Snowplows in Vermont

[billski]

I met this guy who plows the southern sector of I-91 in Vermont when I was staying at the Inn at Magic a couple weeks back.

He tells me they get special training for rear-end collisions. His boss told him, "it's not IF you'll get hit, it's WHEN." Every single plow driver has been rear ended. Of course the damage was to the other vehicle.

He once had a tour bus sideswipe his truck and totally remove his rear view mirror, and keep going. :-o

Apparently the things he sees are pretty amazing.

They are going to be shifting to a salt brine to clear to the pavement as soon as the State coughs up the money to retrofit the trucks.

 

[KingM]

I met this guy who plows the southern sector of I-91 in Vermont when I was staying at the Inn at Magic a couple weeks back.

He tells me they get special training for rear-end collisions. His boss told him, "it's not IF you'll get hit, it's WHEN." Every single plow driver has been rear ended. Of course the damage was to the other vehicle.

He once had a tour bus sideswipe his truck and totally remove his rear view mirror, and keep going. :-o

Apparently the things he sees are pretty amazing.

They are going to be shifting to a salt brine to clear to the pavement as soon as the State coughs up the money to retrofit the trucks.

I had snow plows take out my mailbox three times in one year, so they're hardly blameless either. I kept finding them hurled off in a pile of snow and the plow driver never stopped. Had to be the same guy, because it had never happened before. The thing is, I couldn't move it back farther from the road or the post office wouldn't deliver to it. PITA.

I now have a PO Box.

Now that my rant is out of the way, I love being wakened by the scrape of the snow plow passing by the inn in front of the Sugarbush Access Road, especially early in the season when I'm not burned out by shoveling.

 

[billski]

I had snow plows take out my mailbox three times in one year, so they're hardly blameless either. I kept finding them hurled off in a pile of snow and the plow driver never stopped. Had to be the same guy, because it had never happened before. The thing is,

That's just life on a rural route. It's always been that way wherever I have lived.
I've seen some people invent some interesting contraptions to swing the box out of the way. They look pretty odd, not sure if they work.

 

[KingM]

That's just life on a rural route. It's always been that way wherever I have lived.
I've seen some people invent some interesting contraptions to swing the box out of the way. They look pretty odd, not sure if they work.

Yeah, I know. And like I tell my guests who whine about no cell coverage, "Did ya come up here for the services?"

 

[Terry]

Be prepaired to have your vehicles take hell. Maine went to a salt brine on the roads a few years ago and it just eats the living sh#@ out of the underneath of your vehicle. Be prepared to replace brake tubings, gas lines, tanks ,trans cooler lines and anything else that is not coated. They go fast with that stuff. Just a word of warning.

 

[billski]

Yeah, I know. And like I tell my guests who whine about no cell coverage, "Did ya come up here for the services?"

damn people who are playing hookie from work and trying to fake out the boss that they are working :???:

 

[billski]

Be prepaired to have your vehicles take hell. Maine went to a salt brine on the roads a few years ago and it just eats the living sh#@ out of the underneath of your vehicle. Be prepared to replace brake tubings, gas lines, tanks ,trans cooler lines and anything else that is not coated. They go fast with that stuff. Just a word of warning.

The only time I need to take 91 is a short stretch to Burkie.

 

[billski]

Yeah, I know. And like I tell my guests who whine about no cell coverage, "Did ya come up here for the services?"

Ask yerself, "What would Bob Newhart do?" :roll:

 

[deadheadskier]

Yeah, I know. And like I tell my guests who whine about no cell coverage, "Did ya come up here for the services?"

I was in the area on business and found the complete lack of verizon coverage very annoying. The only place there was coverage was at the base of the mountain.

If I were a local business owner, I'd be pushing for better coverage in the area. Not having it puts you at a competitive disadvantage to other destinations. In todays 'connected' world, fewer and fewer people can actually 'tune out' and take a full vacation without maintaining contact with work.

 

[KingM]

Ask yerself, "What would Bob Newhart do?" :roll:

I'm more like John Cleese on Fawlty Towers.

