Winter on Lolo Pass

Rank flatlanders when we came to Powell, (though I prided myself on not being one), our big, light, Chevy van was ill-prepared for REAL winter driving in the Rockies. We were not too worried in the beginning, our visions of rugged Forest Service personnel driving huge 4 wheel drive rigs, (mushing dogsleds?) was rudely shattered by little Honda Civics in street tires jetting to and fro over the Lolo Pass. Confidence over-rode common sense and blithely proceeding to Missoula, Montana for our late Fall/early Winter monthly shopping trip, we received a lesson that has never been forgotten.

Going up the Pass from Powell had been no problem. Getting an early start for a full day of shopping, and hugely enjoying the wonderful fairyland of snow covered peaks, valleys and forests, we crested the top and began our descent, again without problems. Dan and Cece were singing Christmas carols non-stop, over and over, at the top of their lungs, enjoying themselves hugely. A parent or two would chime in from time to time. Almost to the bottom, near the Lolo Hot Springs, disaster struck! On a flat, level stretch, (the worst kind) we hit undetected black ice! Suddenly the van was going down the road SIDEWAYS!!!!!!!!!! I struggled to keep the steering wheel turned in the direction of the skid as every good driver’s ed student learns. I honestly forget if Kate was yelling, gasping, screaming, etc. I do remember that the kids suddenly became VERY quiet.

After what seemed like an eternity, the van straightened out again and we slowly coasted to a stop (my foot was off the gas). There was no other traffic on the road, thankfully, and for several long moments we breathed slowly in and out, savoring life. It was indeed a divine miracle that the van had not rolled over! Starting up again, silently sharing a knowing glance and NO words, we drove slooooowly to Missoula and our first (heretofore unplanned) stop was at Sears. The purchase? Four new studded snow tires! I seem to remember that we splurged on Mall food in a sort of thanksgiving meal that noon.

Chugging back west in the late afternoon darkness, we confidently (too much so?) began the return ascent of the Pass. Christmas carol singing was again the order of the day, however, in no time it was pitch dark and snow began to fall thick and fast. Our tires were great and we clanked along but the windshield wipers, though good ones, could not move the accumulation fast enough and the darkness hampered visibility. There was not a light to be seen or followed in all of that black wilderness. I was driving almost blindly and soon the road was totally covered with snow. Kate, from her “feed the troops and attend to kid’s needs” position on the passenger side often opened the door and kept the edge of the pavement, or what she guessed the edge of the pavement to be in sight. In time, even that was indistinguishable and we were relegated to going up the middle, or what we thought was the middle of the highway. Sheer drops on one side or the other just loomed as inky black nothingness in the night. We could only follow faint and fast disappearing tire tracks ahead and hoped that the makers had not made a mistaken turn!

I do not remember being conscious of seeing the top of the pass, only blackness. There was no mistaking the downward thrust of the road, however and that was a relief. A more huge relief was spotting the lights of the state road maintenance facility and finally seeing the resident snow plow chugging past us on its way to clear the pass. Soon, the Lochsa Lodge sign lights welcomed us home and we turned on the wonderfully groomed roads leading to the Forest Service compound. Jim Bougie and his huge front loader had done their job well. You can bet we kissed the snowy steps of our trailer when we arrived home a wiser couple of budding mountain dwellers.

In later years, driving to visit Powell in the summer and seeing some of the sheer drops and steep stretches of the Pass, I shudder and think back to that first night of mountain winter driving lessons. Our Guardian Angels worked overtime that night.

9-2-2010