On 2/2/2011 8:29 AM, Stormin Mormon wrote:
From another list.
======================
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 9:38 PM

We got hit pretty hard over night (Monday night)
with freezing rain that turned to ice. I had an
experience today that has me pondering on how
better to be prepared in the future.

I was at home working around the house. I heard
someone yelling my name over and over from out-
side. It sounded like my neighbor and my first
thought was "Oh God, he's fallen in my driveway"
but when I opened the door he wasn't there but
still calling my name, so I looked down to his house
(2 houses over) and there he was lying on the
ground by his truck, in a pair of shorts, tshirt and
moccassins. He said "Call 911 I've broken my leg".

My stupid Verizon cell phone would not call out
to 911 (I've had this problem before and they said
they didn't know why, time definitely for new
phones). Anyways, I called my friend across the
street and had her call 911. I got on my boots and
coat and tried to walk across my yard and could
not move, it was solid thick sheet of ice so I could
not get to him. He said "I'm so cold" my other
friend had her teen girls run over with a blanket to
cover him till the emergency squad came.

We had 300 emergency room visits today in our
city from people falling and getting hurt on the ice.

Sorry long story but now my thoughts a

The only alternative I can think of for me to have
gotten to him without falling and breaking my leg,
back, neck too was if I had those ski things, don't
know what they are called but they are hand held
sticks that skiers use to guide them in the snow.
Would that work? And of course, our driveway
and streets were even worse.

Ends up my neighbor didn't break his leg but broke
his knee instead and will have surgery tommorow.
=====================
You may have been able to get there by crawling.
Of course, gloves and knee pads would help.

Your idea of ski poles may have worked. Another
idea, is the one time I got my van stuck on ice, a
salt truck spreading salt helped me to get enough
traction to get off the ice. If you had enough rock
salt or kitty litter, you might have been able to
spread salt in front of yourself.

http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com...ons/neve-strap

Remember the old clamp on roller skates? Mountain
climbers have something called "crampons" which
strap on like the old roller skates. But which have
wicked sharp points to dig into ice.

Golf cleat shoes may have beeen useful. I'm less
sure about the golf cleats.






You could sit on a sled and push yourself along with a couple of sticks
with spiked tips to grip ice. There are also clamp-on spiked thingies
to put on your feet (for ice fishing?). Best of all, stay indoors when
the weather guy and authorities tell ya' to. We haven't (yet) gotten
the freezing rain that had been predicted, but it ain't over yet. Snow
is crusted over, with sleet? crusted on top. Two kids snowed in, one at
work...one on a farm with horses. Her county is geared up to rescue
those caught with power outages or other emergencies. Propane low, wood
stove goin'.

Hearing from Chicago now with all the folks stuck on Lake Shore Drive
who are mad at the mayor (again) because they can't get out. Hell,
Mayor Byrne lost the next election because she didn't stop the all-time
record breaking blizzard. During that blizzard, it took my mom eight
hours to drive home from work - one did not get snowed in in the
neighborhood where she worked. And the stranded motorists were stunned
that the CPD didn't send their heroes in to rescue them. New in town,
apparently )

When I was in H.S. we had an ice storm, school not closed. I lived two
blocks from school and normal transit time was about five minutes.
After this ice storm, couldn't walk on sidewalks so walked on tree
lawns. Took an hour to get there and find the campus flooded - then
walked through ankle deep water to get to the building. No big deal )