Ever almost lost your Pathfinder thanks to offroading?

[FUELER]

Last night, my friend showed me an urban offroading trail that he discovered earlier that day. It's short but sweet. We were heading downhill, in my QX4, with ravines on both sides. The hill was getting steeper and steeper.

 

The hill got dangerously steep. I said "stop the car and lets scout it out" (wasnt driving as i dont have a license)

 

He yanks the ebrake hard, puts it in park, the Qx4 is not moving.

 

 

 

So we get out of the ride, start walking. Wow, what a steep drop ahead. Is it even safe? I start to hear dirt sliding. I look behind me and my QX4 is ghost sliding down the steep hill, straight towards me.

 

 

With all my weight, (I am 6'1", 215lb) I frantically slam my body into the nose of my QX4 with a football player stance. I broke the front grill and partially broke my headlight. I slow it down momentarily, but I wouldn't have been able to stop it. Luckily, my friend was in a much better position, opens the driver door and barely was able to hit the foot brake, locking the front wheels and stopping my QX4.

 

 

If we were any farther down the hill, the QX4 would most likely been going too fast to stop, and would have been totalled for sure. It was practically a cliff on both sides of the road, which was already steep by itself.

 

All I walked away with was a broken grill, broken headlight, and bloody hand.

 

We later celebrated our save with a big cigar blunt, and he jokingly referred to me as "Shawn Merriman" (Chargers linebacker)

 

 

 

anybody else have similar stories?

Edited November 9, 2007 by FUELER

[88pathoffroad]

I stopped on a slight incline to lock the hubs once...forgot to put it in Park. I pulled the ebrake but that thing barely holds anyway. My GF, sleeping in the passenger's seat, went for a backwards ride down the hill as I went around the front end to get the pass. side hub. If the wheels hadn't turned slightly, my driver's door would have been bent backwards against several trees. It rolled to a stop against a slight mound of dirt with my GF yelling at me.

[k9sar]

at least you didn't drive over yourself in your own driveway.

[FUELER]

haha. My girl would have killed me, had she even seen this. This spot was DANGEROUS. I mean my QX4 would have DEFINITELY been totalled, had we not stopped it at that moment. It came down to what seemed like milliseconds. We saved it by luck, maybe it was the rosary I recently hung up on my mirror?

[Vsicks Pathy]

I think that "sinking feeling" is worse when you are in the car and it is sliding backward, then sideways down a steep undulating slippery slope with your foot pressing so hard on the break that you think the peddle will snap off. For some reason, I never get used to it. But it certainly puts a massive grin on your face when it finally stops and all is well.

[ozzy]

I think that "sinking feeling" is worse when you are in the car and it is sliding backward, then sideways down a steep undulating slippery slope with your foot pressing so hard on the break that you think the peddle will snap off. For some reason, I never get used to it. But it certainly puts a massive grin on your face when it finally stops and all is well.

i saw this video of a jeep that was going up a steep hill, it barely got to the top and then BOOM..the weight transffered all the way back and it flipped backwards on the roof after sliding down the hill.

 

it was scary to watch..damn

[mws]

at least you didn't drive over yourself in your own driveway.

 

 

Did I post that story, or do you have another?

[94extreme]

I think that "sinking feeling" is worse when you are in the car and it is sliding backward, then sideways down a steep undulating slippery slope with your foot pressing so hard on the break that you think the peddle will snap off. For some reason, I never get used to it. But it certainly puts a massive grin on your face when it finally stops and all is well.

 

 

that's why you let off the clutch and the brake. lol..

 

last year on a ride my g/f was driving and she lost it backwards down this pretty steep ravine.. 2 huge logs saved us from getting hurt and totaling my ride. i was definitely one of the most scary situations i've had. i had 0 control which made things way worse.

[GrimGreg]

I think MZ got to watch one of my uhoh moments in the ice and snow. I was going uphill and had to zig around some trees, well, once I turned a little, the front end just started slipping sideways. I stopped as fast as I could as I was already teatering. Once I stopped, my wife jumped out (of the high side) which made it lean that much more. I got someone on top of the hill to put a strap on me before I continued.

 

The only other I know of I was unaware of till after the fact. I was running a trail and once we stopped my friend told me, "I looked back at one point and if your tire was and inch more to the right you would have been at the bottom of the hill in a hurry." GULP

[zonianbrat]

I was working a while back and had to to a service call to this house with a massive sloped curving driveway. I should have just parked at the bottom and walked up but no I had to get up it and park 3/4 of the way up. It had snowed teh day before but it looked like it was shoveled well. I should have realized half way up that I was losing traction but I had my work truck 04 chevy 2500 (wish I still had it). I parked, got out started to walk and heard a slight chirp then looked behind me and there goes the truck just sliding with wheels locked by the grace of god it only slid about 15 feet then somehow stopped. If it had kept going on it's track it would have gone down a 10ft drop-off.

 

Another time I was driving my buddies 4-runner up by Bear Lake in the Rockies on a high road with no side rails. There were snow enbankments that would cover teh road and the first few my buddy was just like blow through them and we did and it was sweet. We were going too fast but it was fun util I tried to hit a snow drift across the road that was 2 1/2 ft deep at 40 on a narrow road. we slid and by the time I got us stopped we got out and the passenger rear tire was barely dangling over the edge. Scared me enough to let someone else drive. We looked down and slope and it was nothging but trees and straight down. I thing we would have died. I learned my lesson.