IFR general aviation aircraft departure from dro; utilizing odp procedures; ask ATC routing question...

Attributes
ACN	816400
Time
Date	200812
Place
Locale Reference	airport : den.airport
State Reference	CO
Altitude	msl single value : 9500
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Weather Elements	Ice Snow
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zdv.artcc
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft High Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	climbout : intermediate altitude
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : multi engine pilot : cfi pilot : commercial pilot : instrument
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 50 flight time total : 2500 flight time type : 500
ASRS Report	816400
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance
Primary Problem	ATC Human Performance

Narrative:

Departing dro in IMC. Clearance from denver was 'direct abq VOR at 13;000 ft MSL.' I departed runway 20 and followed the odp toward marke intersection as published. During climb; I contacted ZDV 118.57 and was 'radar contact' around 8;000 ft MSL. I asked the controller what routing they would like once I reached marke at 9;500 ft MSL. They asked if I could maintain my own terrain and obstruction clearance through 12;000 ft MSL. I informed them that the MVA was 12;000 ft MSL. The controller did not know what routing to give me as he consulted another controller. I noticed on the chart that V361 from marke to rsk had an MEA of 9;500 ft MSL and requested a clearance from marke to rsk via V361 with direct abq VOR once reaching 12;000 ft MSL. This odp was recently modified and the denver controller admitted that there was some confusion among the controllers as to what to do with it. Some clarification needs to take place since the 9;500 ft MSL instructions are below the MVA for the area. This can be unsettling to any pilot due to the rising terrain west of the dro airport.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: IFR general aviation aircraft departure from DRO; utilizing ODP procedures; ask ATC routing question/s; resulting in confusion regarding appropriate altitude assignments.

Narrative: Departing DRO in IMC. Clearance from Denver was 'Direct ABQ VOR at 13;000 FT MSL.' I departed Runway 20 and followed the ODP toward MARKE Intersection as published. During climb; I contacted ZDV 118.57 and was 'radar contact' around 8;000 FT MSL. I asked the Controller what routing they would like once I reached MARKE at 9;500 FT MSL. They asked if I could maintain my own terrain and obstruction clearance through 12;000 FT MSL. I informed them that the MVA was 12;000 FT MSL. The Controller did not know what routing to give me as he consulted another Controller. I noticed on the chart that V361 from MARKE to RSK had an MEA of 9;500 FT MSL and requested a clearance from MARKE to RSK via V361 with direct ABQ VOR once reaching 12;000 FT MSL. This ODP was recently modified and the Denver Controller admitted that there was some confusion among the controllers as to what to do with it. Some clarification needs to take place since the 9;500 FT MSL instructions are below the MVA for the area. This can be unsettling to any Pilot due to the rising terrain west of the DRO Airport.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

IFR general aviation aircraft departure from dro; utilizing odp procedures; ask ATC routing question/s; resulting in confusion regarding appropriate altitude assignments.