Winter in the Rockies

I'm scared to death of winter in the Rockies. Sure they get snow, ice and slush just as much as anyone else (well the northern half of the country anyway.) Right now we're sitting pretty with about 2 inches of snow with another storm blustering its way in. I am content to stay at home or even to go out and run a few errands. But if we have to leave town I seriously reconsider if its snowing. See, what I'm afraid of is the canyons. We've got one nearby called "Sardine Canyon" - a term dubbed by the locals. I don't even know what the official name is, but its earned its nickname fairly well. Sardine Canyon doesn't necessarily have steep cliffs on either side, but it is narrow, curvy, with wide open spaces (perfect for drifting snow and forming ice) Luckily its only 7 miles long.

It is amazing that in such a short stretch from the valley and into the canyon you climb to a new elevation worthy of a different weather forecast. Seriously. It can be raining in the valley and snowing in the canyon. The highway through the canyon is especially dangerous in the winter. Imagine high roads with steep drop offs and no guard rails whatsoever with blinding snow and lots of ice, black and otherwise. The county has specially designated snowplows that run back and forth over that treacherous stretch. There have been numerous accidents over the years that have shut down the canyon completely. So much so, that they finally put in a median to keep cars from sliding over into the oncoming traffic. I dread this canyon. It's one of maybe three ways out of this valley to go south and it's the most direct. Not to mention the most terrifying.

Maybe I exaggerate out of my own paranoia. (Okay, so we don't have chains yet for our current car. That may be part of it. 4-wheel drive is small comfort.) I'd still rather be at home shoveling the huge driveway or nursing a child with the flu. I'd rather be doing almost anything else besides driving through that crazy canyon in the winter.