DURANGO, Colo. -- An 89-year-old woman used an ax to break into her own home after she locked herself out on a patio hemmed in by deep snow.

"I had to bang the glass four times with the ax before it broke," said Geraldine "Gerry" Palmer, who turns 90 this weekend.

Palmer said a sliding glass door locked behind her Saturday after she went outside to rearrange some things that had gotten wet on the patio. Snow sliding off the patio roof had formed a pile about 7 feet high between her and the yard, so she had no escape.

"I had to bang the glass four times with the ax before it broke," she said.

About 6 feet of snow has fallen on Durango this winter, the National Weather Service said.

"The ax was there for several years to chop wood, but I no longer use a wood stove," Palmer said.