[SwapnilNalavade]

Ever since I bought the Gypsy, I had this irresistible urge to go Off Roading. Over the Years the only brush I had with Off Roading was participating in 2 Mahindra Great Escapes.

1. Ahmedabad Great Escape – 2011



2. Lonavala Great Escape – 2017



Plus the fact that I don’t have a circle of friends who are into Off Roading doesn’t help. Was contemplating for quite sometime now to take up a course at the Off Road Academy but kept postponing it due to one reason or another. One fine day it finally dawned upon me that 23rd September may be the last Monsoon Training Course in this calendar year. Hence on 19th September enrolled myself for the Trail Survivor Course, Crash Courses have been my thing since Engineering Days.
The reporting time for the Trail Survivor Course was 4.30 PM on 23rd September & was scheduled to end on 24th September at 3.30 PM but finally went on till around 5.30 PM.



After an Open Air briefing session by Manish Sarser on the basics of 4WD & Off Roading we were taken to the first obstacle – The Home Run. This obstacle involved driving down a steep incline into a pit followed by a right hander with an up slope. The key to this obstacle was slotting the Thar in 4L, driving down the slope & then driving out of the pit. The Demo was given by Manish with yours truly in the Co-Driver Seat. Post driving into the pit the vehicle was turned around and Manish tried to climb up the same slope to demonstrate the difference between Real Off Roading & Insanity, Insanity coz it demonstrated how not do damage your vehicle in the spur of the moment.













The Next Obstacle was called – Zig Zag Hill. At first all the contestants were made to walk the Track to get a feel of the Terrain & the initial briefing was done. The demo of this obstacle was given in a Scorpio slotted into 4L and the driver steering the vehicle from the outside. After navigating the first turn the accelerator had to be floored in the 2nd gear to complete the remainder of the course. The first part of the Obstacle came with a strict disclaimer “Don’t Try This At Home”.









We had our go at the obstacle, with us seated inside the vehicles and not steering it from the outside. I attempted the obstacle in a Mahindra Major and was able to clear it in the first go. The best part throughout your attempt at the obstacle, Manish is connected with you via a Walkie Talkie in the vehicle giving you instructions from which gear to select, when to upshift, when to downshift or when to floor the vehicle. The best bit of the Trail Survivor Course is the Night Off Roading, which takes the experience to an all new level.













Post this obstacle we called it a day & dispersed for the hotel.

[SwapnilNalavade]

Day 2 : We assembled back at the academy at 9.30 AM, after a briefing on the 4WD Mechanicals, History of M&M, Working of Differentials, etc. we headed back to the Track.









The first obstacle for the day was – B.I.M. which is basically a Dry Weather Obstacle. Since it hadn’t rained heavily in the past 2 days it was decided to give the obstacle a shot. The terrain was a mix of mud & grass. It involved driving up a steep slope making a U Turn around a tree and driving back down, but the down slope had a few steps over which the vehicles were to be driven. As was the norm we first walked the track to get a fair idea of the terrain. The track was quite slippery with most of us struggling to find traction as we walked up the slope. Manish first attempted the obstacle in the Thar, but was unable to reach the top of the slope. Then the second Thar was called for, even it to struggled to reach atop. Finally the Major was pressed into duty and it finally managed to reach atop making an alternate route; but the course was deemed undoable for us given the paucity of time, as we would have wasted a lot of time trying to traverse the slope. But nevertheless the entire exercise was highly entertaining & enriching.





























The next obstacle was – Pond Rush 2. This basically involved driving through an artificial pond, coming out of it, taking a U Turn around some bushes while driving though some specially made trenches. With Manish constantly over the Walkie Talkie giving out instructions the obstacle went out like a breeze for me.

[SwapnilNalavade]

Next in line was – Slush Pit. This involved understanding the role of a Spotter while Off Roading along with the explanation of Hand Signals used. Manish first explained us the various Hand Signals that are used. Manish first drove through the obstacle with his subordinate Pradeep as the Spotter. This course had a huge trench which ensured the vehicle would go on 3 Wheels but the key to it was having faith in your spotter & understanding the hand signals as to when to break, when to accelerate, be abreast about a sudden dip in the terrain, etc.















Post the demo Manish assumed the duty our Spotter and gave us various hand signals to help us negotiate the course. I had attempted this course in a Thar.























Travelling from one Obstacle course to another also involved a bit of Off Road driving and whatever was learned in the previous obstacle was more or less put to use while reaching the next obstacle.











Pre Lunch we had the – Winch Training. Here we were briefed by Manish about how to use the Winch, where to mount the hook, precautions to be taken followed by Demo in which a Thar winched out a Scorpio. We were also briefed about the criterion for selecting a Winch along with various makes available in the market.

