February 6 - The Avalanche

Today I started my travel. I am on my way to Sweden to write my Level III Exam for the new BINDT/ISO IR/T Standard. I normally start my flight from Kamloops, this day there were no flights available. So, I had to drive. This is normally a 4.5 hour drive through the beautiful mountains. But in the winter it could be a real adventure. These are very high mountains and we have been having lots of snow this winter.

So, I got up at 3am, answered my email, talked with China and Bernd, our German trainer, and jumped into my old van and started off on my trek through the mountains. When I went outside, I could see that we had snow during the night, in fact it was still snowing. So I had to clean the driveway off before I could get going. I was hoping that the snow was localized and was not on the highway, ya right! I think I was still dreaming, as it was now 4am.

It was very slow going because the highway was completely snow covered and you could not see pavement or any line markings. I was just following the tracks in front of me. Just like the Canadian hunting spirit, follow the tracks. I was just hoping that the driver that went before me knew where he was going.

I was very happy when the sun rose. Now I could see more than 5 meters in front of me. I caught up to a few large trucks and managed to pass some, but as we went the road became only a path large enough for one vehicle. Up until this point the drive was a little stressful but I was still on time to catch my plane in Vancouver.

Here are a few pics of the drive:

The pictures above are when the highway was still in good shape. Yes, I said, “good”. I guess everything is relative!

Now it is starting to get a little rough. And then when I saw the highway trucks ahead with the arrow on it. I knew there was trouble ahead.

All traffic was being pulled over. Why, because there was an avalanche. So here I am stuck in the mountain and cannot turn back, and, I have to catch a flight. But…if they clear the road soon, I can still make it.

The line up. So there I was, stuck in the Canadian mountain wilderness.

But as a typical Canadian I had my safety gear with me - reading material and my computer!

To make a long story short, I was pretty much stuck in the mountains for 2 days. I did miss my flight and the exam. No fun!