Gisela Vielhauer wants to thank all the Yellowknifers who helped her. "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else," she said. At left, the site where she lost control of her truck while travelling up Jackfish Hill at about 50 kilometres per hour. She smashed through the guard rail and ended up at the bottom of this embankment. Weeks later, her tire tracks are still visible behind the temporary guard rail. - Jennifer McPhee/NNSL photo

On her way to do some Christmas shopping on Dec. 21, she was heading westbound on Highway 3 near Jackfish Hill when trouble struck.

It was 2 p.m. and Vielhauer said she had slowed down because of icy conditions on the hill, but all of a sudden her truck swerved left and began fish-tailing all over the road.

"The next thing I knew, I was heading straight into the headlights of oncoming traffic."

She managed to get back to the right side of the road, but then smashed through the guard rail and her truck sailed through the air.

She thought it was all over. "I thought, 'What a Christmas my family is going to have.'"

Luckily for her, the truck hit the ground and slid for a while, finally stopped by a small tree. She ended up down the hill, about 30 metres off the road and amazed to find herself still alive. She was just as relieved to discover no one else was hurt.

Afraid the vehicle would explode, Vielhauer managed to slip out of her seat belt, turn off the motor and fall out the door.

"The next thing I remember is someone telling me not to move."

Strangers surrounded her, offering assistance.

"There were so many people helping," she said.

Someone brought blankets. Another kept slapping her face to make sure she remained conscious. One RCMP officer gave her his big jacket.

"It was amazing," she said.

Miraculously, she escaped with no serious injuries and was released from hospital the same day. Her truck wasn't so fortunate, sustaining about $10,000 in damages.

"I am grateful for all the strangers that stopped," she said. "And the fire fighters, RCMP and hospital staff."

"I'm just glad I am alive and didn't take anyone with me ... I feel like I have a new lease on life."

Yellowknife is a place where people offer help when you need it, she said.

"I wouldn't want to live anywhere else."

Grounding herself Vielhauer hasn't driven since the accident and dreams of flying through the air still wake her up at night.

The sheet of ice beneath her wheels that afternoon is now causing some serious reflection.

"I've lived in the North for many years," she said. "I consider myself a good driver in northern conditions. But I guess I'm not good enough to drive on a skating rink. You have to be a stunt driver in Yellowknife."

Vielhauer thinks the government should pay more attention to Jackfish Hill. Since the weather is getting warmer, she said, perhaps they should use salt instead of gravel.

"I'm not talking about a little back alley," she said. "This is a major highway."

Glenn Riffel is the GNWT's acting maintenance supervisor of the Department of Transportation -- he personally sanded Jackfish Hill before Vielhauer's accident.

Roads are sanded at least once daily at this time of year, he said, bu cars quickly push the sand to the roadside. Riffel said the Department is doing its job and suggested people drive a little to the left or right, where the sand piles up.

Salt only makes conditions worse, he said, by creating a slick slime when the temperature dips below minus 10 degrees.

"(Salt) makes more ice," he said. "That's why we steer away from it. We do put it down when the weather is warmer."

Deputy fire chief Clem St. Croix agreed the GNWT does sand the roads regularly.

He said when fire staff notice Jackfish Hill needs more sand, they contact the Department of Transportation right away.

The same day, another vehicle, heading southbound on Old Airport Road, lost control and struck a pole. According to the RCMP, there were roughly 45 accidents in Yellowknife during December.

One of the factors contributing to dangerous roads is blowing snow, St. Croix said, because it has a polishing effect on the roads.

He cautioned people to drive according to road conditions.

"But sometimes things just happen beyond your control and all you can do is hold on," he said. "(Vielhauer) went through a serious piece of embankment.

"She is lucky."