I can remember playing in the snow 4th of July weekend on Donner's Pass forget the year 2005 or 6. As a rookie driver you never forget your first time over Donner's Pass. Had a trainer with me She was impressed with how I handled it. Never told her I was too stupid to be scared.
Thanks for the history of Donner Pass. You really have an amazing country. I have never realized. It's good how you comment on cars that overtake you.. Tells us, car drivers, how to be considerate to truckers. Doesn't putting chains on your steer tyres affect the steering in a detrimental way? Absolutely awsome scenery, thank you. I don't know what it is that your videos make me feel so relaxed and chilled. Looking forward to next time. ✌
The California Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is spectacular. This is Just a small teaser section. It is also the home of Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Needs to be on your bucket list!
Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your videos...I'm 80 now and done trucking, and I love the ride with you..I ran over Donner on the old road when it was one lane hauling swinging meat and produce back to Omaha.. no jake brakes then..and always a thrill going eastbound....Thanks so much for the memories!!
Rainbow Lodge was built in 1869! I've stopped there a few times during my OTR career just to check out the lodge and the history. It's been years and I mean years since I've driving over Donner. Thanks for the memories, Mountain Man Mike!! Keep those awesome videos a coming. Happy trucking trails and stay safe!
Riding Shotgun: The Donner Party perished in 1846, think a few survived, as the mom pulled the frozen bodies out to save the children and the few that survived. The 🗻🗻's hold a lot of secrets. Love your trip here, watch it offen.🐞🎧🎼🎶cheers🥂
First trip NY to Cal. over Donner...1976 .... no Jake, knees knockin" , right lane 25mph, everyone cursin' at me on the CB. Laugh about it now. Thanks for the memories. Larry
Used to run that way a lot back in the early 90s. Man I bet that was a tough push through those mountains in a covered wagon Good weather or bad anyways thanks for the ride along mountain Mike. Be safe out there in America
Happy New Year Mike. Love your rides. Wish I was still driving. Only did Northeast Corridor back in the 70's, home heating oil tanker. I watch one of your vids every night before bed. Gettin older, and need my sleep. Thanks for the rides. Stay Safe. MAGA!
You just missed the snow up there. It was closed yesterday.. Bad truck accident.. I love your videos. I live in Fernley NV. You have been thru here a few times. It's been a mild winter here.. Thanks for the entertainment.. 😍
Hola "Triple M". I discovered your channel in Dec. and it's my new favorite. Looks fantastic on a 65" 4K. Been driving for 58 years and I learned some tips on snow and ice driving and techniques for my American Truck Sim driving(move the trailer wheels forward for tight city driving). The wife keeps asking when I'm getting my CDL :).
They took the advice of a guy named Hastings, which wasn’t reliable, about a short cut and it ended up delaying them several weeks and the weather stranded them on the mountain. Had they stayed on the main route they likely would have made it through before the snow started. The weather channel has a good movie about it. It’s a miracle any of them survived.
Hallo Mountainman Mike! Your Videos and Roadtrips are my Highlights in this damned Corona crisis! You are a very good Truckdriver and a good Storyteller! I like your Job! My Uncle was so many Years a Truckdriver in Germany and all over Europe! Good bless him and bless you Mike to on all your Tours and Trips! Donnerpass is a beatyfull Road and the Landscape is specatacular! I now it from a Roadtrip from Sacramento to Reno and Lake Tahoe! Peace Mike ✌🇺🇲🤠🚚🚛🇩🇪
Before the late 80's they had a heck of a Caltrans crew on that road that did a good job of keeping the road open. Many a time it was snowing good and we didn't have to throw iron. Then the Greenies complained about the salt so they just started to use chain control for traffic control or just let the snow pile up and close it. I see they really enlarged the chain up areas, We used to chain up on the fog line and it was no big deal. CHP understood we were just doing our job, everyone was cool. Retired now, but thanks for the video brought back a lot of memories, CB was a lifesaver and useful tool back then, lot of good guys ran that hill.
MtnManMike....Howdy my friend! Once I came up I-80 just after a 6' snow blizzard, when at Donner Pass the snowpack was up to handrails on the overpass or abt 16 ft/ 4.9 m of snow cover! On vacation To Reno, South Lake Tahoe @ Heavenly Valley for John Denver annual Ski Tournament! FYI~State line here =(120°w longitude or .333% around world from London)! Ponderosa Ranch of Bonanza TV show was set on east side of Lake Tahoe! Thanks for shotgunner commentary & good ride! Be safe! Peace.
