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Big Bear with a little bit of drama

We, Southern Californians, admittedly are rather notorious bad drivers in the rain and snow. We've all seen it, people spinning out of control on the freeway on-ramps and even in local traffic. The trouble isn't so much the rain or even the slick roads as it is the lack of caution on the part of our stubborn Socal drivers. People just seem to drive "normally" on these abnormal road conditions. Clearly very stupid... It is kind of simple really, if you put it in perspective... The rains make our roads slick and rather treacherous, therefore, uhmm drive slower?

And if you think these roads are bad in the rain, its doubly treacherous on San Bernardino's canyon roads that lead up to Big Bear Mountain. Not only are drivers faced with slick roads in the rains but icy conditions once reaching the higher elevations. And in Southern California the four wheel and or all wheel drive automobile variants aren't really a necessity -for obvious reasons- (apart from their premium) and since California is also notorious for its steep petrol prices, the cars that travel through the canyons vary from the ideal, to the moderately non-ideal, to the slightly questionable, to the downright crazy (my all time favorite) lowered Honda Civics. You can't really fault these people for doing so because an avid skier is an avid skier, type of car notwithstanding... I myself have been guilty of driving Nissan Sentras, Toyota Corollas, and yes even the venerable Honda Civics (though never lowered) through such conditions. Besides it only snows so many days throughout the fleeting SoCal winter so avid skiers from the bottom of the hill (as the locals like to colloquially say) needn't drive the ideal variety...

Treacherous... Yes I have seen my fair share of mishaps in these areas. Fortunately in all my years of skiing mine have been limited to the somewhat exciting fishtailing and the aggravating snapping snow chains. A far cry from what I have witnessed over the years. Well until now but keep reading... People just aren't careful enough when they are suppose to and on my recent trip to Big Bear the day after a storm that left the canyon roads laden with snow, it was, unfortunately no different. There are too many folks driving a little too fast for their snow chains losing them in the process and leaving them precariously stuck on the side of the road. And most importantly why do people seem to ignore what should be the fundamental basis of driving in the snow anyway, like "keeping your distance" and "not slamming on your breaks"? Things that work well in the dry tend not too in the snow... Hello?!?! Yes accidents are often attributed to the harsh conditions but people aren't necessarily helping.

And so several miles past the chain checkpoint (or the process of weeding out the bad drivers on snow chains), there was four of us that remained trudging through the fresh snow. All of whom on 4-wheel drive vehicles of course. All in a safe distance in between and traveling at a nice leisurely pace. Leisurely as one might traverse these slick roads however, the snow will ultimately claim its victims. Folks will lose their snow-chains, some will run into each other, many will lose traction and spin out, and others might lose their cars completely... Turning in perhaps a fraction too early, I lose rear traction. And though I didn't panic I may have (fractionally) made corrections a tad too abruptly. I think the surprising thing about the whole episode was how unexciting it was. I have lost traction in the snow many a times before (perhaps too many to recall) but never have I spun out in such a sluggish manner. Spinning out of control at 15 mph is pretty much like a beginner snowboarder taking an ungraceful spill on the bunny slopes. Spills that leave the beginner nothing more than just dispirited... Yup nothing spectacular about that. In fact it happened so slow that Mori and I had time to have a small conversation as we skid off. What about? Well about what was about to happen...

And luckily there was no opposing traffic because we spun right across the other lane into the snow embankment, unspectacular as it was. Of course that is what you'd want when traveling. Uneventful...

To add insult to injury, my 13 year old snowboard boots literally disintegrated before my eyes in the last few runs of the day. To compensate I had to tighten my bindings to keep the soles from completely falling off... And oh to cap off the somewhat eventful day I almost ran someone in a Toyota Corolla off the icy roads. Though to no fault of my own (ask Mori)....................

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Wednesday, December 09, 2009