I've lost count how many times I've seen a couple buy one of these for the guy and he ends up back in the "car." Even when it's old, so long as it's reliable and the heater works. 4wd and some clearance provides a great sense of self-reliance. One or two modifications is usually all it takes. FWIW.
If you go with something used, check with enthusiast forums. They're a great source of info on specific vehicles, especially when you start asking about options, reilability, red-flags, and suitability.
As for the tires, like llow mentioned, go for an M&S rating. It isn't exotic. Many tires you might think of as standard or all-season have it, and while the effectiveness varies it can make a world of difference in the slippery stuff. It seems likely to me that any 4wd you buy near Denver will already have a set.
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There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195
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