The thrill of skiing fresh snow vs the drive to get there?

[crgildart]

Even with the best vehicle and the best tires you can get slammed by someone else.. rendering your vehicle stranded in a town several hours from your home... requiring you to get a rental car.. and miss work to return the rental and pick up your repaired great snow vehicle... and will have missed that powder.

But, I still occasionally will go for it when a big storm is moving towards the mountains for a day trip.. But, missing work is tougher on my career and job security than it used to be so now I won't go for it without booking a place and getting there a day early and making sure I have an extra day to get home if getting out of the mountains after skiing still might be too sketchy..

I used to believe that having a great vehicle makes me able to get there and home with very little chance of getting stuck or getting in a wreck. As I've gotten more and more decades of experience in those conditions driving various vehicles the more I've come to learn.. stuff happens no matter how prepared you are.. The worse the conditions, the bigger the chance that someone other than you will be out there under prepared and risking everyone else who is as prepared as the can be individually..

 

[Mike Rogers]

It's worth the drive for me, but I work 100km from home so I am used to driving in all weather. Driving to a ski powder is always better than driving to work.

 

[James]

My REX had 4 fresh Blizzaks put on a month before and I almost had as much fun on the drive as I did on the mountain. AWESOME!!!
Did I mention I had a pair of brand new blue K2 Pontoons with me...

There's enough in your post for someone to have you committed...

Surely you had at least two other pairs of skis with you? Can't imagine you'd go on an expedition relying just on the pontoons. Gotamas? cambered, not bent?
(When did Pontoons come in blue??)

 

[focker]

One thing that probably makes this worst for me is MN hills all have night skiing until 9:00pm. So I often end up driving in these conditions after work in the dark which makes the drive worse, especially on a 2 lane road.

If you wait until the morning the hills are often groomed out as they get so tracked out here so quickly. The only time you can really do a day drive and ski the good stuff is when a storm hits late night, starting after 9:00pm. That's not often the case obviously so the night time drive is often a requirement.

 

[KevinF]

While I generally agree, the quantity of vehicles stuck way down in the gully between north/south lanes on I89 is surprising. Most are work vehicles. I think the worst though are the random snow squalls that come up and dump 1-2 inches. The road goes from perfectly grippy to bad without warning.

Now I91 is the opposite.

Powder must be huge for snowmobilers. They always seem to be doing 80mph pulling a trailer while it's snowing.

I've generally noticed the vehicles in the ditch are four-wheel drive vehicles, generally with non-Vermont plates. 4WD makes people think they're invincible...

@mdf and I had a chance encounter a few years back on a snowy evening at the rest stop on I-93 just south of Concord. We were both headed to Stowe... I stopped counting how many cars were spun off the road that night. I remember we discussed how many cars were off the road in the morning.

Regarding I-89 through Vermont... It seems that the worst stretch is exit 3 to exit 5. 21 miles of nothingness and it feels like it's uphill the entire way. I don't know if it really gets any better after exit 5, but the exits do start coming a little quicker (every six miles instead of every 12!) so you at least get quicker validation that you're making progress and not just stuck inside a snow globe.

 

[Core2]

If it is going to be a foot plus storm, I will dogsled to the ski area if I have to. Anything less than that and my enthusiasm for battling traffic and the storm wanes quickly.

 

[Bill Talbot]

There's enough in your post for someone to have you committed...

Surely you had at least two other pairs of skis with you? Can't imagine you'd go on an expedition relying just on the pontoons. Gotamas? cambered, not bent?
(When did Pontoons come in blue??)

The Blue Pontoons were for day one, I had the Watea 114's for once it got cut up and bumped on day two.
My blues are 2011. They were made a touch stiffer in the change from original Red to Blue.

I am committed... to getting the goods when and if available!!!

Have me tell you about the time during one of our actual Blizzards I took my spike tire equipped dirt moto out for a FOUR hour tour of the area!!!

 

[James]

I've generally noticed the vehicles in the ditch are four-wheel drive vehicles, generally with non-Vermont plates. 4WD makes people think they're invincible...

Possibly it is mid week storm driving difference.
Awd and an suv means you don't need snow tires! Most who buy one think that.

Last season on I 91 north there was a freakish period of snow squalls like 2-3 weeks in a row. Between ex 4/5, the same turns suddenly had snow or more snow than before. The result was multiple cars in the ditch, everyone freaked out after. I was blowing by people while doing 30mph.
That bad weather only happened in like an hour timespan I think. So before or after you were fine.

 

[François Pugh]

So in my younger years I used to love to drive during/right after a snow storm to get to the ski hills (here in MN) asap to ski some fresh snow. I'm mainly talking about storms of 4"+ that don't happen all that often around here. Maybe 3 times per year.

I've made some serious white knuckle drives in my time but also skied some great snow as well. My attitude has always been that with as few 'powder' days as we get around here I needed to take advantage of them.

In the last 1-2 years however the drive doesn't seem worth it for the skiing for me. The chances of going into the ditch or crashing into another driver and the anxiety the drive brings just don't seen worth it. Also, the more it snows the worst the roads are going to be.

My question, Pugskiers, is how do you guys feel about this? Is the white knuckle drive worth it for you?

Driving in snow storms is fun for me, so long as I can see where I'm going.

