4WD or not 4WD… That was the question!

Today we thought we’d take advantage of what we thought was our awesome 4WD, so we drove towards the Ghost for some avalanche-risk free ice.

It soon became apparent that our upgraded SUV was in fact just a fancy, huge, 2WD ‘Chelsea Tractor’ (all form and no function) as we skidded along the snow covered road towards the Big Hill – the gateway to the Canadian Rockies Ghost Wilderness area proper. We realised that we might get down, but there was no way we’d make it back up, so after some thought, we decided we’d try to walk to the ice. Leaving the car behind we braved the fierce winds and made our way towards the North Ghost area. Soon we came across a couple of guys who had well and truly got themselves stuck in the deep snow despite the large 4WD letters printed on the side of their Land Cruiser – “the worlds most popular off-roader”.

They declined help so we continued the march. 90 minutes on and the ice didn’t seem to be getting any closer. Pete’s cough was beginning to sound like a death knell, so we decided to turn back, leaving Terry, Val and Marg to continue. Lucky for us, on the way back the two guys – Steve and Jesse – and their two dogs, had freed up their car and they gave us a lift back to the top of the Big Hill. Now that was awesome. What a laugh as we bounced up and over the huge ruts, narrowly missing a tree, bodies flying all over the place.

Terry, Val and Marg turned up half an hour later – they didn’t find the ice and also managed to get a lift back, so we carefully made our way back to the highway and back to Canmore to kick ass about the rubbish car.

Series - Canada 07

1. Lake Louise
2. Frozen Solid
3. Ghost Sunshine
4. Whiteman Falls – At Last!
5. The Ghost
6. The End of the Line
7. Pete falls in love with Pussy
8. 4WD or not 4WD… That was the question!
9. All the snow has gone to Canada!