So. We found out early yesterday that the Akron tournament Satchel was set to wrestle in was being canceled in advance of a winter storm advisory. Scrambling, I actually found another tournament near Fort Collins — closer to us and starting later — for which I was able to get him registered at the last minute.
Unfortunately, we were fifteen minutes late leaving this morning, and — butterfly effect! — we were stopped, literally, by what turned out to be a 50-car pileup, included in which was an exploding tanker truck that (partially) left the highway and made it down halfway onto the frontage road. From guardrail to guardrail were a pair of jackknifed semis, behind which had piled a secondary mess of pickups, vans, SUVs, and various sedans.
As we came up over a small hill on the highway into a kind of white out, I spotted the stoppage and was able to brake in time — about 10 feet from the pile, I’d say. Two pickup trucks and a van slid past me and into the pile. I was able to put on my hazards very quickly and warn the approaching traffic, which stopped about 100 feet or so behind us. I was in the left hand lane. In the right hand lane was another black Jeep Grand Cherokee with a “Trail Rated” badge. We two were the trucks that were able to stop and put an end to the pile-up — something that wasn’t lost on either of us as we stood and talked, joking that Jeep should come out right now and shoot the ultimate commercial for their their brand.
The highway is closed going in both directions — and I suspect it will be several more hours before there’s any headway made on clearing even a single lane path through to the north. Fortunately, after about an hour or so we noticed that part of one of the guardrails separating the southbound lanes of the highway had been pressed down, and we joined a group of cars that backed up, turned around, and shot across the small opening onto the other side of the highway going south. We drove about a quarter mile before we saw that firetrucks and emergency vehicles were blocking off the southbound lanes, but we were able to take the one exit in between the cordoned off zones and take a back route home.
Evidently, there’s been at least one fatality [this hasn’t been confirmed] — likely the driver of the exploding tanker — and I’m not sure how many more injuries. Firefighters and EMTs were pulling kids from vehicles and walking them down a hill and across the frontage road to a recreation vehicle storefront, where they were staging those who otherwise might have been left out in the cold and blowing snow.
Two other kids who I train were about 5 minutes in front of us, and their mother slid, avoiding one of the semis, and saw the tanker explode in her rear view mirror. She pulled off at the next exit beyond where the pile up happened behind her and is still there at a restaurant waiting things out. We talked to her and she was clearly very shaken.
So. The upshot is, no tales of Satchel’s tournament matches this week, and no videos of him wrestling. We did, however, find some amateur video one of the local news stations has posted online from the crash site. You can see a black Grand Cherokee in the footage. We are just on the other side of that truck, not shown:
Thankfully, everyone in the family safe, and — no shit? — I can not recommend the Trailhawk enough. We didn’t slide as I braked, which I had to do with a bit of force; the visibility was great, especially after I treated the windshield with rain guard; and easy access to the hazards on the center control panel allowed me to turn them on to warn the traffic coming up behind us — all while the Jeep’s ABS, Snow setting, and electronic rear slip differential did their jobs, keeping us from slipping or fishtailing. The three cars in the center lane didn’t fare as well and went hurdling by us into the pile.
— None of which is the kind of info that belongs on a political blog, but what the hell. I thought I’d share anyway.
update: The highway has reopened. Here’s a pic my wife took from our dash:
Everybody loves exploding tankers!
Egad. It’s good to hear the good stuff though. And too, at the point the video is taken only the tractor of the tanker is on fire, so perhaps the tank itself isn’t filled with flammables.
Glad you and your son are alright.
If Jeep doesn’t want to sponsor your blog after this post, they really are fools who drool, as the kids say.
Good to hear everyone is still sunny side up.
Harrowing.
I’d call today a big win for Satchel and his dad.
Your medal’s will arrive tomorrow in the form of another sunrise.
Damn what a mess! Glad to hear all’s well, and your family is safe.
(And keep up doing these ‘non-political’ stories. All work and no play didn’t do much for Jack, now did it? )
Well thank God nothing happened to your new truck!
All joking aside, pile-ups like that are some scary shit. I’m glad you and the family are okay. There are always other tournaments.
I worked as a pro ski patroller for the last ten years and have driven a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the last two, so i know from snowy driving. As long as i live/work in snowy climates, the JGC is the ONLY hing i drive. Good choice.
Pile-up flashback. Glad your ending was better than mine, though mine wasn’t even on a slick road (idiot people).
Yesterday, same storm in Idaho, my cousin hit a car that slid in front of her and the driver died.
In other news, one of our co-workers has been visiting us from India and got to see the snowfall and go sledding. So that’s good.
Thank God you’re all all right.
Jeff,
There’s nothing like that sense of helplessness when you realize the road is slick, you have to stop in a hurry, but the yahoo behind you is friggin’ out of control. In that second, the confidence you have in your car means everything.
