks to everyone for arranging this drive. It was really fun and it is amazing to see our progress as Newbies.

See you in Liwa!

Stephan

[piotr]

All,
A lot has already been written, and apologies for coming a littel late with my few points (mind I am writing that after the Liwa trip ;), but hereby a big THANK YOU to organizers and Marshals for allowing us to prepare for the unknown ;) It made the actual Liwa trip much more enjoyable and made me much better prepared :)
The trip itself was a full-on combination of fast arches and slow technical sections, also exercising approaches and drops; windy conditions made all a little more tricky.
Lessons for me:
1. Mind the distance to the car in front (and back) and ensure you have/give enough room for second try,
2. Keep the momentum and don'f fight gravity; it's always easier to if you are on the move than starting from stuck. But don't break to hard on descents ;)
3. Be mindful of what your car can/cannot do (I drive a Prado). In this trip have hit the front bumper quite a bit - but I only realised that the day after by spoting the damage. With this I made a decision to install and skid plate and remove a few pieces from the bumper - this most likely saved me a major problem during the Liwa trip.

Again, than you to the Crew for this trip!

Piotr