KSC2 Mountain Buggy Challenge

[farmerben]

With a change of wheels my rover was able to make it to the summit.  (it also lacks the docking port and parachute this time)  I could only handle about a 35 degree climb, but was able to switchback across the steepest part of the mountain.  No significant accidents on the way up.  

At the highest point I discovered I was stuck, with the MK2 crew cabin in contact with the ground and electric charge almost fully depleted.  That was a save point.  Not gonna lie.  I spend about two hours and many quickloads figuring out how to get back down after that.  Fortunatelly a kerbal was able to push the rover loose, only pointed backward on the wrong side of the mountain.  That was easily recoverable.  Next step glider mode.  The concept of using all 4 kerbal parachutes led to a few disasters and was abandoned.  Still the rover is a good glider all on its own.  I went for the steepest section I could find and straight over a 2000 m drop !!!  The good news is the glider can go quite far, the bad news is I need to land on a downslope to survive without any parachutes.  And the bottom of that cliff has somewhat of a bowl shape, so it had to be a steep descent.  After satisfaction with that another save point. 

Coasting the rest of the way down took several tries.  Given the high drag of my rover I had trouble making it uphill the last km or so to KSC2.  Sliding around the east side of the base while preserving as much altitude as possible until the last proved the solution.