4 4x4s snowed in on Blue Rag Range West
- Thread starter Patriot
- Start date
Bomber2012
Well-Known Member
Thats where Rummy came to grief
Bomber2012
Well-Known Member
Just noticed it says Blue Rag Range West , does that mean they drove down to the river past the summit ??
If so its bloody steep driving back up .
If so its bloody steep driving back up .
MrPoopypants
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm not being too judgemental. Looks like he had a nice trip with his son. I've got great memories sitting in that hut in the snow. I'm sure the rescuers enjoyed the trip and they were all still smiling at the end.
PP
PP
dno67
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure someone here said they went down to the river. Not a real smart move considering the time of year.
That's what I originally thought. But I think the thread title is a truncation of a line in the original article.
It is Blue Rag Range track, west of the Dargo High planes Rd. There is no Blue Rag Range West track
The four adults and four children, aged between six and 12, spent a chilly night in their vehicles on the Blue Rag Range Track west of the Dargo High Plains Road.
Swaggie
Moderator
I've been down there a few years ago now, crazy to do so in the snow. I thought the track was closed that side...
dno67
Well-Known Member
They built a mound and blocked the track a few years back, after the fires from memory. But people just drove over it and it's probably very little in the way of a deterrent now.
You are 100% right. Snow driving has its problems but I think an even bigger problem is black ice. It causes plenty of accidents each year and 4wds are no better at handling it than 2wds. Unless your tyres have steel spikes sticking out of them, the car is going to slide whichever way the road surface takes it regardless of how many wheels are driving it.
I lived in the Snowy for five years back in the 1990s. I will always remember one ice incident that occured while driving between Batlow and Laurel Hill at less than half the speed limit on a straight flat sealed road with a very thin layer of snow on it. The car lost traction without warning causing it to almost spin before it suddenly came back again.
I will be back there in the mountains permanently in a few months after just having sold our house on the Central Coast. I'll miss this winter while our new house is being built but the fun will start again next year.
Albynsw
Well-Known Member
I didn’t realise that.
Bomber2012
Well-Known Member
Interesting , I tend to think it wouldn't matter either way , once you start sliding on ice you've lost control .
Swaggie
Moderator
My first encounter with black ice was in NZ in the late 80's,I couldnt figure out while I was happily driving along and all of a sudden the vehicle slid out of control.
Residential was only 50km over there back then, there would have been arms and legs going every which way but loose if I had been traveling 100kms...
Scary stuff...
shaun0
Well-Known Member
Yeah once it gets like that its machine vs man control which is more feel. With Rally cars they dont have ABS for that reason you can stop faster without ABS on dirt. ABS only really works properly on bitumen.
shaun0
Well-Known Member
When I was driving in the Snow the other day I had no issues my biggest issue was on the clay in Bondo I went sideways down a slope facing at 30 or 45 degrees from the track direction and it was full lock or not it didnt matter car stayed like that like it was like on ice. Anyway i slide like that down the track for 30m or so then finally had some grip and went straight lol. This was driving conservatively to the conditions.
Swaggie
Moderator
Yeah that red sticky clay is badass... I've slid backwards down a steepish track in the past, bank one side and drop off the other. (Heart rate 1000 BPM).. Diff locks or not that crap fills up your treads and you might as go ice skating...
shaun0
Well-Known Member
I was meaning Steering lock not diff lock haha. As i was sliding down the steering did nothing.
Triton14
Well-Known Member
Yeh that would be scary as hell but looks like a good set of tyres would eat it up, wouldn't want to be any deeper or iced over though!
Looks pretty wet?
I used to do the 11km drive from where I worked to Perisher resort & back in my old Ford Laser & then the MX6 when the Kosy Rd was fully snowed over without chains without any issues.
Not saying Im a great driver but you have to know how to drive on snow!
Not many people do!!
I would even pass 4x4's in the ditch(& even a few cop cars) getting pulled out by some rescue truck & remember thinking I bet they think they are invulnerable because they have a 4x4 badge on their car...…………….
Some soccer dad/mum city driver that probably never seen the white stuff.
Scariest moment I ever had on snow or ice was on a skiing trip in Italy driving a hire car(Ford escort for memory), the tyres on this thing were brand new but absolutely shite, the car had something like 500km on the clock.
All I remember was going through this small town which was on a slight decent & as soon as I touched the brakes to slow down from about 40kmph the car went sideways & even trying to release the brake & do small slow pumps did nothing.
All I could do was try to use slow steering movements to at least not run into anything, at this stage we are just really passengers on a ride!
I pretty much slid 100 odd meters through the town hitting nothing & when I came to a stop & collected myself(changed my undies
) I got in touch with the hire company & said I want a car with winter tyres...………………...now.You can never be complacent or cocky in any situation, otherwise something will bit you...………..eventually
Anyway the car on the Autobarn was awesome, got it up to 220kph...…………….but I kept getting flashed by the Mercs & Porsches coming from behind that passed me like I was standing still
Man I wish we had an Autobarn!
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