You had to go back to chain up, to go back up & take them off, took precious time from you. I like the idea of the bra. I'm not familiar with a wrap on a vehicle, but I remember my Father painting his station wagon once we got here to Independence, Va. from Pa.. That morning my Father & I went out to his Brother's place & pulled under the shade of the trees. It was a beautiful sunny summer day. I started early taping off all trim & covered windows with newspapers we brought from Pittsburgh with us while he finished coffee & prepared the sprayer & talked with Uncle Ray. By 9 a.m. my Father was ready to spray the car. It was the most beautiful blue I had ever seen, & it looked better than Maaco. He had every right to be proud of himself! We let the car sit out there to dry & went back to check on it, clean off the trim & windows. You couldn't imagine the disappointment on my Father's face when he seen the pine needles that stuck to the paint as it was drying. Ouch! Still it looked 99.9% better than it did, & to make him feel better, Once we stood over by Grandpaul's store & asked him if he noticed any pine needles from there? I don't know if it made him feel better & I'd like to think those tears were happy tears from laughing so hard. Yep, you can spray paint a car. We didn't have You Tube back then. Just a Chilton's auto book on the shelf in the coat closet. OH my 72 Dodge Coronet was 1971 green, not 1972 green. One whole shade different. That was done at the auto body shop. Remember those small spray paint cans with lids that matched your car? Don't know if they still make those now.
You were no where near Donner when this video started. Emmigrant Gap is still relatively low. Once you get past Baxters, it gets a bit more difficult. I drove this road 5 times a week in the middle of the night for 4 years, rain or snow. The actual Donner Pass section of Interstate 80 starts at about 20:28 on this video, and you will see a whole lot more snow. The Soda Springs/ Nordon turnoff is where it starts. It is actually a more gradual climb on the west side. Because of this passes proximity to the very fast moving storm tracks coming up from San Francisco in the winter, the road gets pretty intensive coverage by Caltrans. The snow is also not as dry as that on Interstate 70. I have been in total whiteouts up there at 3PM and the road is closed. The wind on the peaks can get to 100 mph too. Because of this, Caltrans shuts it down during storms later in the evening and doesn' t open it up until about 5AM when the plow crews get out of bed at the Kingvale facility.
Donner Lake - stayed their on my Honeymoon in 1977, did all of the Lake Tahoe area. Not been back since. Remember trying to run up the Donner Pass road, very steep, on a 100 degree day. Made it half way I think, then went and drove it up to Soda Springs as I recall.👍💯
Thanks Mike! Why is the snow on the shoulder so squared off? Do they come through with a big truck mounted blower after the plowing is done to get rid of the heavy snows? Or is it just the plow edge squaring it off. I have never noticed this on your Co. videos.
You share my frustrations with others on the road! I drive a very steady speed and hate the ones who get in front of you and then slow down! You go around them and here they come back in front of me again to slow down again! I think it's a game with some! Had one guy who kept doing that and I finally slowed to 35 in a 65 zone hoping he would just go away! He slowed right down with me! Idiots!
Jerry Reed EAST BOUND & DOWN!! Pls shoot a video of you driving along the highway playing this full blast Mike. That would be awesome. Smokey & the Bandit did a wonderful portrayal of Truckers and the lingo and communication system they have between themselves.
Mike I say do the clear and if you don't like it you can take it off and start all over. I feel you can handle the job. Just don't get overwhelmed and you'll do fine. God bless you and safe travels. ♥️🇺🇸🌹
Hey Mike ..Do you hit the rumble strips when truck/trailer is caked with ice and snow? Favorite trick to get little weight off truck and trailer as long as nobody was to close behind...🤣👍👍👍👍👍 another good vid ...
I love driving. I'm Spanish and lorry-driver (trucker) for 15 years in Europe. I like long routes and I would like to go USA for feel the experience, at least one year. I think in USA there is more quiet to driving, here in Europe is a big mess, many countries, many borders, diference languages, many cops pressure... I follow you all time and this is my first review. Thank you and good luck, buddy.
Yeah, that sounds right! I think they may have been prior to 1849 gold rush? But if one explores Hwy 49 including the branches of Yuba river, it's the Golden Highway! It simply incredible area! You been there?
rode the entire length of the 49. about 25 years ago now. Made it a gold prospect trip, ended up with alittle gold. and well stocked antique fish tackle box.
Edward Jones : From Oregon, I have done the Lake Tahoe ride around the lake both in car and motorcycle. I came into the lake from the northeast side on Highway 431 then left by highway 50. Rode to Silver City, Gold Hill, and Virginia City and back to Reno.
Hey Mike. I been with you from the beginning and I like all your videos a lot but I keep forgetting to check the like thang. So I went back and liked em all. Heard plenty of “Good Morning Good Mornings “ 🎸Keep on rockin in the free world !
