We made it up this weekend, waiting a over a week since the snows in the area. I heard from a neighbor that last Saturday they couldn't even make it up the first hill; when "going in" uphill = southern slopes and they thaw first, so if the uphills are bad, downhills will be horrid and unsafe. I got stuck 4 hills-in, 2 years ago. The fourth and final downhill going in was much deeper than the others and we never made it back up. I did not yet have a winch, and didn't have snow chains. The other ups/downs were clear, this one had 6" of snow on it - of course the one I didn't pre-walk. In short, we left the truck and hiked out. Momma bear wasn't thrilled to come out and get us, the three vagabonds on foot.
So, this time, with a winch on the truck and 180 pounds of tire chains on board, we went back. Plus a neighbor was going to be up there, so with pull straps, my winch, a come-along, and working together, I was confident we could get out. Here is a shot of the first downhill, north slope, view from the driver's seat:
Again, the uphills were fine, the downhills definitely had more snow.
The view was fantastic. There was plenty of snow on the surrounding hills:
So, how did we get out? Chains baby. Worth every penny today.
We tried to get out with chains only on the rear wheels, but that failed at this spot, this is before we tried. You can see where the snow is scraped where one breaks free on the way down. it gets real steep at this dog-leg-right, and the scary part is going straight back at that point is the tree behind you in a gulley:
So we tried, and failed. And safely rolled back down. Time to get cold and wet; while putting on the front wheel chains, I came across either a bobcat or coyote track. The 'arched' front pads looks like a bobcat, but the simpler rear pad and possibly a claw mark on one 'toe' looks like a coyote:
So we made it up this challenge, the dreaded fourth hill. Good thing, there are 3 more downs and ups...
