Denver, CO – As Colorado welcomes the first flakes of the season, particularly along I-70 through the mountain corridor, transportation officials are warning drivers to prepare for slick passes and rapidly changing weather. But imagine being trapped inside your car for two months, surviving only on handfuls of snow.
According to the Daily Mail, a 44-year-old Swedish man was discovered in February 2012 after surviving roughly 60 days snowed-in inside his car near the town of Umea in northern Sweden. Authorities said his car became buried after a snowstorm on December 19, and he lived on snow alone as temperatures plunged to -30°C (-22°F).
Experts called his survival “extraordinary.” Some suggested his body entered a hibernation-like state, slowing his metabolism, while others credited the “igloo effect” of the snow-covered car, which trapped enough warmth to keep him alive.
When rescuers reached him, he was emaciated and barely conscious, wrapped in a sleeping bag with only cigarettes and comic books nearby. Doctors at Umea University Hospital confirmed he was suffering from severe hypothermia and malnourishment—but survived against all odds.
With early snow arriving before Thanksgiving, Colorado emergency officials are urging travelers to carry cold-weather kits with blankets, food, and water, especially when driving mountain routes. As the Centennial State prepares for another long winter, one chilling question remains: Could you survive stuck on I-70 for two months like he did?
