Howard Cottrell
Howard Cottrell is a snowplow driver for the Rocky Mountain National Park area who, during the historic blizzard of December 1975, becomes an unexpected but vital ally to Dick Hallorann. Encountering Hallorann after his rental car skids off the road near Estes Park, Cottrell not only pulls the vehicle back onto the road but also provides the practical means—a pair of his wife's knitted mittens and a referral to a local snowmobile rental—that allow Hallorann to press on toward the snowbound Overlook Hotel. Cottrell embodies a kind of rough, intuitive wisdom that recognizes the urgency of Hallorann's mission without needing a full explanation, and his actions form a crucial link in the chain of events that leads to the rescue of Danny and Wendy Torrance.
Identity and Background
Howard Cottrell is a working man, a snowplow driver who knows the mountain roads intimately. He is described as wearing a long sheepskin coat and a slicker over it, with a blue-and-white pinstriped engineer's cap perched on his head—a cap that stays on even in the teeth of the gale, leading Hallorann to marvel that it must be held by glue. Cottrell speaks with a slow, kind, and slightly paternal tone, as if addressing a mental defective, and he is not easily flustered. He is a local, familiar with the treacherous conditions of the Upland Highway and the reputation of the Overlook Hotel, which he refers to as "the old Overlook." His wife has knitted him a pair of blue mittens, with his name and address sewn into the lining, a detail that speaks to a domestic life and a sense of personal attachment to his belongings.
Encounter with Hallorann
Hallorann, driving a rented Buick Electra through the blizzard, loses control of the car on a curve near Estes Park. The vehicle skids, its left fender jamming against a guardrail, its rear wheels nearly off the ground, canting forward at a thirty-degree angle over a drop. As Hallorann stands helplessly looking at the back wheels, Cottrell appears behind him, having stopped his plow. Cottrell's first words are a cheerful, "Hello there, fella. You must be shit right out of your mind." He then observes that if Hallorann had hit the post a little harder, nobody would have gotten him out till All Fools' Day. When Hallorann explains his urgent business is at the Overlook, Cottrell shakes his head dolefully, stating that the roads between Estes Park and Sidewinder are "bloody damn hell" and that the road is closed from Sidewinder all the way across to Buckland, Utah. He insists, "Never make it, mister. Never make it at all." Hallorann, his patience snapping, shouts that he knows a boy is in trouble and demands to be pulled back onto the road. Cottrell, unperturbed, simply observes, "Kind of testy, aren't you?" and proceeds to help.
The Gift of the Mittens and the Referral
After pulling the Buick back onto the road with a chain, Cottrell walks up to the driver's window. He drops a pair of bulky blue mittens into Hallorann's lap, saying, "You'll need em when you go off the road again, I guess. Cold out. You wear em unless you want to spend the rest of your life pickin your nose with a crochetin hook." He insists Hallorann send them back, as his wife knitted them and he is partial to them, with the name and address sewn into the lining. He then gives Hallorann a crucial piece of local knowledge: "When you get to Sidewinder—if you get to Sidewinder—you go to Durkin's Conoco. It's right next to the li'brey. Can't miss it. You ask for Larry Durkin. Tell him Howie Cottrell sent you and you want to rent one of his snowmobiles. You mention my name and show those mittens, you'll get the cut rate." This referral is the key that unlocks Hallorann's final leg of the journey.
Intuitive Understanding and Significance
Cottrell possesses a form of intuitive understanding, a "shine" that allows him to perceive the truth of Hallorann's mission without a logical explanation. He acknowledges this directly: "It's funny. Ain't no way you could know someone's in trouble up there at the Overlook… the phone's out, sure as hell. But I believe you. Sometimes I get feelins." Hallorann, recognizing a kindred spirit, replies, "Sometimes I do, too." Cottrell then disappears into the blowing dimness with a final wave, his engineer's cap still perched perkily on his head. As Hallorann drives away, he hears a final good-luck blast from Cottrell's plow's airhorn, and he can feel Cottrell wishing him good luck. Cottrell's role is that of a threshold guardian and a provider of tools; he does not accompany Hallorann on the final, dangerous leg of the journey, but his practical aid and his intuitive belief in the mission are indispensable. He represents the decency and resourcefulness of the local community, a counterpoint to the malevolent isolation of the Overlook.
