Northern Arizona received a lot of snow over the past few days, and I decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon to get some winter photos. Highway 64 from Williams to Grand Canyon village was plowed but completely snow-packed. The clouds were very low, so I didn’t get a lot of photos, here’s one:
On the way back, driving down 64, I saw a car that had slid off the road. I stopped and asked them if they needed help, and offered to pull them back onto the road. Even with 4WD low and both front and rear lockers on, it was hard to get enough traction to pull them onto the road, but with a bit of a tug, I was able to do it. When I got out of the Bronco to get my tow strap back, I slipped and fell on my butt. The road was as smooth and slick as an ice rink. I wasn’t hurt at all, but my wife read me the riot act, since the wives of two friends of ours have fallen and broken bones over the last few months. I’m 62, and don’t feel fragile, but maybe that’s just because I haven’t broken anything lately…
Glad you didn’t break anything or hit your head. Ice falls can be a pain in the everything.
I asked for some Yaktrax for the holiday but no one in the family was forthcoming (we’re all broke). I’m going to have to pad my head when I go outside.
Hope your keister recovers. And your wife is right - falls are no fun and are to be avoided. Coworker did a lovely butt plant the other day - I almost followed his example, but managed to avoid it.
I have a steep driveway up in the Colorado Rockies. But even the flat parts can bite you in the ass.
Good high traction hiking boots do nothing for you on ice. And ice can freeze into a flat sheet on a slope.
I fell once taking trash to our shed. Be VERY careful of a little snow on top of a sheet of ice. Twice I have fallen and could not get enough traction to stand. Had to crawl/slide to a place where I could get traction. I do try to remember to wear my Yak Traks.
It’s weird, sometimes it’s like the Three Stooges, sliding and slipping until I go down. Other times, you are just down.
Kahtoola Nanospikes are light and easy to slip on. I use them for hiking on icy trails when conditions are not so steep or severe that proper crampons are needed. You can even run in them. But I also leave them in the car for a situation like OP described.
They don’t have any adjustment, so you need to size them correctly.
I spend quite a bit of time on icy trails, and they are both heavier and less effective. Much less expensive though if it’s only going to be something you keep under the car seat for emergency use.
Glad to hear you’re ok, and awesome pics. If there’s a “landscapes” category in a future SDMB photo competition and you enter one of those pics, you are going to be a tough one to beat.
@beowulff, also glad to hear you’re okay, and hope that now (the next day) you aren’t feeling any delayed soreness. I’m envious that you live where you can take a day trip to such spectacular landscapes.
