A blustery, white Southwest Colorado winter can impose Darwin’s evolutionary theory of “survival of the fittest” on the unprepared.
“One of the biggest things to remember is that the conditions in the mountains can change at any time, and things can happen that are unplanned,” said Tom McNamara, emergency management coordinator for La Plata County. “It can be sunny out in the morning, and by the time you’re going home from work, you’re in the middle of winter.”
About once every other year, the Office of Emergency Management gets a call about backcountry hikers or hunters surprised by a snowstorm that leaves them stranded.
Winter weather often favors the higher elevations to the north, over the foothills of La Plata County. But this week, three back-to-back systems targeting Durango dumped about a foot of snow on the area, closing local schools for two days and wreaking road havoc on motorists.
Whenever snow hits, emergency responders and Department of Transportation officials repeat the oft-unheeded advice to avoid driving altogether if possible. But if venturing out is unavoidable, motorists should be armed with a winter emergency kit in case unpredictable mountain weather invites the unexpected.
Drivers should always keep an ice scraper, snow shovel and brush, blankets, water and snacks, pocketknife, first-aid kit, booster cables, necessary medication, extra clothing, matches, flashlight and batteries, chain or rope, road salt or cat litter and battery-powered radio in their vehicles.
McNamara said the same high-energy sustenance one would take hiking – granola bars, chocolate, etc. – is best for the emergency kit. He keeps a few additional items in his own, such as an air compressor and saw, so he’s prepared for backcountry unknowns.
If the worst has happened, a freezing night in the car can be spent safely if prepared with the kit, McNamara said.
Stranded people should run their vehicles only 10 minutes each hour, crack a window for fresh air, walk around in the area close to the car if possible to keep moving and make sure the vehicle’s tailpipe doesn’t become blocked to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
If forced, the survivalist might dismantle his vehicle and fashion shoes and clothing out of car upholstery to stay warm, but McNamara said he has never seen such an extreme case.
La Plata County Search and Rescue President Ron Corkish said his team has dealt with several incidents in La Plata Canyon and Missionary Ridge over the years, usually when a driver botches an attempt to turn around.
Drivers’ greatest downfall, Corkish said, is not knowing when to turn back.
Working with the San Juan Sledders Snowmobile Club, search and rescue will triangulate the call, locate the distressed and evacuate them.
Cellphones have saved many from an undesirable scenario, Corkish said. He doesn’t recall motorists being stranded for more than three hours, and he estimated out of about 40 field calls search and rescue makes in a year, fewer than 10 of them occur in winter.
“If you can’t dial out, texting might actually get out long before a cellphone call would,” Corkish said. “And the best thing you can take with you is additional clothing. Good footwear, extra socks. I can’t imagine not having your ski pants and parka and a good wool cap.”
One of the worst incidents in McNamara’s memory took place about three years ago, when hunters snowed in on a road above Elbert Creek were rescued by snowcat.
Locals say they’re ready for anything.
“I generally have extra coats and warm clothes and shovels in my car,” said Durango native Davitt Armstrong, 36, who once spent a freezing night stranded in the car with his parents when driving back from Mexico.
If it came to it, Kinsey Krupa, 27, said she would kill and eat her husband to survive.
“I’d do it,” joked Krupa, who grew up in Maine where driving privileges under her father’s rule first required mastery of tire changing and winter preparedness. “I’d eat my husband.”
