TeleChica
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
GREAT post, ski diva. I would just add a bullet on engine braking. Or mention it somewhere. Makes a huge difference, IMO!
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Question: Driving in Heavy Snow: What's your deal-breaker?
- Thread starter SallyCat
- Start date
GREAT post, ski diva. I would just add a bullet on engine braking. Or mention it somewhere. Makes a huge difference, IMO!
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes, people need to use engine braking!
Windshield wiper fluid - I stopped at a gas station on the way to the mountains on Thursday night, realizing that I had been metering my usage because I was afraid I'd run out. I had an almost-full jug in the car. Don't ask me why I hadn't used it. And eek - I had to use most of the jug to fill up my tank. Anyway, I like to keep a jug in the car, in case I forget to fill up. Which obviously I do.
Also, fill your gas tank when you get a chance. I fill up at the start of every drive, even though I can usually commute most of the rest of the week with the remainder.
I think there are a lot of similarities between driving in snow/ice and skiing. The light touch @ski diva mentioned. Sometimes you drive through some slush or snow that will try to slow you down suddenly, just like skiing into slush or snow will.
Windshield wiper fluid - I stopped at a gas station on the way to the mountains on Thursday night, realizing that I had been metering my usage because I was afraid I'd run out. I had an almost-full jug in the car. Don't ask me why I hadn't used it. And eek - I had to use most of the jug to fill up my tank. Anyway, I like to keep a jug in the car, in case I forget to fill up. Which obviously I do.
Also, fill your gas tank when you get a chance. I fill up at the start of every drive, even though I can usually commute most of the rest of the week with the remainder.
I think there are a lot of similarities between driving in snow/ice and skiing. The light touch @ski diva mentioned. Sometimes you drive through some slush or snow that will try to slow you down suddenly, just like skiing into slush or snow will.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The AWD had more trouble simply because you can't turn the traction control off.I couldn't make it up that hill to MRG in a rental a couple years ago. I saw one car in a ditch and after one try, I gave up by letting gravity (intentionally) help me do a 3-point turn.
That is one of the most frustrating things if you are a traveling skier: you have to rent a vehicle. Rental AWD and 4WD vehicles are scarce and you have pay close attention to make sure you're getting one, and who knows what tires are on them.
Little Lightning
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Feel like I'm on an island this morning. Loveland Pass, I-70 E from Silverthorne to tunnel and Vail Pass are all closed. The only pass open is Hoosier Pass, we think. With all this snow, wind and tough driving conditions the local schools only had a 2 hour delay.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm supposed to be heading up tomorrow for Women's Wednesday at Copper! I'm not liking the reports that I am seeing! This might be my limit....don't know that it's worth risking it!!
The snow situation looks *much* different by tomorrow, according to opensnow. Of course that's assuming Joel isn't as wrong as he was for Saturday.
skibetty
Certified Ski Diva
Wouldn't be the first time they ALL have been wrong!! They said there was supposed to be a lull today and then pick back up tomorrow into tomorrow night....hmmm
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yeah, but since I started following opensnow, I've never seen him be this wrong. I expect he'll send out an email with an analysis.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
MI-skier
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Have snow tires on my AWD Sienna and it's the only way I'll do it. 2 years ago driving from MI to Snowshoe, WVA was nailbiting awful. We cut our drive short due to blizzard conditions and saw pile ups all along the hwy. Later that evening heard about multiple deaths. Regret that we were even on the hwy.
TeleChica
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
^^^^THIS!! When we took out trip to Fernie/Nelson a couple of years ago, I CALLED the rental place and even had to arrange a rental through Hertz to ensure we had an AWD SUV. You can't always tell when you sign up, and there was no way I was going to drive the Powdah Highway without AWD. As it was, we ended up driving through a storm, and I was grateful for the extra traction.
SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We had a two-hour delay yesterday at school because of icy roads. Chatting with students before class about how sketchy the roads still were, a couple of them mentioned seeing cars fishtailing and how nervous they'd been driving in. So I asked them if they knew how to engine brake by shifting into a low gear. Crickets. One girl said "I can't do that, I drive an automatic." Pretty shocked that they don't teach that in driver's ed. (I did explain it to them and encourage them to practice).
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Somehow it's hard to feel sorry for you ;-)
