Safety
On vacation in Wyoming in winter? Learn winter safety and how to keep warm and maintain road safety at all times. Enjoy your vacation and survive the cold, snowy months.
Staying Warm
Here's ten quick tips that will help keep you warm in the winter.
- Your head. Keep it covered. Completely. More heat is lost through the top of your head than anywhere else on your body. Remember that.
- Your ears. Buy a hat that comes down all the way over them. And use it.
- Your neck and face. While scarves are cumbersome and impractical, they will do the job in a pinch. A better suggestion, however, is a neck gaiter made out of "Turtle Fur" or similar material. Don't leave home without it.
- Your hands. It's almost always a good idea to buy your gloves or mittens a little bigger than you think you'll need. Remember, it's not just the material that keeps you warm, it's the dead air space in between that material and the surface of your skin. As for the choice between gloves or mittens, that decision is up to you and should be based on practical needs, not fashion concerns. Some manufacturers are now making mitten/gloves with one slit right down the middle, leaving two fingers on one side and two on the other. These might be worth checking out.
- Your lower back. This may seem like an odd area of the body to worry about getting cold, but anyone who's ever sat on a chairlift with a 40 mph wind gusting up the back of the shirt knows what I'm talking about. Several manufacturers now make their ski bibs with a high, elastic back. Get a pair of those if you can.
- Your feet. Again, be thinking about air space. Whatever you do, don't try to cram a foot wrapped in three layers of socks into a tight ski boot. The multiple sock theory may make the boots feel tighter but it will also prevent blood from flowing to your toes. When it comes to socks, go thin to win. Also, when wearing pac-boots like Sorels, try to have your feet as high off the ground and as far away from the surface of the snow as possible. Buy some good wool inserts and stick them in between the liner and the shell - underneath your foot.
- Cotton. Avoid it. And if you're planning on doing any extensive hiking to earn your turns, don't forget the extra dry shirt to put on after you're finished climbing. There's nothing worse than a long, slow, cold descent wearing a damp top.
- A tip on goggles. The best way to keep them from fogging up is to never fall wearing them. If they do get snow on them, and just will not stay clear, you're better off bringing them inside and drying them out completely before you head back out.
- Layer, Layer, Layer. It's the best advice you can get. Forget the stretch pants, forget the neon tights, just stick to simple long underwear and practical, comfortable, keep-you-dry outerwear. Shy away from the big, poofy, do-it-all jackets and pants unless you're planning an expedition of Iditarod-esque proportions. Instead, go with a warm layer of fleece and a shell.
- The best way to prevent yourself from being cold is to never get cold to begin with. Stay active, stay dry, stay moving and do whatever you have to keep the blood flowing.
Road Safety
The roads around Jackson and Yellowstone National Park are often snow and/or ice-covered from November until March. Even in the spring, daytime melt water can freeze at night on curves, bridges and intersections creating hazardous driving conditions. Four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive and vehicles with ABS (Anti-Lock Brake System) all react differently in snowy/icy conditions and while climbing over mountain passes. General Braking Tips
When braking in snowy/icy conditions or on mountainous roads, the following are good rules of thumb:
- Always test your brakes to see how they feel on the given road conditions. In an area out of traffic, at a slow rate of speed, apply your brakes firmly to test the traction.
- Brake softly -- locking up your wheels and losing traction is the worst thing you can do. In a front-wheel drive car it can cause you to lose control of your steering. If you have ABS brakes, do not "pump" your brakes -- the computer system will do it for you. If you do not have ABS brakes, "pump" the brakes by depressing the brake peddle and quickly releasing it.
- Remember -- four-wheel drive is not the complete "fail safe" vehicle. When you get stuck in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you are usually very stuck!
- Black ice occurs from condensation when a warm day turns into a cold night. Black ice most often cannot be seen; the only way to know is to test the road for traction.
ABS Brakes
The ABS braking system is a computer-controlled braking system that helps prevent the vehicle's tires from "locking up." When you hit the brake peddle, sensors at each wheel control the amount of brake pressure when it drops below a percentage of the miles per hour (MPH). For example, if you are traveling at 55 MPH and begin to apply hard brake pressure, the ABS will "pump" the brake on each wheel more rapidly than a person can, adjusting the pressure to each individual wheel. If the initial applied pressure would cause a wheel to go below a certain percentage of the MPH the vehicle is traveling at, the ABS will adjust the brake pressure on the individual wheel to prevent it from locking up. Do not pump an ABS as you would a traditional brake system -- pumping an ABS will overload the computer signal and render the braking less effective. Instead, apply even, slow pressure and then release.
Front-Wheel Drive
Vehicles with front-wheel drive use the front two wheels to "pull" the vehicle. This is a great advantage going over mountain passes or up hilly areas; front-wheel drive vehicles are usually more stable than rear-wheel drive vehicles in this type of situation. The danger with a front-wheel drive vehicle is if you lose traction with your front wheels or the back wheels "lockup," and the vehicle begins to slide (usually sideways), you also lose control of your steering.
Four-Wheel Drive
A four-wheel drive vehicle is one of the most safe and stable vehicles for icy/snowy road conditions and hills. In four-wheel drive, all four wheels are engaged to move the vehicle, and in braking situations, all four wheels are braking at the same rate. A note of caution: most four-wheel drive vehicles are "high-clearance" i.e., have a high-center of gravity. Around curves, during spin-outs or skids, these vehicles roll more easily than a car.