OK, there was that one time...

Where I got stuck, but it wasn't my fault.

Went to visit my Wife's roommate who's husband has a job in Burlington with IBM. So they left the confines in NJ and got this massive lot with a huge house. So what that it's down a dirt road, and their driveway is a long steep turning dirt road.

We had a nice lunch with them, invited us to stay for dinner (we were staying at smuggler's notch)...and the snow came. Now the day was warm...40's...it's the first week of April...I wanted to get back to the condo...so I could put the hammer on, but OK, we'll stay...

And man did it snow...now mud season in vermont is something else...they say Vermont has 5 seasons, not 4. So, were ready to split...should've moved the van to the top by the road BEFORE the snow, we have at least 8 inces fown now, maybe a foot.

Now this guys driveway has culverts to redirect the water away I guess, about a good foot or so, sinve I couldn't see them. BUT he's gotta stacked.

SO! Let me ask you...where would YOU put the stakes?

I would but them on the edge of the driveway. He put them in the middle of the culvert.

Long story short...I was making my way, had to disengage the traction control, but I was getting to the top...trying to negotiate the trun...so I'm trying to keep it as close to the inside of the trun...and in to the culvert I go...AND HE WAS IN THE VAN WITH ME...no warniong, no, keep it a little more left...nothing...

I think he just wanted to use his tractor...so he pulls me out, and up to the dirt road...

Now I made it across this dirt road, but mud season is mud season...and a ward day, and a tone of wet spring snow, and that road was a mess...there were a bunch of locals who even buried their cards...but we made it out...buried the nose of the van a couple od times...but we got out...

Momentum is very key...don't ever slow down...you need to use the weight to plow through...

OK, that's the ONLY time I got stuck.

If you're anywhere near paved road in the far north you will NEVER have a problem.

Those boys up there know how to keep the roads clear...and there aren't a lot of people to begin with to cause any other unique problems...you should see'em in Jersey when it rains. The wires to their brains short out or something.

I think I'm gonna but 4 extra rims and put 4 real snows on em and just swap'em in and out as the season changes for the new van.

Hey, you know what. Now would be a good time to go looking I bet.

You know, living in vermont we tend to only notice 3 seasons: Winter, Mud, and Construction. :wink:

In Boston there are really only three seasons, too. Hot with construction, not as hot with construction, and snow.

I've gotten stuck so many times in so many different types of vehicles, I can't even count them. Never since moving to Boston, though (except in on street parking wedged in by other cars). Of course, most of the times I've gotten stuck were the direct result of doing something stupid- "Hey, I bet if we go fast enough, we can hydroplane the truck all the way across the bayou!". That never quite works out.

I grew up in the South. Mudding is a perfectly acceptable afternoon activity.

The only time I got stuck was in the Spring in Massachusetts and it was in the driveway of my brother's house. The driveway was quite muddy as we had rain for close to 2 straight days and the snow pile was melting. He was remodeling the house and doing construction on it, this included putting in a new driveway. They had just removed the pavement the day before the rain came.

I had a 4 Wheel drive vehicle (2000 Tracker). It was supposed to be in 4-wheel drive. I got stuck and could not move and my sister-in-law went right by me in her Hyundai Elantra w/o problem.

That was the WORST vehicle I ever had...I kept it a little over a year. DON'T EVER BUY ONE!!!!

What's a tracker? Who makes it?

EDIT: And I'm talking about somewhere between Smuggs and Essex junction...where houses sit on many acres of land and there's no pavement at all....

Stuck in Boston? Hell that's cool..it's only a short walk to a pub in any section of Boston..or a T, which then leads to a short walk to a pub...

IMHO I think Vermont uses way too much salt. Out west or at least in northwest Wyoming the idea of using salt on the roads like we do in New England would blow them away. For a few years I drove 20 miles to work at JH, many times you drove several inches above the roadway on hardpack snow.

When I used to live in Montpelier and drive every morning to the Bush there is something unsettling when, after a snowstorm the temp is 10 degrees and the road is clear of snow and wet. Conversly I did like the fact that after a foot of snow, you drive with no hardpack/ice on the road.

It's pretty rural where my brother is too.

A tracker is a Chevy. The one I had was the same as a Grand Vitara.

I was stuck only a block from my house, and didn't need the car (I move it more often to avoid street cleaning than anything else), but I was in a 2 hour visitor spot. I put a note (hoping beond reality) in the window in teh morning, and wonder of wonders, I didn't get a ticket despite leaving the car there all day. Truly a miracle.

The Tracker was made originally by Geo (Chevrolet). I don't know if Chevy is still making them. In Ecuador (10 yeara go or so), the Isuzu Trooper was sold as a Chevy Tracker. Interestingly, with the pre-1970 doorlocks that could be jimmied with a nail file. Fortunately, as it turned out at one point. Didn't get that one stuck, though. Actually, when we had a diesel Trooper II many moons ago, I never got it stuck, either, though my brother did several times.

Too much salt in vermont?

Come to NJ

I don't ever remember seeing a plow throw salt...saw lots of sand though

ski_resort_observer said:

IMHO I think Vermont uses way too much salt. Out west or at least in northwest Wyoming the idea of using salt on the roads like we do in New England would blow them away. For a few years I drove 20 miles to work at JH, many times you drove several inches above the roadway on hardpack snow.

When I used to live in Montpelier and drive every morning to the Bush there is something unsettling when, after a snowstorm the temp is 10 degrees and the road is clear of snow and wet. Conversly I did like the fact that after a foot of snow, you drive with no hardpack/ice on the road.

Click to expand...

the primary difference is the moisture content in the snow. If Wyoming had wet snow the same as we have here, trust me they'd use equally as much salt. Not to mention Wyoming gets far more sunshine, which helps in melting the ice of the roads. Vermont doesn't have that luxory.

Out of any place in the US, Vermont would be first in using snow removal practices that least harm the environment and provide safe roadways for travelers.