March 10, 2022 | Categories: Mission Reports

Mission Reports: Extremely busy week!

Since February 27th Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery has paged out 9 separate recovery missions, some of which involved multiple vehicles (upwards of 5 of them). These stretched all the way from near the Wyoming border to all the way down to SW of Colorado Springs. Some of the callers were able to self recover prior to teams reaching them too which is always great for getting out of the conditions and exposure in the back country.

While none of these required an extended on-scene time to recover wrecked or rolled vehicles, they all were vehicle hung up in the snow in some fashion. Some required winching, others required kinetic ropes pulls or traction boards to get back onto the trails.

The single greatest threat this time of year is exposure to the elements. You take off in the morning for a beautiful day of winter snow wheeling, get stuck, and work to free yourself for a few hours. You’re burning tons of energy digging and walking in the snow, getting wet outside and inside of your clothing from both melting snow and sweat. Then the sun goes down and the temperatures drop below freezing, maybe the wind is blowing, and you get cold extremely fast!”

But I can just jump in my running car…” Yes, except what happens when your truck, suv, etc runs out of gas due to the angle you’re stuck at? We’ve seen this numerous times, over 1/3 tank of gas but the fuel pump can’t get it! One of our 9 missions also had a malfunctioning heater that was just blowing cold air after dark too!

It’s always recommended to call for help sooner than later, especially PRIOR to elements exposure affecting your safety. It lessens the stress on not only you, but our team of volunteers while we make our way in on the possibly slick or snow drifted and nearly impassible trails. If you happen to self recover while we’re in route, GREAT!!! Just let us know!

Remember this time of year to always carry spare clothing appropriate for the conditions, extra food, extra water, etc etc to carry you through what could be a long night stuck in your vehicle. Always let someone know where you are going and when you’ll be back, and even better yet don’t travel alone! Bring multiple vehicles so you can help recover each other, or retreat to town for safety and recover your stuck vehicle in the morning.

We’re here to answer that call for help should you need it!

Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery

We Recover the Rockies!