Hi Mike: good to see you back on the road again. I think you should have the caddy professionally repaired, 2 grand is a lot of money. If the damage is from rocks or some other road hazard it may be insured? You would only owe the deductible? If you do it yourself what are the chances of screwing it up? After all it is a new car virtually,isn’t it? Any way you want it to look new don’t you? Thank you for the ride, enjoyed it, keep em coming. Edward
Very pretty scenery in this video. The edges of the snow were so sharp along the side of the road, I can't help but wonder if CDOT didn't remove snow right to the edge of the asphalt. What do ya think?
Yes they do! They collect it into a blower on front of Snowplow Truck & smooth-cut the snowbank & blow the snow up & over the snowbank! Once I saw Snow about 16 ft deep at Donner Pass elevated crossroad...up to the handrail of that crossroad! Then it was like driving in a snow tunnel! Deepest at Donner on the California side & amazingly about 10 to 20 miles into Nevada, downhill into Reno- there was only ankledeep snow! South Lake Tahoe had several ft on Heavenly Valley Ski Resort there! Incredibly beautiful then! Maybe Jan/ Feb of '86 or '87??
@@edwardjones9631 TY for the very interesting reply! I'm sure drivers appreciate the great job CDOT does for the area. I figured the road looking that good even after the warm up meant some good work was done by the crews. :)
@@qwillaqwincy ..you're welcome! The kewenaw peninsula, another of my favorite places, in the UP of Mich, extends out into Lake Superior, maybe 70 to 85 miles? Out there they get lots & lots of snow & a very long, frigid winter! They have towns there, one is named Calumet, & I have seen a neighborhood there with about 12 to 15 ft of snow by mid winter. What's funny & unique is that they neat cut the smooth vertical sides of the streets, only exposing a couple inchs of each mailbox! So the mailman person drives around & puts each persons mail right into the snow-walled boxes! It's incredible to see that setup!!! LOL!!!!
The questions I have are.... Is northern. Half of Nevada like southern New Mexico, or northern California close to Mt. Shasta? In different words, is thier trees or treeless?
Gosh just love riding shotgun with you .....Yes put out a tee shirt.. with riding shotgun... on it.. I will buy one... love the million dollar through the mountains.. .. I thought I was going to sleep then you skirted down the mountain next to the edge... .. wow.... I was up out of the bed... please be safe shot gunner...watching your latest posts... a week ago.. very relaxing.... be safe in the snow in Idaho....
Bought my first truck in 1979 and still loving it, just like you probably will be. sadly we dont cover the beautiful roads you do. Watched a Doco on probelms with your industry, you are certainly better of driving at 58 cents per mile the poor guys that own their own truck sure get screwed. Only wages paid here but rates can go from $2100 per hour to $30.00 per hour, our exchange rate is at about 5 cents to your dollar so no that flash, but we do it cause we love it....mostly. Thoroughly enjoy seeing the roads from your cabin
I was going to mention to you, to have a wrap done. My niece's boyfriend does this at his screen printing place where he works somewhere in Sacramento. I saw a picture of his he did but now I forget what it was (a design I think). In our town there is one that is a purple/pinkish almost metallic color. Nice looking.
@ Riding Shotgun, I just got thorough watching a 7 part series on RU-vid by "Wonder Hussy Adventures" who did an excellent videos on the Donner Party starting out in Independence, MO to Donner Pass in the winter of 1846-7. Then you posted this!!!! I loved it.. TY so much..
I went west on Donner's Pass in 1981 in a Freightliner COE and no Jakes. The company I drove for had all Frieghtliners and disabled the Jakes because they claimed the drivers didn't know how to use them
Ahh yes good old Clear Bra. Had it on several cars before. It's not all it's cracked up to be. It does degrade after time. On an 8 year old car it yellowed and got a bit nasty. It's especially good for your headlights and leading hood edge and stuff. For the rest I'd forget it.
most of the storms in recent weeks have taken the northern route (Washington, British Columbia, Idaho). I think CA is due a couple of smaller storms over the next week or two.
Mountain man Mike: I'm watching you 1 year later. It's January 19, 2021. My Bday was 13th. Getting some good knowledge of travel with you. ENJOY. 🏔❄🚦⛽🏞. Do you own Cadillyac? 🎧🎼🎶Thanks for the post.
