Question: Driving in Heavy Snow: What's your deal-breaker?

[SallyCat]

I skied yesterday morning in New Hampshire, hoping to get in a few hours before a big nor' easter came in, with predictions of anywhere from 8-16 inches. I decided to stay about 3 miles down an unpaved road at a nice little B&B rather than drive the 45 minutes back to the house so as to get an early crack at the good snow today. I have snow tires on a FWD VW Sportwagen.

First, the mountain was PACKED, which really surprised me, given the impending weather. And second, as soon as it started snowing, I began worrying about getting down the road safely to the B&B. I ended up leaving a bit early, because the slopes were pretty icy, anyway. I made my way nervously up a pretty big incline (Bridgestone Blizzak's for the WIN, btw. No traction problems at all) driving slowly and engine-braking on descents. I was passed by a Subaru Outback and two pickups going slightly (but not massively) faster than me.

My question, and I hope it's not silly given that we're talking about skiing, on and in snow, after all) is: do you routinely drive on heavily snow-covered roads? Does it worry you? Do you have a sort of weather deal-breaker; some set of conditions that you consider too risky/not worth it?

Also, does AWD make a huge difference in on-snow driving?

 

[nopoleskier]

Yes to AWD makes a difference. Good Winter tires (which you have) are a must.
Yes to I drive on snowy roads but not my 2.5hr ride to Okemo just the 30 min to my local bump. I had a PSIA clinic at gore one year i live 1hr away I stayed over to avoid the stress of driving home at night to get up and drive back up for day 2. you did the smart thing :-)

I too drive Really slowly.. the fact is that gravity rules, speed is a factor and even a AWD or 4WD will let loose and slide if you are going to fast and the roads are icy. So far this winter I've had 4 dicey rides home. 1 in a blizzard conditions had to keep stopping and wait for a glimpse of the road. (I passed 3 4wd/awd in the ditch) 2nd day was pure ice!! again 20mph all the way and yesterday was slush snow covered roads.. I too pulled over to let those wanting to go faster.

I do prefer AWD but I did have a front wheel toyota as a loaner years ago w/studded tires and it did quite well. My driveway is a test for any winter car (even the UPS guy won't come up it now that it's winter!)

go slowly like you did, stay over night close to the Mt so you can get freshies today!! hope you have a great ski day and not many people!!

 

[ski diva]

I wrote a blog post about winter driving that might help. You can find it here.

 

[bounceswoosh]

It's rare for me not to drive due to snow - like, I can't remember ever choosing not to drive to the mountain. I do remember a few times when I decided not to drive home on a Sunday night and took a powder day Monday instead ... But plowing from our house to our condo in Breck is pretty stellar. So we never have deep snow on the road. It's more of an issue of visibility.

More than once, one of us has been driving at a snail's pace while the other literally had their head stuck out the window to see the edge of the road. That's on 9 between Breck and the highway. And once I do remember using the imagine on the GPS to give me a heads-up on whether the road was going to turn or not, because it was hard to tell. That was the highway. Of course, that's also because I choose to drive at times when there are fewer cars on the road - so I can be out there pretty much by myself. It's easier to follow tail lights, but then you have to deal with other people.

I have a manual transmission AWD Subaru Outback with winter tires. They are not studded, and they're not full-on snow tires, but a cold-weather compound that holds traction well in winter temperatures. CDOT has been much more aggressive about invoking passenger vehicle traction control the last two years, and because of the tires + AWD, my car qualifies - so I don't have to futz with chains. I'm also aggressive about replacing winter tires as soon as their tread gets at all low - I run them through the summer that last season to finish them off.

Being able to start in second gear, to me, is a big advantage in slippery conditions at lights and such. And I've slowed down a *lot* in weather in the last few years. And I try to pay a lot of attention to temperature swings plus precipitation. If it was a warm day, there may be black ice. We don't get ice as regularly as the east coast does, but it still happens.

Fresh out of college, I was in a car with two other friends. We were driving home from Sunday River, Maine back to Virginia. The weather was terrible, and we wanted to stop for the night, but there were no vacancies at the resort. We decided we'd drive to 95 and find a motel nearby. But we didn't make it that far before my friend hit black ice and went spinning into a minivan. We were driving my mom's Explorer, which was just 2WD with all seasons. Fortunately, the driver of the other vehicle was a surgeon and therefore (?) completely on point: he made sure everyone in both vehicles was unhurt, and was the nicest guy ever about the whole situation. We used one of my friend's belts to tie down the fender, which was flapping - thanks, Billabong! - and a crowbar to knock out the ding that was affecting the front tire. Then limped home. I don't remember why we didn't end up staying somewhere after all that. Maybe we felt like the worst had already happened.

