Submitted by actually_iceman t3_103x2jr in tifu

I wanted to start this off with a very miniscule amount of information. I've grown up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains my whole life, and I've been raised through some very heavy winters. Around 3 years ago when I got my license, I told myself I'd make a tradition out of ripping some donuts every time a major snowstorm came through. Anyways, here goes. This only occurred around 5 or 6 hours ago. I feel pretty fucking stupid and I feel like the only way I'll achieve peace of mind is if I share it to a bunch of strangers on the internet at 3:11 AM PST. So this all starts off earlier today (January 4th, 2023). My 2 friends (who I'll call J and E) and I were all recently mourning the loss of world-famous rally driver, Ken Block. We had spent the evening sitting down and watching all of his Gymkhana videos back to back, and for me at least, it was deeply emotional to watch. He was a childhood inspiration for me and one of the main reasons I was obsessed with rally racing as a kid. E ended up having to leave after the Gymkhana Marathon so J and I decided to go get some snacks and chill out for the rest of the night. However, while we were out on our snack run, I came up with the bright idea to rip some donuts in the snow as a memento to Ken. J seemed to think it was a fun way of honoring him and we set about finding an empty parking lot nearby. At first, we went to the parking lot of our local regional park and decided to take turns spinning in circles in my beloved '98 Jeep Cherokee. All went relatively smooth, and nothing too eventful happened at that particular parking lot. J decided to hop behind the wheel and he asked me "so what do you want to do now?" I replied, "I'm honestly not sure. I think we should head back to your house and chill, but I'm up for whatever you want to do." He then told me "I kinda want to find another parking lot to do donuts in cause I'm in a bit of an exploring mood." I then got a bright idea. At the top of our local mountain pass which connects to a larger city in Nevada, there's a parking lot which is always empty at night and has tons of snow for goofing around in. It seemed like a harmless, fun idea, yet again. This was a tradition for us around these parts of the sierras. So we drove up there, having philosophical conversations the entire way up. We stopped up at the top and admired the amount of snow piled up. It was a good 5 or 6 feet of solid ice on either side of us, with a 60-70 foot wide lot covered in slick, powdery snow. Perfect spot to rip a few donuts. J went first, and did his donuts nice and controlled, staying well within the walls of ice and still treating my old Jeep somewhat kindly... Then it was my turn, and I had images of Gymkhana flying through my head. I knew I had to make these the best damn donuts I'd ever made in my entire life. For Ken. Instead of opting for the safe, much more controllable 2wd donuts, I had the not-so-bright-idea to pop it into 4wd and try doing some side-to-side drifts in this empty lot. It started off somewhat smooth, but quickly I got too much angle and I couldn't get the Jeep back into a straight line. I turned towards the full opposite direction of the slide and stomped on the brakes, but it was too late. The events were already set into motion, and I was helpless behind the wheel. I saw the 6' tall wall of ice slowly, yet steadily getting closer to the front end of my Jeep. 5 Mississippi... 4 Mississippi... 3 Mississippi... 2 Mississippi... 1 Mississippi... Crunch The front end of my Jeep had smashed into the wall at around 15 mph, and I heard a distinctive crunch. I immediately backed out and hopped out of the Jeep, running towards the front. J followed suit. I initially thought I got lucky until I saw the shattered yellow glass all over the snow from my Hella Amber fog lights. Then I looked closer, and the driver's side headlight was completely loose and misaligned. The entire driver's side of my front end was slightly crooked, and the fender had been completely fucked by the impact. Now, one thing about older Cherokees like mine, unlike other jeeps, is that they don't have a separate body and frame. The body is the frame, which means any misalignment of body panels can mean frame damage, which can absolutely total a Cherokee. Not to mention, my Jeep is painted a very unique color as it was an old forest service unit, so it's a bright, minty green... And it's also impossible to find fenders in that color. Needless to say, my drive home was pretty awful. I loved this car a ton, and to see it damaged in the way it was could almost be likened to seeing a hurt puppy. I had wrecked something I really, really cared about, all cause I was being extremely stupid and did something that could have easily been avoided. I guess I'll post an update on what I find when I tear the front end apart later today... Praying that everything is somewhat fixable...

TL:DR: I tried to rip donuts like Ken Block with my Jeep in 4WD and smashed into an ice wall, possibly causing serious damage to a car I really, really care about (despite how it sounds)

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Comments

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tardersos t1_j31gcjs wrote

I don't think it'll be unrepairable, but in the case that it is you can always try to find another clean one and turn this one into a trail rig

Totally understand the pain tho. Bought my 98 xj for $500 and I'll beat on it but I think if I actually crashed it I'd cry

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actually_iceman OP t1_j31giuq wrote

We'll see. If the damage is bad enough I'll invest in some parts to make it a trail rig. Not a terrible idea.

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HowMuchDidIDrink t1_j35dzpz wrote

Paragraphs are important

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actually_iceman OP t1_j35o9ic wrote

I'm on mobile so paragraphs are kinda difficult. I tried to format it but it didn't work.

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