Orale Guero, I've been riding Shotgun with you for muchisimas milias hombre...use to be an old gear jammer de Texas---2 & 3 axle 10 & 15 speeds, Roadrangers, and Rockwell 10 speeds....started 1st Grade a million years ago in Grand Junction CO....your patois (speech pattern) reminds me of our favorite comedian Louis CK que Tambien es un guero rojo, ... su padre fue un Mexicano. Tenga Seguro Amigo, Vaya Mit Mein Gott Kamerad ! (Spangdeutsch). gl
hey there mike, ur last vidio. . the first 20 mins or so did y notice the lines in the sky?? reminded me of the UK telytubbies (childrens thing) who also for the first time has clouds in thier blue sky, also as streight lines, in thier cartoons, , TEhehehe drive safe
45" with snow on the ground???? Breaks my heart. It has to be exactly 32" here in Dallas to even GET snow, which is rare anyway. If it is 31', we get sleet, if 34' ice. Sad for those f us who would like a little snow once in a while.
@@hankaustin7091 A pretty damn big one when you're a person who enjoys watching good quality videos/movies. Everything is so blurry and you can't read any of the signs or hardly make out anything. 1080p is nearly twice the quality of 720p, and 4k would be even better.
Nyack !!! Was camped out there one night and was woken up by a sheriff's helicopter landing on my roof, sounded like it anyway, they where man hunting a shooter who was hiding in the forest. As for them making you chain up when it's not really necessary is to slow people down, the flat lander's come up there and haul ass and make a mess left and right so I know your frustration, I've probably been over that pass over 1200 times in a 4 year time span, its a preventive measure to minimize accidents not an economic one thou it seems like it
I see you moving around in your lane to avoid the chewed up concrete from chains on trucks. They just completely redid that section of I/S 80 over Donner starting about six years ago. It was so bad in the slow lanes before they did it that it was almost undriveable. That concrete is over twelve inches thick, they completely removed all the original highway material..
It must be the winter freeze & thaw effect that damages the watery roadbed! Airports are spec'd for minimum 19 inch thick reinforced concrete cast in place runway slab to land 747s! Highway roadbeds need at least 9 inch thick! FYI!
Sir Mike !! Great video & Thanks !! With the ""V"" ,,If you are gona change the color,,Don't forget to do the inside of the doors /hood/trunk as don't think you be happy just doing the outside !!! Better have a couple of commercial hair dyers to keep the wrinkles out too !!! I'm NOT that great at doing something like that & would have to pay the Pros for it !!! Anyhows,,Anything to protect your investment !!! With living in Denver area,,what about the underside of the "'V'' with the salt & road crud ??? Not being driven all the time & in storage ,,that salt will just eat away what you did to the top !!! Right ??? ""KEEP IT SAFE ""!!!!
Just protect the front-most area of the V.....don't wast your time doing more than that which is really necessary. If you have a 2nd car, or you have a buddy that has a car that needs to be protected, start on his/her car, for practice/learning! Keep the V as Stock as possible, if you are gonna keep the vehicle for years...chips are no big deal...you could just paint the chipped area in the future...before you sell....make sense???
Yea.. I am going to wrap my daughters car but I think I'm just going to do the bumper and the hood.. and maybe do a ceramic coat as well.. yes I plan to keep the V forever.. thanks for the great advise..
allen heaton That was the first one I watched, and it was an eduction, awesome. Most of her stuff since I can’t finish. That Donner party trip across the Midwest and into CA was excellent.
If you look to the right near Donner Lake you will see a horizontal brownish line. That is the wooden (I think) tunnel that trains go through. I love taking Amtrak to Reno during the snow. Going home (westbound) you leave Reno at 8ish in the morning. You order breakfast in the dining car and watch the scenery as you have your breakfast. I did this ride with both of my husbands (being my bday is in February). If they shut down the highway, wow does the train fill up. You may have noticed the sign for Immigrant Gap. In the 70s 2 of my sisters and their mates and I went to see the pools of water there. This was spring time & no visible snow on the ground. My sister's boyfriend challenged me to jump in. Well when we did it felt like pins and needles jabbing us in the head. We were lucky to find an easy exit. Stupid young people.
That’s my old stomping grounds. We used to live in elk grove. But we have a house up in ‘incline village NV. Would take 80 all the time. We live in MN now. But ya Nevada hasn’t really had a lot of snow this year. Which means probably another dry , burning year for Cali. My prediction. Unless it dumps snow in feb , march timeframe.
You're on the right track with the I-80 snow closures being about economics but you need to think of the bigger picture. When weather gives them an excuse to close the road for "safety", the state saves on accident management costs while reaping a windfall of tax revenue from the sale of additional fuel, hotel rooms and restaurant meals down the hill in Auburn, Roseville and even Sacramento. They have to limit the closure to about 4-5 hours or news of the closure will cause people to start canceling their trips, resulting in decreased revenue. Also, California snow is warm and slippery by your standards and the city drivers have little to no snow driving ability.
