SNOW - steep downhill backwards driving technique question

OK so this questioning is based on the experience in a CJ5 F-head 3 speed..

In a recent post I got a nugget of great info about getting unstuck in deep snow by scissoring the steering back and forth a little to find something for the tires to bite. This was great advice and works great even in the deepest snow we get around here (tested at about 15 inches). (I hesitate to even say get "unstuck" because it is clear that this thing will almost never get "STUCK" per se! )

So here's another situation thinking about that you guys will clearly know!

Let's say you're out banging around in some pretty good snow and you head up the side of a hill that is pretty steep, like the super low gear steep, and let's say either gravity wins or you're in over your head, or for some other reason you need to go back the way you came, tailgate first.


What is the best technique for making sure you're still going tailgate first when you get back to the bottom and you're still in control?

Seems to me that all that motor weight in the front is going to have a tendency to want to pendulum around if much braking is applied, but no brakes is prob not the way either...or is it? If it is in 4wd super low will engine braking be as effective in reverse?
In my 25-odd years of driving in all kinds of conditions I've luckily never had to find out the answer to this, but as I continue to venture in my CJ and get more confidence in just how amazing this thing is in the snow...I want to have some good advice BEFORE i do something dumb.

 

haven't done it in snow but on loose dirt I lost all traction and just shoved it into reverse with no clutch and engine braked down. also did the same thing when the motor died and it started right back up.

 

If Don X responds to this ,,, what ever you do , don't listen to him,

he about gave me a heart attack one time backing down a steep hill .

 

just ask yourself
what would don do?
follow your heart

 

X2. The snow we get here is almost never dry enough(sierra cement) to use low range to go up anything. Have to have some speed and sometimes wheel spin. I agree on how to back down though. Low and slow.

 

Like this.:driving:

Well maybe not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsJLVub50Aw&feature=related

 

Thanks guys, all good info...

love cars sliding down hills videos too....so stay away from Don....noted!

:stout: all day today.

 

What a dumb ***, he did everything right to spin it around then he should have got off the brake and drove it down he would have been fine.mehh

 

At least until he had to turn at the bottom Now if there had been studs on those tires-----Portland OR?

Sort of the same problem as the orig post-once the wheels are sliding, you are SOL and if you give it some throttle to regain the traction, then you get to worry about the velocity and why you did what you did to get into the situation to start with-too many

One place where selectable lockers on both ends would really help-engage the front only if you need to keep from swapping ends.

 

Down town Seattle WA.

 

i liked one guys comment.
"it's like curling"

 

I've lived on a mountain all my life with a good 3/4 mile driveway and have spent a fair amount of time in a controlled slide down the mountain. PUCKER!!! There is some traction on that hill since he made it up that far so by controlling his braking and driving on the way down he could have avoided that car. Just saying. Your correct sometimes your just SOL!

 

First thing to do before you even go up the hill is drop your tire pressure to about 10psi (you'd be amazed what a difference it will make) and then follow the instructions you've already been given. The less you tear it up on your way up and the straighter you go, the better it will be coming back down backwards.

 

or drive a willys with chains all around.....

 

hell yea chains just dig and go. i dont think any tire can compete with chains. as for the subject. I just have it in reverse and brake as heavily as i can without slipping sideways and just keep it as straight as possible. just try not to do anything too stupid