Here's another picture. This was in my neck-o-the-woods.

A lot of people (myself included) go on these 'closed' roads for the season to go sledding and have fun 4x4. We found a van that rolled,flipped and skidded once, it was pretty darn sketchy (character) and the patrol arrived shortly after. We've also found a burned car off the side of the hwy (closed for snow season).

"Most" families/people go up for the day to have fun but don't realize or think of 1.) it's hard to turn around 2.) it gets cold at night and even though you can wear a t-shirt at night it can get into the teens at night. 3.) only bring enough food/water for a day. 4.) There may be 100+ people on the road during the day but MOST leave and by 4ish (dark coming in) most are off the mountain and you are alone.

My rule when snow 4wheeling... always go with 2 vehicles minimum. Prepare to stay at least two nights (food,water,shelter,etc). Give someone a "if we are not back by date" instructions.

Cell phones actually work in the mountains around here, service is spotty and if you are not familiar with the terrain/roads you could miss your 100ft gap to get a call out.