996Outpost.com

I drove down the mountain last night....at 10mph with bunch of pick ups who I felt were realizing that 4x4 is of no help on down slopes. Left the car in the hotel garage today. Drinking in Monte Vista.

The drive up Wednesday with 3" of snow was bad enough; we got about 3 feet on Thursday before and during the drive back up.

The real pisser for the Thanksgiving drive: I would have been able to skip chaining up if the road hadn't been stopped with stuck drivers. We climbed from sea level to 6,500 feet with no chains and no issues - but half a mile from my turnoff on the last major grade, 5-6 carloads of f**ksticks realized they weren't going to make it and camped the middle of the highway - so I had to full-stop in 4-low climbing an iced-over >20% grade, and I just didn't have the oomph to get rolling again. The only semi-plowed lane was stuffed with cars; airing down wasn't going to be sufficient to get around on the shoulder, so we backed into the previous turnout, chained up (Security Chain Company Super Z6), and drove around the morons.

On the plus side, those other folks all spent the night waiting for wreckers that weren't coming. Until Saturday.

Swapped our summer fun loadout with the winter crap today. New tires went on last weekend...I just finished oil, oil filter, engine and cabin filters, new low-beams, and new wiper blades. The inflator, chains, tow strap, and come-along all loaded into the "oh shit kit" with flares, FRS radio, space blankets, food (human and dog), and a life straw.

And an LED flashlight with a dedicated SOS mode if everything else turns to poo...

5chn3ll wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:47 am Swapped our summer fun loadout with the winter crap today. New tires went on last weekend...I just finished oil, oil filter, engine and cabin filters, new low-beams, and new wiper blades. The inflator, chains, tow strap, and come-along all loaded into the "oh shit kit" with flares, FRS radio, space blankets, food (human and dog), and a life straw.

And an LED flashlight with a dedicated SOS mode if everything else turns to poo...

So you are preparing to try to avoid being part of a modern day Donner party then. Smart very smart.

Where the hell are you going? Paris?

We were the last vehicle up Big Bear last Thanksgiving...what normally takes an hour took 6 in a couple of feet of snow. We also spend a good deal of time off-roading up here in the mountains as well as down in the high desert; when it's cold and nobody knows where you are, you can do a lot with a shovel, a come-along, and some ratchet straps...

Also, I am FAR too lazy to bother with a flip-flop winch.