[SwapnilNalavade]

Post Lunch we had hit our final obstacle – SUV Challenge. This course had a lot of strategically placed dug outs. The dug outs were such placed that one of the wheel would always be in air searching for traction. This obstacle was in true sense an articulation test for the vehicles. The obstacle was simply awesome where all the tips and tricks learned during the course could be put to use. Words cannot explain the awesomeness of this obstacle, it has to be experienced.



As was the norm first Manish gave a demo in a Thar. While we had to follow the path and come out at the other side of the track Manish made a U Turn and came back the same way. If going ahead was Difficulty Level 1 the coming back the same way was undeniably Level 10. The amount of beating these vehicles had taken or rather would be taking on a regular basis is highly commendable. The pictures will explain for themselves.



















I was luckily one of the first few to complete the obstacle and cleared it in the first attempt.















As more and more people attempted the obstacle the trenches got deeper & we were lucky enough to get a second & a third Live Demo of Winching, but this time the vehicle being winched out was not in a straight line as the vehicle winching it out which would ideally be in a real world scenario.





















We called it a day after the Certificate distribution by Manish & Selvin, along with a lot of learning that would definitely be useful someday or the other.







All in all the 2 days were very well spent with lots of Fun, Adventure & Learning at the same time, now looking forward to the Global Explorer Course sometime soon.

[Jaggu]

Thanks for sharing! This seems to be a fun way of learning a bit of offroading techniques as well as having a good OTR session, while everything else including support is taken care off. Having experienced Mahindra hospitality multiple times, i know it would have been really enjoyable experience altogether.

Originally Posted by SwapnilNalavade

Pre Lunch we had the – Winch Training.

Did they forgot to put the rope damper? Or is it the angle of the pictures. Also it is not safe to be standing beside the winch like that or beside live rope

[Samurai]

Great report Swapnil. I especially like the action scenes and the descriptions you have provided for most obstacles.

Looks like you are really impressed your instructor Manish, considering the number of times you have mentioned him in the report. Great to know he is molding so many future offroaders, who otherwise would have found it hard to learn on their own.

You may like to know that TeamBHP had a role in fanning the flame of automobile enthusiasm in many young men like Manish, who in turn keep the flame going in the next generation.

Here is Manish (Drifter) as a college kid at the 2006 National Team-BHP meet in Goa.

[asingh1977]

Just had a question. When the winching happens, how close are people allowed.?

Technically should the closest human be at a distance: length of winch out wire + some feet/meters = safety diameter : with respect to both vehicle mounts being the central axis. Just to be super safe.

Again: this is a question, and not poking holes at the images and wonderful off-roading write up!

Easier said than done, what is the usual practice out in the wild!

[SwapnilNalavade]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

...Did they forgot to put the rope damper? Or is it the angle of the pictures. Also it is not safe to be standing beside the winch like that or beside live rope

Originally Posted by asingh1977

Just had a question. When the winching happens, how close are people allowed.?

Technically should the closest human be at a distance: length of winch out wire + some feet/meters = safety diameter : with respect to both vehicle mounts being the central axis. Just to be super safe.

Well the pictures were taken before the Winching Started & after after it ended. During Winching we were safely standing behind the line of Thar's on the left of the Scorpio.

The Theory was explained on the White Thar & the Demo was done on the Green one. If you notice the Bonnet of the Green Thar is open, it was done so that incase the hook detached from the Scorpio it wouldn't fly through the Windscreen of the Thar & injure the driver.

[n.devdath]

Did the Scorpio traverse all the obstacles as the Thar/Major did? If yes, how was its performance?

Did you take your Gypsy on any of the tracks or was it not allowed?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by SwapnilNalavade

The Theory was explained.

Could you please guide us on what theory was explained and how long was the winching learning session?

[SwapnilNalavade]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Did the Scorpio traverse all the obstacles as the Thar/Major did? If yes, how was its performance?

Did you take your Gypsy on any of the tracks or was it not allowed?

Well the Scorpio was more of Pilot Vehicle which we followed when going from one obstacle to another. The only obstacle course it was used in was the 'Zig Zag Hill', which it traversed without a hitch.

No I didn't take my Gypsy on any of the Tracks, I don't think it's allowed too. Rather I feel only vehicles owned by the Off Road Academy are allowed on the track.

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Could you please guide us on what theory was explained and how long was the winching learning session?

The Winching Learning session if am correct was an hour long, it mainly comprised of the below along with the Live Demo.

1. Types Of Winch - Electric/PTO
2. Components of Electric Winch
3. Rating Of a Winch
4. Criteria For Selecting a Winch
5. Precautions while Winching - Dispersing Bystanders, Bonnet Up, Minimum Rope Turns reqd on Winch Drum, etc.
6. Toe Hook Mounting Points
7. Winching Hand Signals
8. Using and Handling the Remote
9. Essential Accessories - Gloves, Rope Damper, etc.
10. Pulling and Rewinding the Rope on the Winch Drum
11. Maintenance and Upkeep of Winch