Welcome back to our second installment of The Mountains are Calling, Get There Safe. If you missed our first installment The Mountains are Calling, Get There Safely – Alternatives to Driving, you might want to check that out for alternatives to getting behind the wheel. In this session, we will start to address the preparation items you’ll want to have on hand before heading out into bad road conditions. As you will soon understand, I wish I had this article and took head to its warning. But like somethings in life, I had to learn the hard way. I hope you do as I say and not as I do.
It was probably seven in the evening after the apres, and I was heading home from an epic long weekend in Steamboat. I had decided to head back through my college town of Ft Collins which involved a long and tedious drive over Rabbit Ears pass on US 40 followed by an equally tedious trip over Cameron Pass through the Poudre Canyon. For those not familiar, these are amongst the notoriously hardest passes to go over in the winter. I had done this trek for years while in college and never had any issues. I had just under a half tank of gas, enough to get over rabbit ears pass and onto Walden. My truck in college was always in tip-top shape with my father reminding me to check the fluids, windshield wipers, and tread depth each time I talked to him. The best part of parental oversight is it also came with his gas card to fill up when I was short on funds (I abused this privilege in hindsight).
However, this trip I was out on my own and no longer had to follow his rules. Frankly, I thought it was overkill so I wasn’t going to do it less. Less become even less and, at some point, I just relied on the shop to check the fluids when I took it in. As a result, it had been months since I had done the basics and frankly, I had no business being out with that Jeep. The snow was starting to fall and I was stuck behind a rig splashing up the road muck on my windshield. My old wipers were just smearing the dirt and other muck around. The only way the windshield was staying anywhere near clear enough to see through was by running the washer fluid nonstop. I had stopped for gas at the last station that was open in Walden that night, still didn’t think about the fluid might run out. I got just east of Cameron pass when that finally ran out. I knew of a place not much further up the road that I might be able to get to. Through my unclear windshield, I didn’t see the side of the road very well, and I clipped the bank with my right tire sending me into a sideways slide into the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Thankfully no one was in the oncoming lane!
I thought well that was a bummer. I’ll throw it into snow mode and get out of this. As I spun my bald tires, I only barely moved a few inches forward, but I sunk about a foot deeper into the loose snow in the bank. By the time I stopped trying, I was axel deep and wasn’t going anywhere. By this time, it was nearing 10 PM, and there was no one in sight… I knew I was stuck for a while. I threw on my hazard lights and got back into the jeep to waited for someone to see me.
The shovel and kitty litter are great ideas for getting your car dug out and providing just a little more traction that you had before. There are some specific shovels for cars that are collapsible and easy to store. It occurred to me that an avalanche shovel, while a probably a bit more expensive, would make a good substitute for a car shovel. If you got one with the ability also work like a hoe, for example, the BCA Dozer Hoe you can move a ton of snow in quick order. Get the tires dugout, make sure you axels will clear, and sprinkle some cat litter under the tire for traction. Wait a min or two for the litter to expand and pull out of the ditch!
If this is not successful and you are stuck for some time, a camp stove and a tin cup will allow you to melt snow to make water or you can also use these to warm up camping food packs like those made from Mountain House. These have a shelf life for years so it’s entirely possible to keep in the car all winter long. Since we already have the Snow Peak Giga Peak Auto Stove. It is the natural choice to go into our kit. Even if I had to buy all over again, this micro-sized stove would be the one I would choose here. Its small enough to fit anywhere, it operates right on top of standard fuel cans, and it has a built-in lighter which is super helpful when you are lighting it. To avoid carbon monoxide issues, be sure to use this outside of the car where plenty of ventilation exists. As for a tin cup, we will be promoting our MSR Duo Cook Kit. This is the perfect size for the food packages and will hold the stove and fuel tank perfectly. If you are melting snow for water, its important note that snow to water content can be quite low, so don’t be surprised that it make take a few times before you get enough water to drink.
The headlamp was not on my list at first as the one on my phone I use for everything. However, the more I considered the advantages of having a hands free when I was shoveling out my car, this item ended up on my must-have list. The other advantage of a good headlamp is they can project a lot of light out so you can use this instead of your cars hazards. This will save your car battery. The Petzl Zipka is a great sized solution and won’t take up much space.
Ullr Provides! 