 

[Kimmyt]

If I'm driving on I-70 and don't make it out suuuuper early to beat the crowds, i don't drive in heavy snow. Mostly because I know 70 is going to turn into a shitshow and don't want to risk an accident that is very likely to occur (I trust my driving, I don't trust others). I will drive local roads in heavy snow if I need to get somewhere. And when I lived in Dillon I didn't have a problem driving 70 to Copper for work in snow, it's most 70 east of Eisenhower or if I had to go over Vail Pass during a storm.

 

[marzNC]

I have a completely unusual approach to driving around the northeast for skiing. Only go when I have other reasons to be up north during the winter. With a North Carolina minivan without any sort of snow tires, I actually plan to avoid snowstorms. But that can work out well. One trip I went to northern VT to avoid the storm expected in southern VT. Ended up skiing powder with blue skies midweek at Sugarbush and MRG that was from a storm 2-3 days before.

On the other hand, I drove up through VA to Massanutten after Snowmaggedon. And also skied there the next two major storms. But for those storms, I drove up BEFORE the roads were really snowy.

 

[newboots]

Many of my early years driving (college and after), I lived in Vermont. I learned to drive safely in the snow, have great studded tires, and choose a car that can do it. I drive more slowly than many people want to, and I pull over whenever I can (no sense having angry tailgaters behind me - THAT doesn't improve safety). I'm confident.

What makes me get off the road is white-out conditions. Can't drive safely if I'm not sure where the road is! As KimmyT said, there is danger from the other drivers. 4WD will get your vehicle out of the snowbank. It will not keep you from sliding on the ice! So many drivers here think there 4WD is a good reason to drive fast on an icy road.

Last night I was on a very small side street in the city, going 22 in a 30 mph zone, snow falling like mad, cars parked on both sides. Some idiot passed me! Dude, we were only going to be on that road for another block!

 

[SallyCat]

Thanks for the great feedback! That all makes me feel a lot better about my decision. The winter tires are great, though I'm very cautiois and slow. They handled the snowy road like a champ both days.

A complicating factor is that when I'm in VT, it is to ski but also visit my elderly mother, who is a world champion worrier, and a bit moreso following a head injury that seems to have exacerbated her sense of fragility, and that of her kids. I struggle with wanting to visit and help out, but also do the things I enjoy without causing her too much stress. I think she tried really hard to be ok with me driving in a snowstorm, and in return I called to say I was safe at the b&b. Win-win.

 

[just jane]

I'm with kimmyt.

We usually take DH's Jeep Grand Cherokee with 4WD when we go skiing, and I have every confidence in the vehicle and his driving. The problem is I-70, which usually ends up closed at multiple points during winter storms because there are too many people who don't have decent winter vehicles or don't know how to drive on sketchy roads. So if you're heading to ski country from the front range, you have to time it just right. If we had a place to stay in the mountains, I'd have no hesitation at all. Unfortunately, we have on multiple occasions got stuck on bad roads and spent many more hours on the highway than on the slopes and that's just miserable.

 

[Christy]

You really have to think twice about driving to skiing here in Western Washington when there's a good storm or heavy snow forecasted in the Cascades, because it's not uncommon that our highways will be closed for avalanche control, or there might be trees down blocking the road, plus the usual accidents (especially on the pass routes that have cross state traffic). It's a lot better to just plan to wait until the storm is over ( or go before). It's also not unheard of for a ski area to lose power during a storm. Even best case scenario, I just don't want to spend a lot of extra time driving for a day of skiing.

There's a lot you can read online about what exactly winter tires do for you, and what exactly AWD does for you.

 

[bounceswoosh]

If I'm driving on I-70 and don't make it out suuuuper early to beat the crowds, i don't drive in heavy snow. Mostly because I know 70 is going to turn into a shitshow and don't want to risk an accident that is very likely to occur (I trust my driving, I don't trust others). I will drive local roads in heavy snow if I need to get somewhere. And when I lived in Dillon I didn't have a problem driving 70 to Copper for work in snow, it's most 70 east of Eisenhower or if I had to go over Vail Pass during a storm.

