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What was the most harrowing experience that you have ever had?

I was lost on Popocapetl when clouds rolled in. It started raining----UP! A companion and I finally encountered some footprints--donkey and human--which we followed back to the lodge where we had started our climb.

tioteo 8 May 11
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1

There has been a few. Getting caught in a whirlpool at a New Jersey beach, having my face slammed into the bottom sand, in about 5 foot of water, as I had been swimming along. Was only about 5 or 6, and I didn’t think I could get out of it, but once I hit bottom it let up.
Another was crossing an ice covered quarry with a friend. He was ahead of me and had gotten to the bank and around to the path out. I was still about five foot out, when the ice started to crack, and suddenly I was in the cold water of a deep quarry, struggling to find the edge. I was dressed for winter, with heavy clothes. I would come up for air, see my friend on the path, curse him out for not coming to help me, go back under, kicking, trying to find the edge. I came up for the third time, and was running out of steam! Sank again and suddenly I felt solid ground. I clawed my way up the steep bank and around to the path, I gave my friend hell for not coming to help me (he really couldn’t have done much without risking sliding in himself). Then we had to try and figure out how to get me dried off before we went back to his house, since we were not supposed to be in the quarry. After we found we couldn’t get the snow covered wood to light up to start a fire, we rode our bikes to his house. Then, as luck would have it, no one was home anyway. We tossed my clothes in the dryer and never told anyone, until many years later.

Wow! Glad you made it!

1

Stuck in downtown NYC during the massive Northeast blackout in 2003 and having to find my way uptown and home to New Jersey in the dark.

2

Driving in a horrific ice storm, all of the cars ahead of me suddenly slid off the highway or crashed. The road was sheet ice on the final, steep hill to the summit of Stevens Pass, WA, in December 2018.

"Don't touch the brakes," I thought. Instead I quickly down-shifted. Going seven miles per hour, I inched up the icy hill without sliding. Stranded people stood beside crashed cars, numbly watching me go by.

"I'm following an Emergency First Aid truck; I'll stick with them," I thought. But that truck turned into Stevens Pass summit, leaving me heading east alone. Stevens Pass was closed behind me, I learned later.

Suddenly heading downhill on ice, I slowly negotiated sharp, steep icy curves. On the descent, everyone else had crashed; they were driving too fast. The Nason Creek Rest Area was filled with semis, trucks and cars spending the night.

It took FOUR HOURS to drive 44 miles downhill- on a steep, twisting mountain road- on sheet ice in a pelting ice storm. When I descended to Leavenworth, WA, the ice storm turned to rain. To my relief, the road was only wet. A harrowing experience.

1

Living in Harrow.

Athos Level 5 May 11, 2018

I don't know of one of those in the States.

@tioteo
It's in London, England.

@Athos Knew it was somewhere over there; didn't know it was part of London. Thanks.

1

Generally, childhood til I was removed.
It wasn't fun or pretty.
Can't really pin a specific instance.

1

This year was my ex Shawn and what he did.

4

Getting shot through the chest while flying. My co-pilot was hit worse than I so I had to fly the ship back to base. 20 minutes of wondering if I'd bleed out before we got home....

2

Not sure.

You know the saying "I know that road so well I could drive it in my sleep?" Literally true for me with stretches of highway 20 and Interstate 29 here in Iowa. Also, falling asleep at the wheel several times while going over the highway 50 pass in Colorado from Cañon City to Poncha Springs.

Or finding out that a dear friend was HIV positive.

Or hearing my ex screw someone else in the next room when the breakup was still fresh.

Or my dad dying in a plane crash when nobody had even told me he was going to be on a plane.

It's thankfully not a common problem - it was more an issue back then because I was working nights (still am) and severely sleep deprived. I'm doing a lot better allocating time to sleep these days

And use a jalapeno? If I'm going to use peppers I'm using something at least as spicy as a habanero!

1

I have two that run neck and neck-

As a child in first grade at a new school I got off the school bus at the wrong stop and had no idea where I was. Fortunately, it turned out I wasn't too far from home and managed to find my way house before my parents got home from work saving them from getting upset and worried.

The second is waking up as the delivery van I was driving drifted in to the median of an interstate highway from the right lane. I was fortunate that the median for that section of the highway was obstruction free and there wasn't any damage to the van, and especially, it didn't appear I made contact with or forced any other vehicles off the road. I looked over and my co-worker passenger was pretty shaken about it. I'm so glad my carelessness didn't hurt someone else.

2

Having a large knife pressed against my throat.

2

While at a young and stupid age, I started an excessive speed overtake on a curving road leading to an overhead bridge, I had passed 3 cars and was almost at the bridge, and on the incorrect side of the road.... A truck in front of the line of cars, started to turn off to the right into a railway siding which put it directly in front of my path....... Now in a state of shock, I remember I did not lose my cool, I applied a controlled braking, and by the smallest margins managed to cut in front of the line of cars and just missed hitting the back of the truck. At this point, being highly shocked, I contemplated going to the police station and turning myself in. I resisted the temptation and probably learned my lesson, as I have been accident free for the last 70 years..

8

Sitting on a crowded train for an hour amidst a group of evangelical Christians excitedly debating how wonderful the rapture was going to be and how they hoped it would be soon. I actually contemplated leaping from the speeding train as a more pleasant experience.

You win!

1

I should had been murdered in 1985 when my wife was 8 month pregnant with my 2nd daughter. Well yesterday was the 29th birthday of my son. He would had never been born. And here we are celebrating life!

1

Driving a giant U-Haul through a tiny mountain pass with only the most cursory of railings between me and a looooonnnnngggggg drop.

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