Mission Reports: F150 and Ranger

A pair of offroad recoveries to report on this morning!

The 1st one is a Ford Ranger that slid off the road down near Mount Herman. Once the team was on scene, the found the truck pointed downhill and pinned against a tree. A redirect to a sturdy tree on the uphill side of the trail made for relatively quick work to winch the truck back onto the road. There was minor bumper damage on the front end of the truck from hitting the tree, but overall was driven out under its own power.

The 2nd recovery was a Ford Raptor that slid off the road in Northern Larimer County along FS 182. The owners of the truck shoveled most of the snow away in their attempts to get moving again over the weekend, but the very warm temps over the last two days had the grass showing around the truck. Another simple redirect to a tree on the other side of the road had this Raptor recovered relatively quickly as well, and everyone drove out under their own power.

Remember snow conditions this time of year can be extremely deceptive. The daytime heat melts the top layer and the evening freezes create a sheet of ice. If you travel in on trails in the morning, you may be unable to travel them back out due to the melting of the ice layer. Or, you may encounter a sheet of solid ice and have you off the trail against a tree in the blink of an eye.

Make sure you always travel with other vehicles in the back country, have an emergency kit, and have the means to try to recover yourself. That extra food, water, and clothing in your kit can be the difference between a life threatening unexpected night in the hills, and a somewhat comfortable unexpected night in the hills.

Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery

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