In Seattle, all it takes is 3 inches of snow and the city’s dead! Kaput! The Smart Stoopids put reflective road turtles between lanes for markers (in a city in a temperate coast-line with histories of enormous snows), and sno-plows have to scrape them off to remove the snow. That’s why the “Salt-fiasco” of 2010’s winter missed the larger point. Ya can’t plough snow when there’re shiny concrete bulbs glued to the road surface!
Duh, urban planners! (Graduate from Harvard much!?)
Here in snowy upland Arizona, we feel your pain. A huge pile-up West of Flagstaff in 2011 blocked I-40 for 24 days. Don’t know the death toll, but the impact scars and tire-burns on the road suggested mucho mayhem!
We’re a little luckier in AZ, though, in that our snows melt quickly, and the roads radiate more ambient heat than roads just three hundred miles to the North do.
Glad your typing fingers and brain still work, Jeff!
Oops!
24 days is awful long for I-40 to be closed. Can’t freight those Sysco products and Avacodos from Cali to Texas without I-40!
The pile-up closed the freeway for 24 hours.
It’s nice when you realize you got what you paid for, and that the test has been passed. This time.
When I get back home i will post a pic my wife took from our dash. And also fix the typos.
TmJ —
Most thorough test drive EVER!
Jeff,
Three things struck me as I pondered your sno-mergency while watering some oak-trees this morning. The first is that you and the other motorist who stopped, got-out, and flagged-down approaching drivers, are the FIRST RESPONDERS in this case. Thanks for standing up and being counted, Man!
The second one was, the motorists who exited their cars and stood in the snow to chatter and cavole while goosenecking to see the wreckage of the exploded tanker resemble turkeys drowning in a heavy Monsoon rain. These types need to be wrangled into a sheltered enclosure for their own safety, and should return to California, Illinois and New York at their first opportunity. Colorado is too “unsafe” for them. “For the Children” doncha know!
And the third idea to strike me (as I knealt to water a Mexican Blue Oak seedling) was, the First Responders who herded the turkeys out of the weather into shelter are actually the SECOND RESPONDERS, aren’t they? And any that arrived after the EMT’s, like media and insurance adjusters, would have to be the “Last Responders, too. These Seconds’ and Lasts’ arrived after the catastrophe and served mainly to secure those who were, stupidly, unable to secure themselves. If they were paid minimum wage we’d call them “babysitters.”
Which is my way of saying three things. One, that you should receive a pension equal to 120% of your salary upon retirement. And two, that many motorists on I-25 in Winter and Spring are (unfortunately)stoopid Turkeys in need of remedial supervision at all times. And three, that First Responders aren’t.
First, that is. In fact, they’re often the last ones on an accident scene. Nothing against paid samaritanism, just sayin’s all.
Glad to read that you and the grappler are safe. Why tires do you run on your rig? We just picked up a low mileage 98 4-Runner that needs new treads.
“Why” of course = Which, during my early evening dirty martini.
Turns out the driver my cousin “killed” was a 22-year-old woman from her tiny ID town.
That’s gotta suck really bad.
I’ve decided if my m-i-l opts to replace her ’96 Grand Cherky with a newer Grand Cherky, I will approve.
The five seconds it took for you to come to a safe halt, hazard lights a flashing must have seemed like an hour, amirite?
i wonder but that Kevin wouldn’t in fact find this really kinda interesting cause of explosions are involved plus danger plus a very basic man vs. nature conflict
it’s all very Jack London if Mr. London drove a jeep
Dave J, I’ll chime in on tires, if you don’t mind. Always, and only, Michelin-branded tires on my vehicles, both 4WD. There’s just nothing better out there AFAIC.
Dave, Serr8d beat me to it but…He’s a Michelin Man, but I’m a Big-O sorta guy!
Jeff’s excitement occured on pavement. But most of us in the West drive as much on dirt roads as we do on paved ones.
I used to live 14 miles down a dirt road, and regular grading kicked up sharp shards that your average 2-ply AT couldn’t withstand. And the snow falls deep in Northern AZ – I learned early that I need a tire that’ll let me drive over 20+ inches of fresh snow. So I hunted for a tire with good traction and excellent puncture proofing. That’s why Big-O’s ten-ply Kevlar, “E” load “Big Foot” tires grace all four wheels of my Toyota.
I get ’round 50,000 miles out of each set, and Big-O offers free rotations, puncture fixes and replacements (no measuring of tread wear for a pro-rated refund a la Bridgestone) with their service warranty. I cannot recommend them enough.
That said, if you’re a city-slicker with only paved transits, Big O’s “E” loads’ll be too much for you. Try their “B” or “C” load product then.
Most of which are running either “most-season” or God forbid, summer tires.
While I’m not a fan of the “there oughta be a law” crowd, I could be strongly tempted to support a winter tire law for Colorado, at least on Interstates and major highways similar to the existing chain law for trucks.