Yes. This is where having the option of driving up the night before, or the day after, really makes a difference. If I had to deal with traffic AND snow - no.

 

[Little Lightning]

We plan our travel times around the snow forecast. Our goal is to make it to our condo the day before. Once we're there we generally have no problems making it to the slopes. The worst spot on the drive from Silverthorne to Copper is Officer's Gulch. There is a bridge that tends to ice over and many motorists don't realize how treacherous it can be in there. We've often seen cars slide off the road, once right in front of us.

Sometimes you can't tell. One time we left the Denver area, the sun was shining, roads were dry. We got to the tunnel and it was lightly snowing. Trucks were being pulled over but we were not. We came out of the west side of the tunnel into a whiteout. Visibility was zero. One car passed us then no one was around. We didn't realize it but CDOT had closed the tunnel after they let us through. When we turned off the ignition in the parking lot at our condo my cat suddenly let out a big meow. It sounded more like "whew". Even she sensed the severity of the situation.

 

[just jane]

Wow! At least you had the road to yourself to navigate that.

 

[bounceswoosh]

One of my favorite sayings: "Judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment." And then I think of that time when my dog Cooper was in the back seat, and I was coming down from the tunnel on I-70 going way too fast, and had to brake, and ended up fully experiencing all three lanes. Miraculously didn't hit the guard rail.

I'm much more conservative about driving these days.

 

[sibhusky]

I skied yesterday morning in New Hampshire, hoping to get in a few hours before a big nor' easter came in, with predictions of anywhere from 8-16 inches. I decided to stay about 3 miles down an unpaved road at a nice little B&B rather than drive the 45 minutes back to the house so as to get an early crack at the good snow today. I have snow tires on a FWD VW Sportwagen.

First, the mountain was PACKED, which really surprised me, given the impending weather. And second, as soon as it started snowing, I began worrying about getting down the road safely to the B&B. I ended up leaving a bit early, because the slopes were pretty icy, anyway. I made my way nervously up a pretty big incline (Bridgestone Blizzak's for the WIN, btw. No traction problems at all) driving slowly and engine-braking on descents. I was passed by a Subaru Outback and two pickups going slightly (but not massively) faster than me.

My question, and I hope it's not silly given that we're talking about skiing, on and in snow, after all) is: do you routinely drive on heavily snow-covered roads? Does it worry you? Do you have a sort of weather deal-breaker; some set of conditions that you consider too risky/not worth it?

Also, does AWD make a huge difference in on-snow driving?

Yes, AWD makes a difference. There is no longer a single car in this family that is not either AWD or 4WD. All the cars have four studded tires on right now. We live on a hill, so this is a huge issue here. Up isn't bad, it's down I worry about.

I require the road to be six inches deep or less. However, if it's solid ice like a skating rink, especially on the last third of our hill, that's a deal breaker. Have been in the ditch three times over the years. Two of the times because it was early season and I didn't have the studs on yet. Once because ... Well the studs were worn. And the guy ahead of me stopped unexpectedly. And it was either him or the ditch. Now I won't start down the hill if anyone else is on it.

 

[bounceswoosh]

All the cars have four studded tires on right now.

This is interesting to me. I have always thought of studded as all or nothing. Have you done mixes in the past?

 

[Little Lightning]

Wow! At least you had the road to yourself to navigate that.

We didn't realize that the tunnel was closed and kept worrying about getting rear ended. We did think it was odd that no other cars were around us. Conditions were so bad that CDOT should have held us too.

 

[sibhusky]

This is interesting to me. I have always thought of studded as all or nothing. Have you done mixes in the past?

I've always done all four here, but I think years ago (MANY years ago) I only had them on the drive wheels when they were still legal in the East. But you're talking decades now.

 

[Pequenita]

I don't drive in a storm if I don't need to because it's a pain in the butt. I plan travel to miss the storm and also for when I think the roads will not be crowded. In my experience, the issue with driving in a storm isn't that my vehicle can't handle the conditions at a steady speed but rather visibility is horrible and people are too close to each other. More likely than not, someone on my route will get in an accident or roads will close, which mucks up travel.

 

[newboots]

... In my experience, the issue with driving in a storm isn't that my vehicle can't handle the conditions at a steady speed but rather visibility is horrible and people are too close to each other. More likely than not, someone on my route will get in an accident or roads will close, which mucks up travel.

Not unlike skiing on a crowded, snowy day!