I've often wondered if one should take a local's advice in an unfamiliar area, especially during bad weather. This guy was lucky to have found his way out; he could've just as easily died from hypothermia...


Man survives 3 days in snowbound SUV

link -- http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14359565?source=rss

Well, what is there to say?
The man went onto a snow covered road that he was unfamiliar with.
He drove his FWD beyond what it could be expected to do and then got it stuck.
He had no way to get unstuck.
He ran out of fuel.
He sweated himself up on his walk out.
He survived by accident really.

I can not put the responsibility on the person who told him about the short cut.
At some point you need to have the good sense to not put yourself into survival situations.

Though I agree that we are ultimately responsible for ourselves
the OP wanted to address the reliability of LOCALS.

I had a very similar experience after receiving local advice;
I turned around and made it back to town, with considerable
trouble. A real Adventure.

Never trust locals as to short-cuts, unless they are in some
position of authority and knowledge.

Even then, be suspicious and verify, if possible.

People from the Eastern USA, do not realize that roads in
the West can be closed officially or just ignored.

In the West:

In winter, even some state highways may, or may not, get
plowed for a while, and some might even close for long
periods or close for the whole winter.
[This is based on first hand knowledge of a few decades ago,
and I assume it still to be true. Please comment on this
if you guys have pro or con verification.]

County roads are real "ify". If near to a Large town, they
will probably be plowed, but out in nowhere, forget it.

Stay on main roads for safety. Also consider, that the short
cut is probably harder on your car than taking the long way,
on a main highway.

I would think that, on a shortcut, particularly in bad weather, travelling it would be a BAD idea-regardless of the advice of locals. It likely isnt travelled much, and if something were to happen, and you couldnt self-rescue, you may be stuck for some time-or die. Saving time isnt a reason to die, IMHO. I would MUCH rather be late to an appointment, and arrive safely, then shave 20 mins off a commute on a sparsely travelled road-again, in bad weather, the likelihood of others travelling it are small. At least on main roads, if something goes wrong, there is a decent possibility of another commuter coming by.
Of course, this is all assuming you are travelling by vehicle.

Continuing on when the snow is up to the hood of the vehicle?

Maybe the local told him correctly and he took a wrong turn or didn't remember the "during the summer we....." part of the route description?

The local man could not be considered an authority on the precise conditions of any road at any time. Chances are the local guy would have turned back much sooner. People get a little crazy when their GPS or a local tells them a route is real.

Any advice we receive in life has to be tempered with our own good judgement. I would not blame the local person for anything. He might have provided adequate warnings that were ignored.

It would be OK to take advice from a local. It is important to listen carefully though. Fragments like "with his SUV" or "plow" should ring alarm bells especially in bad conditions. If in doubt ask and do not be afraid to tell that you want to play it save. That can influence the advice. If you ask for shortcuts be prepared for an unpleasant surprise. They may be hard to follow and hard to drive.

Lots of things may be implicit when giving out local advice. Such as "I haven't a clue about the weather forecast because I'm not going anywhere today" and "I would turn if encountering X, Y or Z conditions" or even "I hardly go there myself, but I did use that route on our summer trip 7 years ago".

There's a lot of good advice to be heard locally, but don't digest any advice without some pinch of salt and common sense. Easy access to the wilderness is one of the benefits of living in a remote location, but face it - A LOT of people hardly ever go outside the bubble of their every day routine. Far from everyone in the bush will actually DRIVE on the disused back roads, but they will know about them.

"Free advice is usually worth about what you paid for it" - source unknown.

Was his last name Donner?