Shoutout to the guy who pulled me out of a ditch on I-70 near Silverthorne

Last Tuesday coming back from a ski trip I hit a patch of black ice on I-70 near Silverthorne and slid right into the ditch. My front bumper was buried in snow and my tires just spun. This guy in a rusty F-250 stopped, didn't even ask questions, just hooked a tow strap to my frame and yanked me out in like 3 minutes. I tried to give him 40 bucks but he waved it off and said he'd been stuck there himself last winter. That moment made me realize how much I take for granted just having cell service and not being stranded in single digit weather. I've since thrown a proper tow strap and a pair of traction boards in my trunk. Has anyone else had a random stranger save them like that on a mountain pass, or am I just lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.luna13d agoOG Member

The real trick is keeping that gear within arm's reach and not buried under your gear bags. I always keep my recovery strap, a collapsible shovel, and a set of tire chains in a small bag that sits on my floorboard right behind the front passenger seat. You don't want to be digging through your trunk with numb fingers while snow blows in your face. What brand of traction boards did you grab?

lisa_bennett13d ago

Wait, you actually found someone on I-70 who stopped to help instead of just flying past flipping you off? That's wild. I slid off the road near Copper Mountain last year and sat there for almost two hours watching people zoom by. Some guy in a Subaru literally honked at me like I was inconveniencing his day. Your guy sounds like a rare breed, especially with the rusty truck detail. That's the kind of person who's been through it themselves and knows exactly what you need in the moment. I'm honestly jealous, I would have cried if someone did that for me in single digit weather.