We soon came to a sign attached to the gates which close the road to
traffic which instructed 'road closed in winter'. However, the gates were open,
so we figured that December obviously did not mean winter in this part of the
country. We drove on up the mountain road, surrounded by stunning scenery
- brilliant white snow covered peaks with contrasting dark green patches of
trees. Above us a bright blue sky, dotted with clouds. A good day to be
driving. Emma however was unable to fully appreciate these views, as the
road demanded her total concentration.
Rising steeply it hugged the side of the mountain and was so narrow in
places that it was a definite 'do not look down' road. It also switched
backwards and forwards as it rose, so that if you did look down you saw
where you had just been. We made very slow progress due to this, but knew
we were getting somewhere because of the altitude markers telling us, at our
highest, that we were at about 7,000 feet. Not surprisingly we saw very little
traffic as we ascended, in fact we were amazed to see anyone. We drove past
a four wheel drive vehicle coming down the mountain full of people, and when
they gave us a friendly 'hello' we felt vindicated in our decision to take this
route.
As we drove we chatted about the views and other more inane things
(as is our want), however as the journey went on we became quieter and
more preoccupied. We also had to turn the heating up at ever decreasing
intervals.
After about 40 minutes the conditions began to worsen fairly
dramatically as the stretches of straight road in between the switchback bends
got shorter, the bends got sharper and patches of packed snow and ice