Vanlife Story | Surviving a Snowstorm in the Caucasus & Chilling at the Spa

The snowstorm covered everything in a thick white blanket of soft snow, leaving my home buried. There was so much snow that running my heater could have been fatal. I expected the Caucasus to be a challenging environment and just like all adventures: you don't know what to expect and what to be prepared for. Better be prepared for the worst, but we need experiences to learn from.

I knew there was going to be lots of snow, and I thought I had prepared well enough. However, I was wrong and met my first mistake very soon: I had not enough fuel to run my heater. My tank was filled with 10 liter diesel, and I had a 5 liter bottle to refill the fuel for my heater with me, however, the gas station refused to fill it. They have no problem filling it anywhere in Georgia, but apparently here they had a problem with it. So, I knew I have to be very careful with my heater and not use too much, to prevent my pipes from freezing if I would totally run out of fuel.

I chose to turn the heater off at night, and use one blanket to partly solve my fuel problem, so I would wake up when it gets too cold, and then I can run my heater for a while.

There was a big snowstorm coming and when I woke up, I realized my second mistake and was so glad that I turned my heater off at night. I woke up and there was one meter of fresh snow.

I installed my heater like everyone else. The inlet and the outlet of my heater underneath my van, which means that if the whole van is covered in snow, it would be a perfect way for suicide as there is no airflow which means that the inlet takes the air from the exhaust. I hadn't thought about that until this morning. I was looking at my van, totally covered in snow. I am so glad I didn’t keep my heater on at night. I do have a Carbonmonoxy alarm, but somehow, I don't trust my life on it, and my next van surely gets 2 of them, in case one fails. I am wondering if there is a better way to install a heater...

Besides the cold and the snow, I had a pretty normal day as I worked remotely. my alarm rang at 8AM, to get to work. My work sees me as a professional worker, always fast internet, very punctual and they have absolutely no clue how I started my morning and how I spend my free time. I think mornings like this is the last thing they expect. I had to start my day by cleaning the solar panels. No electricity means no power for my internet and laptop, and my diesel heater takes a small amount of electricity to work.

While whipping all the snow off my panels, I accidentally dropped my phone off the roof, which was buried one meter under the snow. I didn't notice I lost it at first, as it slipped out of my pocket, so I didn't know where to look. I couldn't find it, and I need it to sign in to my work systems. Luckily I only snoozed the alarm in the morning, so when it rang again, I could find it back easily. Besides, I had to create enough airflow underneath my van before I could turn my heater on.

In contrast to the snowstorm and cold nights, I was greeted with a lot of warmth before the storm came. I met a Russian girl through the Couchsurfing app. I asked her to go snowboarding together, but she refused and asked me to go with her to the Swimmingpool of her hotel. She told me it was the best when everyone was out on the slopes, so we would have a private pool. Little did I know that the pool was a heated outside pool, with a Sauna.

It was a wonderful runaway from the cold and it feels great not to have to take a cold shower or a shower with water heated on de gas stove. I felt like a princess. In the pool we had good talks, about our travel & couchsurfing experiences, and other stuff girls talk about. She asked me to travel with her to the next town, but I sadly couldn't as the snowstorm would likely cut off the Military highway between Gudauri & Kazbegi, which would mean I couldn't return until the snow would be cleared. So I said Goodbye to her, hoping our paths will cross again in the future, and I am thankful for the time we spend together.