Plowing is hazardous duty

 We had about a foot of snow yesterday, and there's more on the way tomorrow.  This is good news for firemen and for those who make their living plowing the snow.  However, I learned yesterday just how dangerous snow plowing can be.  There's probably a good meteorological reason why most snowstorms begin at night, but what it means for those who plow commercially is getting up long before dawn to stay ahead of the storm - ie, the deeper the snow, the more difficult it is to plow.  Most clients want their driveways/parking lots plowed at a certain minimum depth - say two inches.  If the storm drops a foot, then it would not be unusual to plow each property two or even three times.  If you wait until the storm is over, then plowing becomes almost impossible due to the weight of the snow and the problem of where to put it all.  All this to say that you end up plowing the first time in the dark, which is hazardous duty by itself.  Add to this the problem of ice forming on the ground where you plowed a few hours earlier, and you've got a real circus act.  There are several commercial properties that I plow as a subcontractor for a friend of mine, plus all the properties I plow for free as a service to our church or to personal friends.  One of the latter has a driveway that is at least 200 yards long, and pitched at an angle of at least 10-12 degrees.  Add to this that the driveway is made of concrete, and you've got big problems.  During the last storm I slid into and over his log retaining wall, and spent the next hour and a half trying to dislodge a huge boulder that stuck under my truck.  So this time I was much wiser and more careful (note the sarcasm), but on my last trip down the driveway my truck started a free, uncontrolled slide; the only place I could steer was either over the edge and down a steep incline, or back into his retaining wall. I chose the wall.  With a huge BANG my blade hit the retaining wall, and the impact was enough to stop the truck.  With my heart racing I (very slowly) made my way down to the bottom of the driveway, but then I had to slip and slide my way back up by foot to do a quick repair on the wooden wall. 

Well, I learned my lesson about slippery driveways (NOT).  Later in the day after most of the storm had dissipated I went to plow for some friends who live not far from us.  Their house and garage are at the bottom of an even steeper, short driveway (meaning: no room for error).  You can tell by now where this is going.  Plowing their driveway presents several significant problems - namely where to put all the snow, and how to maneuver a large truck in a small space.  Turning around requires driving up the driveway and on to the road above - but after one pass with the blade the driveway becomes a vertical ice-rink.  On my second trip up I lost traction at the top, and with a sick, helpless feeling started sliding backwards down the hill towards the house.  It's amazing how many thoughts go through your mind in 2 seconds.  No amount of power or four-wheel drive could prevent the inevitable, and with a sickening crash my truck careened into the stairway leading up to the deck - and smashed it to smithereens.  I haven't cried in a long time, but at that moment that's exactly what I felt like doing.  I got out of the truck, and promptly slipped and fell - adding insult to injury.  I made two phone calls: one to Michael to ask for some help to put the stairway back together again, and the second to my friend Steve to give him the bad news ("Hi Steve - ummm, I ran into a little problem while I was plowing your driveway").  The truck sustained significant damage to the rear bumper and tailgate, but that was the least of my problems as I surveyed the destruction I'd just caused.  Two hours and quite a bit of money later, three friends from church and I had rebuilt enough of the stairway to allow access to the house.  I am very grateful for their willingness to brave the 15 degree weather and frozen fingers and toes to come to my rescue.  Had I been on my own I would have worked until late into the night to get it done.Today the weather will improve and I'll have my work cut out for me to finish repairing the damage.  I suppose there are several lessons to be learned from this experience - humility comes to mind pretty quickly, followed by the importance of carefully evaluating the risks before starting a difficult plowing job. I guess I'll be making a call to my insurance agent today.