Shania Twain Battles Blizzard Conditions in Holiday Trek

When Shania Twain drove home for Christmas, it was through a blinding snowstorm and white-out conditions that had the gorgeous songstress terrified she may not make it home alive. The night before Christmas Eve, she tells fans on her website all about her harrowing journey home.

"I've been in the North Country of Ontario, Canada, and after a crazy drive through a snowstorm to get here, I finally made it North for the holidays to take in the spirit of a great, white Christmas," Shania writes. "What would normally be a two-and-a-half hour drive took over seven hours with several accidents along the way. We experienced dead stops of long waits during whiteouts. Miles of vehicles were lined up bumper to bumper, blanketed in snow from hours of sitting and waiting for news of what was happening up ahead. Very scary driving conditions, and I really felt lucky to have made it safely in the end."

Having been raised in Canada, Shania is used to snowy winter conditions -- but never anything quite like the frightening conditions she battled to make it through this Christmas.

"Even we Northerners can only cope with so much snow all at once," she writes. "I have personally never seen such a crisis just over falling snow, but this snowfall was an exception. We normally cope pretty well, and falling snow is just a part of another winter day, but this storm was a doozy!"

Along the way, Shania found herself worrying about other drivers who were running out of gas, and grateful she was prepared to survive the trip.

"Many people were running out of gas on the highway," she writes. "It was a chilly night so it was very uncomfortable and actually dangerous for anyone not prepared to spend the night in their vehicle without heat, which many had to do in the end. I couldn't help thinking of anyone with children onboard and how they must have coped -- no washrooms, no emergency vehicle access without painstaking effort, and even when emergency support made it out, it was slow. Not a good night to have an emergency. In fact, during one of our dead stops of four hours, we only saw one tow truck make it through. We were very lucky that we had a full tank of gas, a heavy sturdy vehicle and some groceries in the back."

To keep herself from panicking -- and to keep in touch with her 8-year-old son, Eja, and boyfriend, Fred Thiébaud -- Shania began sending text messages from her phone.

"I wasn't driving but was squirming in my seat, anxious and nervous," she writes. "There was no point saying much, and other than keeping my eyes strained on the truck ahead and any other visual reference possible, there was nothing I could do as a passenger. So I decided to try to keep myself preoccupied and calm by texting Fred and Eja, keeping my thoughts off a situation I couldn't control. I was aware of the probability of our car going out of control, and I wanted to make sure I touched base in case that actually did happen. I know too well all about the risks on these roads in bad weather, so my concerns were warranted. What a hairy night!"

Thankfully, Shania eventually made it North for Christmas ... and finishes her letter by telling fans how she spent her Christmas holiday with family.

"Since I finally arrived North, I've enjoyed some exciting local hockey games (which made my voice raspy from all the yelling and cheering for our team), some fun in the snow with the kids, more dangerous driving on snowy, windy, winter roads with deer popping up all over the place, lots of seasonal music (Michael Buble's 'Let It Snow' is this year's favorite) family and friends around the bonfire, being at the rinks drinking hot chocolate, and then more fun in the snow. We got lots of the white stuff early this year, so have been taking advantage of it. It's a pain to shovel, but great news for the Olympic games to have such a good base for the outdoor sports, and just for recreational time, makes for great tobogganing, snow fights and amazing scenery."

Shania ends her letter with pictures taken of her in the snow ... and drops a little hint of something fans can be looking forward to in the coming year from her.

"Enjoy the holidays wherever you are, and I look forward to touching base again with you all in the New Year! Lots of exciting things to report and share with you in early 2010, so I will be in touch with more news soon."