Bad Month

Then I sat because my company didn't see fit to give me chains but wanted me over donner's pass. (that was a 5 day wait...)

Hey, I LIVE at the base of Donner pass, right in Truckee. Next time you're stuck in a chain control, try to get to where the chain apes are - the guys in the yellow suits who put chains on for a fee. Many of them have or know where to get truck chains (used but in good condition). They charge per axle to install them and we're talking several hundred dollars by the time you get rolling again. But 5 days? Didn't that cost you a small fortune? Also, many truckers think California is chain happy and they don't respect our mountain. When I was a chain ape (way back when) I heard it a hundred times, "I push snow over my hood and I NEVER have to chain up!" Well maybe in Colorado or somewhere like that. Just like those photos you see with skiers up to their shoulders in powder. NOT IN CALIFORNIA! We call the snow here "Sierra Cement" and the storms that bring it here are referred to often as the "Pineapple Express." That's because of the warm and wet air that dumps all of the snow on our mountain. (Record snowfall for the Donner summit is winter of '51-'52 at 72 FEET! - average snowfall is 42 FEET!) I watched three big rigs jackknife in 3" of WET snow within 15 minutes as I drove over the summit one morning. You know what it cost to get towed off the mountain in a chain control? You don't wanna know. Anyhow, sorry you had such a bad experience on our mountain. All I can say is come back in the summer and you'll see for yourself why God comes here on vacation.

Stephen E. Birch

God only goes across Donner because it's the fastest way to Napa Valley and all the wine. He loves some wine.

We got wine up here too. It comes by truck . . .

Wow you guys hit it really rough. I'm a former central calif resident and i hate this white stuff. So where do i get to spend my time... Wi east to canada and back south again. I got smowed in for 3 days in Glades Va. The antics of many in the truck stop were something else. I lost abit that week, but i eventually got home safe and sound to my fiancee. I'm still here to talk about how much it su****ed. Thats what really counts at the end of the day. They can't stick anything in that trailer worth more to me than my own safety. I've heard with each storm this winter how its the worst on record in so many decades. I know you guys are bummed out, but thank the good lord your able to feel that way and talk about it. The alternative is much worse. When I rolled out of that truckstop in a 70 mile stretch over the mountain i counted 28 big rigs in the ditch. And 2 snow plows. Va DOT was leaving them till the weather cleared better. Imagine your truck laying on its side in the ditch those 5 days. The truck stop and no miles dont seem so bad after all to me. Hang in there they tell me spring is right around the corner. Most of all. STAY SAFE