Sometimes u can b too safe!

You guys aren't going to believe this but I swear on my mother-in-laws life!!!

I was hauling some rock on an unimproved road up between a pair of hills here in the mountains. I heard a rumbling and before I knew it an avalanche had buried my trailer enough to lodge it where I was stranded. The state highway luckily wasn't too far so I hiked it.

I was always told that if you walk along a road side at night to wear white. Well I have a white jumpsuit from my Marine Corps days I keep in the truck just in case I have to fumble around at night for safety. Well I made it to the state highway and knew a town was about fifteen miles away so I began to walk it.

They do say to stay with the truck when stranded but in my case I'm on a road which could be days before someone came by and to be frank I don't have the patience, so I walked. Well I was walking along in the near blizzard conditions, snow dropping and blowing and swirling, it was horrible. I heard a snow plow coming upon me and I was on the shoulder in my white jumpsuit and hood.

I have to say it should be illegal for snow plows to have extension blades that stretch four feet to the side of the truck. I figured he'd see me since they said wearing white at night helps people see you. Well the snow plow didn't see me. And I didn't see the secondary snowplow extended on the shoulder. Well thankfully it was snowing like crazy and his blades were packed good with snow. I tell you as hard as I hit that snowpacked blade it would have to look like those cartoons where a silouhette is left!

I managed to grab the top of the blade and despite all the turbulance and scraping snow managed to pull to the top of the blade. I waved for the driver and then our eyes met. Talk about spooked the ******* turned pale and I thought he was having a heart attack. I must've startled him. He slammed on the brakes and skidded pretty good. The scary part was there was a deep embankment he was sliding right for.

Luckily the blades were down and when they hit the shoulder they dug in and kept the truck from flying off the side. Unfortunately for me my grip wasn't the greatest. I thought how I wished my grip was tighter as I seemed to be floating in the air(at a high rate of velocity). Well I was well rehearsed in the tuck and roll method. I saw the impact coming pretty quick I was dropping rapidly and looked like soon I would discover land. Well I did and proudly I tucked and rolled.

Didn't figure on tucking and rolling in a long series and that tucking and rolling would pick up speed. Though looking back I still think that was better than a belly flop option off the embankment!

Well as most of you know who travels the Colorado rockies, on the state highways the roads don't go straight, some actually hairpin in semi circles. Well unbeknownst to me I was soon to hook up once again with the state route I had previously been on a mere moments before. By now I was able to discontinue my tuck and row and had my arms out wide, feet first hoping to stop. Unfortunately, there was traffic I was soon about to t-bone and human flesh and bones don't do much impact t-boning a car but I would perhaps myself be totalled. Fortunately for me there was a small bar ditch before the road. Fortunately again I had enough speed. I hit that bar ditch slope like evil knievel. I saw several headlights as I projectiled upward in a rapid sense. I managed to soar over the traffic do another tuck and roll and thankfully(not totally sure though), there was a tree to stop my momentum. Now I don't know if I would have continued down the mountain path the way I was going or whether to be thankful for the tree to BREAK my fall(and a few other things).

I did live through the incedent or I wouldn't be sharing my horrendous experince with ya'll. But I say to heck with wearing white at night, it didn't work for me! I do now have a reflector vest I bought for next time.

Now I'm sure you are saying I'm full of ****. I understand it sounds totally unrealistic but believe me I'm now scarred for life. I don't think I was more scared in all my life!!!

I,m real glad you are still here to tell us about you trip to and back from hell..you are a very lucky man..maybe stay with the truck next time until morning at lest!!:)

Ahhh, before you get yourself killed, please consider buying a bright yellow or orange rain outfit (something to contrast with the white falling snow) and a flashlight or lantern with a blinking red light. Oh, and a first aid kit also. Hope you are feelling better.

If I ever go to Vegas, you are definately comming with me. I mean if that was anybody else, they would be dead. But on the other hand, if that was anyone else, they might have caught the snow plow drivers attention another way...
At any rate, you're one lucky SOB, Wally.

~Dixie Red, and don't you forget it.

A wonderfull story, Wally. I am going to try to copy it out. I was just looking at an English thread that went," Great things you have done that nobody else witnessed."Your story leaves `em for dead. They mostly talked about pool scores an` that. I am glad you are OK. If it were me I would have called it a night and stayed in the truck. But with the risk of another avalanche you probably did the "safest" thing. Take it easy ,I hope the trucks OK. That was your shining hour.

Wallyg8tor, I know that you are wanting to get back into good physical shape, so that you can get back into the military service again. But don't you think you should take on something a little smaller to start with? Say like, oh, maybe a snowmobile, or, or, better still a snow blower first, then a snowmobile, t-h-e-n take on a snow plow? I mean really, I think if you are going to go a - waltzing, (dancing ) with a snow plow, that next time you need to tell the snow plow that you want to lead. Seriously, I sure hope you're not hurt too badly, nothing broken, and not too badly banged up and that the worst thing that was hurt was maybe your pride. Didn't they teach you in the service that white on white makes good camouflage? Seriously, Get Better Soon. Misty.

Re misty >> you`re right about the white jump suit ,it is safe in snow if someone is shooting at you . But altho Wallys Army training got him in to trouble ,with the free-fall reflxes it also saved his life. Any idea what the snowplough driver thoght about it all? ( Probably died of a heart attack )