 

[Marker]

Most of my good powder days in NE have happened when I was already at the resort in a hotel or at my condo. Occasionally, I've driven in bad weather to the Poconos to get something-less-than-powder days, but still superior to their regular man-made snow. Since most of the drive is on the Northeast Extension of the the PA turnpike, the road was okay until the exit to the local roads. Then things could go down hill quickly. The drive home one trip took 6 hr instead of two due to icing as we got back in the Philadelphia vicinity. That will put a big damper on my enthusiasm for those kinds of trips now that we visit Killington regularly from PA.

 

[cantunamunch]

If you have to drive past miles and miles of fresh snow, you're driving too far. Get nordic gear, quit driving and just ski.

 

[Wilhelmson]

I'm more careful now but will still drive through anything. About 6 hours max to northern new england, 200 miles/33 miles/hour, although I'll go 45-55 if I can see ok. It does get nerve wracking when you see multiple cars crashed off the road.

Bring a shovel, blanket, xc skis and snowshoes for the kids.

Black ice is worse than snow and can happen anytime, but I don't stay home because it's raining.

 

[Slim]

It’s kind of in the same vein as avalanches. Fresh snow ups the fun skiing, but also ups the risk of injury or death.
I try to restrain myself and drive as little as possible in bad weather, but I still succumb to the lure sometimes.

 

[UGASkiDawg]

I have no problem with driving in any weather with the caveat being I hate traffic so I try to beat it or just not go.

Also I'm absolutely terrified by Red Mountain Pass....every time I drive over it in the winter...snowing or not...I swear it will be my last

 

[Jilly]

Trying to decide on this for this weekend. Rain changing to snow and up to 10" on Saturday. I can get there before the snow starts, but will I be able to ski Saturday and then I have to leave after lunch to get home.....How much ice under the snow??

Like others, as I get older, I'm not into white knuckle drives. I have a good truck for it, but it's the other idiots on the road that bother me.

 

[crgildart]

I purport that the regression equation for T, thrill of skiing fresh snow Versus D, drive to get there involves the following variables:


M=Magnitude of the storm, i.e. how much powder is expected at the resort when you arrive (say from 1 to 100)
P=Number of good powder days you have in your experience (say from 0 to 100)

R=Risk of planned route.. how sketchy are the roads, how much traffic at the time you will be driving them, etc.. (also rate from 0-100)
B=Number of wrecks and other bad experiences you have been through in your experience of storm chasing.(also rate from 0-100)

T=M-P
D=-(R+B)

 

[squill]

LCC/BCC can have especially bad "tail-light parades" during holiday storms that arrive after 9/10 am when folks drive up in 2WD rentals and then 14" falls during the day... UPD seems to be doing better preventing this but in years past I've gotten in the truck at 5pm for a 15 mile drive and arrived at home at 10:30pm. It took almost 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot.

 

[MikeS]

Most of my good powder days in NE have happened when I was already at the resort in a hotel or at my condo. Occasionally, I've driven in bad weather to the Poconos to get something-less-than-powder days, but still superior to their regular man-made snow. Since most of the drive is on the Northeast Extension of the the PA turnpike, the road was okay until the exit to the local roads. Then things could go down hill quickly. The drive home one trip took 6 hr instead of two due to icing as we got back in the Philadelphia vicinity. That will put a big damper on my enthusiasm for those kinds of trips now that we visit Killington regularly from PA.

I spent 4 years living in the Lehigh Valley. I swear, plow drivers in PA don't know their asses from their elbows. Worst winter road maintenance I've ever seen. I'd rather drive in Vermont or Maine with a foot coming down than drive from Allentown to Blue Mt with two inches.

 

[MikeS]

While I generally agree, the quantity of vehicles stuck way down in the gully between north/south lanes on I89 is surprising. Most are work vehicles. I think the worst though are the random snow squalls that come up and dump 1-2 inches. The road goes from perfectly grippy to bad without warning.

Now I91 is the opposite.

Powder must be huge for snowmobilers. They always seem to be doing 80mph pulling a trailer while it's snowing.

I've generally noticed the vehicles in the ditch are four-wheel drive vehicles, generally with non-Vermont plates. 4WD makes people think they're invincible...

@mdf and I had a chance encounter a few years back on a snowy evening at the rest stop on I-93 just south of Concord. We were both headed to Stowe... I stopped counting how many cars were spun off the road that night. I remember we discussed how many cars were off the road in the morning.

Regarding I-89 through Vermont... It seems that the worst stretch is exit 3 to exit 5. 21 miles of nothingness and it feels like it's uphill the entire way. I don't know if it really gets any better after exit 5, but the exits do start coming a little quicker (every six miles instead of every 12!) so you at least get quicker validation that you're making progress and not just stuck inside a snow globe.

The worst part of I-89 is actually the Bolton Flats. Between exits 10 and 11, it's a couple miles where the road is just dead straight and flat. That's the point where every half cocked yahoo decides they can speed up because it's straight. It's also where everybody who has been stuck behind someone slower goes to attempt a pass. Inevitably, a fair share of them end up in the ditch. Either because they lose traction even going straight, or because the end of the straightaway sneaks up on them, and they end up in the ditch when they can't take the next bend at their current speed.

 

[James]

LCC/BCC can have especially bad "tail-light parades" during holiday storms that arrive after 9/10 am when folks drive up in 2WD rentals and then 14" falls during the day... UPD seems to be doing better preventing this but in years past I've gotten in the truck at 5pm for a 15 mile drive and arrived at home at 10:30pm. It took almost 45 minutes to get out of the parking lot.

Why don't they just ban cars completely? Use buses. It's not like you can do anything with a car up there. Really, it's moronic.
Get a Swiss train.