Berthoud Pass, Colorado 1964. Dave and I had a 24-hour pass and the weather was nice in Denver. Dave knew of a great coffee shop other side of the pass so off we went. Dave's ride was a fully tricked out '54 Mercury, full race cam 4bbl carb and, yeah, overdrive. Be a quick trip out and back. Plenty of time to report back in time for duty.
Coffee was great and the mountain view super. Alas, coming back the weather changed drastically - as it often does in the mountains of Colorado. Heavy snow and ice greeted us as we headed up the back side of Berthoud on our way back to base. Of course, being young airmen with barely two nickels to rub together, no snow tires or chains. Traction was gone. We found an old battery cable in the trunk. I'd throw the battery cable under the right rear tire while Dave gunned the engine. The old 'Merc would leap ahead about a foot and spit the battery cable out behind. By the time I recover the cable and threw it under the wheel again, the '54 had slipped back about 6" of the foot it had gained. Kept this up for an eternity (it seemed). Actually about an hour.
Then cresting Berthoud, we were down-bound on black ice. Stuffed the old Merc into a snowbank. Had to dig her out and somehow found traction to get back onto the icy road. Eventually slipped and slid our way to a lower elevation where there was some semblance of traction. Made it back to base just in time to sign in for duty. Whew. What a ride. -AC
