By Kelli Carlson

Every year, as autumn gives way to winter and a deep chill begins to settle over much of the nation, four-wheelers from coast to coast reluctantly begin the process of prepping their vehicles for storage to await the spring thaw. Some will take the opportunity to do much-needed repairs, while others will use the down time to perform modifications that will prepare them for more difficult trails next year. But, all will anxiously await the day when the snow has melted enough to bring them back outdoors.

Among four-wheelers, there is an intrepid breed that refuses to let ice, snow, and plummeting temperatures chase them inside. Wheelers, such as Tyler Wolford, view winter as just another obstacle to be overcome.

"I live for the thrill that four-wheeling gives me," says Wolford. He does not foolishly expose himself to unnecessary risks, but experience has taught him how to cope with harsh environments.

"Four-wheeling is truly a year-round sport," says Wolford. "We've been doing it forever."

Tyler Wolford's jeep was built to conquer every type of terrain in any type of condition. His navy blue, roughed-up project can often be found rustling the snow of Cache Valley, on the rough hills of Moab, in the terrain of Cedar City, hanging out on the Mini Rubicon of Mt. Logan, or driving to and from work. Tyler, a Logan resident, bought his '79 CJ-7 six years ago and has spent countless hours since making the CJ a rock-crawling winner.

Tyler has competed among the best in numerous United Rock Crawling & Off-Road Challenge (UROC) events. He has competed in Cedar City, Vernal, and just completed his second year in the St. George competition on Feb. 14-15. He is now preparing to battle in the Super Crawl, the biggest rock crawling event ever with the top rock crawlers in the world battling for the World Championship.

"The Super Crawl is the nation's top competitors," said Mike Petty. an event coordinator, "and Tyler is definitely one of them."

Wolford's high finishes qualify him to compete in the Super Crawl against more than 100 of the world's top drivers. Competetors travel from all over the world, such as, Canada, Italy, Austrailia and Iceland. and they are divided into either the Legend class or the Ultimate class. Wolford competes in the Legend class, in which drivers can't use tires larger than 36 inches, whereas the Unlimited class the mechanical anarchy and huge tires are a must.

"It's crazy, drivers like me spend up to $100,000 on customizing their machines, and Tyler has about $16,000 in his stock jeep, and does just as good," said Rick Olsen one of Wolford's competitors.

Hard-core rock crawling requires more actual technique and finesse from the driver than any other style of slow four-wheeling. Big tires, skyjacker lift, and lockers are not the only ticket. Although the preparation of the jeep is important, the elegant style of the driver is more essential. The overall need for the machine is balance and for operator, is elegance. The most important quality of the driver is smooth elegance-- when Wolford becomes the trail.

"Tyler's a smart, great driver," said Petty, "and it's awesome because he manages to do it with a rig he drives to and from work."

Wolford knows where all of his tires are at any given moment, and he said, "I feel me and the route and the rock are one." For Wolford, this means taking a lot of concentration and involvement to take mental snapshots, and then remember that picture when his is driving over an obstacle.

According to Christopher Grundy, an avid rock crawler, "He [Tyler] climbs rocks in a single bound, and flexes his CJ-7's coil-sprung legs through the tightest, most technical trails. Tyler is so fun to watch because he makes jeeping look easy."

According to Wolford, when asked about obstacle six, he merely cut the wheels hard left and poured on the power so his tires could gain purchase on the boulders. And therefore, he could once again claim victory over one of southern Utah's most evil obstacles.

"Sometimes you need to be aggressive. But most of the time you want to flow over the terrain like water down a stream bed," Wolford said.

To the uninitiated, extreme rock crawling is an unusual sport. Drivers and their spotters try to conquer an obstacle course with lifted vehicle suspensions in the least amount of time. Penalty points are assessed for stopping, backing up, running over course flags and winching up boulders. Like golf, the lowest points win. On the UROC home page, you can find out about the rules and regulations.

Tyler is one of the few species twisted enough to travel out into the desert in search of fun. When day-to-day life has become too easy, he ventures into the wastelands to find enjoyment and excitement. For some it means golfing, or skiing but for Tyler it means shredding sheet metal, snapping drive train parts, and if he is really unlucky, a rollover.

NW
TJ

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