Four out of five winters in Fairbanks, Wife-of-Slog and I ran studded tires. My only on-the-road accident was during the first, studless winter — fortunately for me my car was never touched, but as it spun an oncoming driver reacted into a power pole, resulting in a minor injury.
Never found out if she had the right tires.
Thank God you are all okay.
Back in the day when I lived in Wyoming, I drove my Oldsmobile with studded snow tires. I think they are mostly banned now, but they were real good on snowy/icy roads.
Here is a pro-tip. If your car has an automatic transmission and you need to make an emergency stop on a slippery surface, slip it into “neutral”. In “drive”, the drive wheels are still under power even when the brakes are applied. On ice with good snow tires (especially if the drive wheels are in back) It’s possible you will never get the car stopped on it’s own with the transmission engaged.
Are there even any cars manufactured with rear-wheel drive anymore? Crown Vics are about it, I think. That’s good advice, nonetheless.
I’ve never driven a car with studded tires, but I have struggled with snow chains before and had two sets of tires; one for summer and one for winter. I’m just glad it is milder here in Oklahoma and all-weather tires are fine where we live. We don’t even have one vehicle with four wheel drive since there are about three times a decade that we’d need it and they cost a fortune to insure (2x what a two wheel drive costs). So three two-wheel drive trucks, an RTV, a 2 big tractors and a 20 year old car with rear wheel drive.
Glad to hear you and the family are safe.
Always have your tank at least half full and an emergency bag.
I run Goodyear Silent Armor tires.
I’ve found them to be very good in the snow so far. And to puncture them you need Japanese steel. They have belted Kevlar, as well.
Just saw this (I was on grandson duty this weekend … Z just finishing cutting 4 molars, has ear infections in both ears, a cough, and eye infection. Poor little dude … but no ‘puter for me )
Thank God, your reflexes and good tires you & family are alright!
Around here when the weather’s bad and road conditions are terrible, it’s easy to spot the four wheel drive/AWD vehicles. First they pass you, then you pass them
in a ditch.
I’m glad you guys are okay. I mean that.
When I picked out our newest vehicle, I went with a 4×4 that I knew was an actual 4×4, not merely an AWD. For bad conditions or serious off-roading capability, you really do need 4WD low and a limited slip differential. The Jeep we bought, as I noted at the time, has a steel rock bumper and the entire underside is skid-plated. It has a Hemi V8 engine and a tow capacity of 7300 lbs. It’s a 6-speed automatic (the 2014 models moved to an 8 speed auto to make the ride smoother during acceleration; the 2013 Trailhawk is a bridge model, as most 2013s still had a 5-speed automatic, and it was designed to be the most off-road capable of all the GCs, particularly when purchased with the V8 engine and the airlift suspension, with which comes that electronic rear slip differential).
The Goodyear Silent Armor AT tires with the Kevlar belting were also a selling point for me. They create a very quiet ride, and yet they are great in snow, on gravel, in sand, and on concrete. If I wanted to do mud driving, it can handle that, too — but there are better options.
The Rubicon would have been my first choice, because it is Jeep’s best off-road capable vehicle, but we already have my old Sahara, and the Trailhawk was a great compromise: it has all the luxury features and the extra airbags you want in a family car, and yet it is almost as off-road capable as the Rubicon — and is able to handle very well in the snow.
I liked the Toureg, but in the end, when it comes to driving in the worst of conditions, I trust Jeep and Land Rover first, and then Toyota. I’d probably be cool with a Hummer, as well, but I no experience with one.
If Land Rover comes out with a new version of the Defender, that’ll be our next vehicle.
I am glad you are all okay. Maybe you would have completely avoided it if you left early or maybe you could have been in it.
First they pass you, then you pass them
in a ditch.
Heh. I’ve found this to be the case here, too. We keep sand bags in the beds of the trucks to help with weight in the winter and two of the trucks are standard shift (Sonny’s is an automatic, and also the oldest of the lot). I find the standard shifts to be better handling in rough weather than an automatic. I’ve only gotten stuck once and that was on a patch of frozen ground at a stop sign. Fortunately, helpful good ol’ boys were there with a chain and a bigger truck to pull me off the ice patch. They saved me from having to break out the shovel and try to break up the ice.
So glad to hear you and your family made it through unscathed.
Our two 4WD Liberty’s do great in the New England snow and ice.
Many a Fairbanks morning commute in my ’93 Ford Escort wagon included, after a snowstorm, multiple sightings of 4WD vehicles in the ditch.
You’d think Alaskans would know how to drive on newfallen snow, but about one in seven people in those days were experiencing their first Arctic winter.
I still have a hard time believing I did as well as I did, given that my first real snow-driving before I moved there was driving a 15-passenger company van across the Sierra during a storm, just the previous winter. All of us survived, so I must have done it right.
It’s Sunday and I just drove from Fishkill, Ny to Louisville in a blind panic thanks to the Weather Channel. I hit Akron about 230 this afternoon. There was No snow until below Columbus about an hour later. Maybe tonight?