"Tony Miklos" wrote in message
...
On 2/3/2011 10:46 AM, Robert Green wrote:
"The Daring wrote in message
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On 2/2/2011 11:23 AM, DGDevin wrote:

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.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...=2,51676,40911

I could have used them during our last ice storm recently where I
slipped on my steep driveway. Fortunately I landed on all fours
and only received a few scrapes. I was a lot more careful after
that and stayed in until the danger passed. :-)

I keep a gallon jug of plain kitty litter on hand and spread it out
ahead of
me as I walk.

A couple snows ago I couldn't get home because of the ice at one 100'
section of road that goes uphill and around two 90º turns. Got the
kitty litter spread thinly about 6 feet and I got the car 30 feet.
Sprinkle some more and I made it to the top of the little hill.

My driveway is much longer and steeper but I had plowed that early and
the sun, even behind the clouds had everything melted. I'm very lucky
my driveway faces almost perfectly south. Although if it's really cold
and only 1" of snow, I still have to plow it so the sun hits the
blacktop and melts the ice.

And the best part about kitty litter is that it's recyclable. When all the
ice finally melts, I can sweep it off the steps and reuse it for the next
storm. Doesn't eat away at the concrete either although I've on occasion
mixed in a little rock salt when the temps are really low. Another benefit
is that it turns dark when wet, so it helps the ice melt by absorbing
sunlight that the bare ice would normally reflect. A little messy if it
gets inside the house, but no more so than rock salt. Maybe even a little
less because it's pretty inert, chemically speaking.

--
Bobby G.