 

[jaja111]

Be prepaired to have your vehicles take hell. Maine went to a salt brine on the roads a few years ago and it just eats the living sh#@ out of the underneath of your vehicle. Be prepared to replace brake tubings, gas lines, tanks ,trans cooler lines and anything else that is not coated. They go fast with that stuff. Just a word of warning.

My personal favorites locally are the additions of furnace slag (which acts as a nice wet sanding medium leaving nice scratched underneath the black sludge) and spent wort grains from the brewery (which melt the ice and then freeze in clumps to every nook and cranny of your vehicle all the while saturated with salt.)

Sensible salting requires sensible driving! as the town Highway Depts. say here in western NY.... as if they'd salt less if everyone drove sensibly. Ha!

 

[RootDKJ]

damn people who are playing hookie from work and trying to fake out the boss that they are working :???:

I fit into that category.

 

[RootDKJ]

I was in the area on business and found the complete lack of verizon coverage very annoying. The only place there was coverage was at the base of the mountain.

If I were a local business owner, I'd be pushing for better coverage in the area. Not having it puts you at a competitive disadvantage to other destinations. In todays 'connected' world, fewer and fewer people can actually 'tune out' and take a full vacation without maintaining contact with work.

And this one.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

I was in the area on business and found the complete lack of verizon coverage very annoying. The only place there was coverage was at the base of the mountain.

If I were a local business owner, I'd be pushing for better coverage in the area. Not having it puts you at a competitive disadvantage to other destinations. In todays 'connected' world, fewer and fewer people can actually 'tune out' and take a full vacation without maintaining contact with work.

It's Verison not businesses in the valley that makes the decision. Win made a deal to get the Verizon COW(cell tower on wheels) so at least there is service at the base of LP. The Bush already has the land set-up for a tower, it's Verizon's call on whether it's worth the cost with such a low population to build it.

 

[WinnChill]

I'm more like John Cleese on Fawlty Towers.

+1 :lol:

 

[WinnChill]

They are going to be shifting to a salt brine to clear to the pavement as soon as the State coughs up the money to retrofit the trucks.

Plowing is a reactionary procedure whereas brining needs a huge lead time before snow/ice falls. Timing becomes a huge issue--if they don't treat the roads in time, then it's an even bigger waste of time and money. That may work for major storms that you can see develop and can time to a certain degree, but not for those ill-timed pop up accumulating mountain snow showers you see so much in VT.

I'm not entirely sold on brining but haven't seen it in action much. It doesn't matter what they've tried on a few NH highways, it all comes down to speed and cautious driving.

 

[billski]

It's Verison not businesses in the valley that makes the decision. Win made a deal to get the Verizon COW(cell tower on wheels) so at least there is service at the base of LP. The Bush already has the land set-up for a tower, it's Verizon's call on whether it's worth the cost with such a low population to build it.

Do other carriers provide service in the valley? Rhetoric<If so, I wonder what their rationale was?>

 

[dmc]

I fit into that category.

Me too... And it gets me a sh@tload of ski days...

 

[Glenn]

They pretreat with brine here in CT. If you look at the bridges, before a storm, you can see faint white lines in the pavement.

While I'm a fan of safe roads, salt is just so nasty. The stuff kills vehicles. I wish they could find something that wasn't so darn corosive. But salt is cheap and abundant.

I heard a funny story yesterday when BSing with our neighbor in VT. His brother lives in Newfane and lives near a guy who really b!tched out the plow guy for tearing up part of his lawn with the wing plow. I guess he called this guy on the phone and let loose a tirade. The next time the guy came up to his house, he found his entire front lawn plowed into his driveway. Oops. :lol:

 

[Geoff]

Plowing is a reactionary procedure whereas brining needs a huge lead time before snow/ice falls. Timing becomes a huge issue--if they don't treat the roads in time, then it's an even bigger waste of time and money. That may work for major storms that you can see develop and can time to a certain degree, but not for those ill-timed pop up accumulating mountain snow showers you see so much in VT.

I'm not entirely sold on brining but haven't seen it in action much. It doesn't matter what they've tried on a few NH highways, it all comes down to speed and cautious driving.

Brining makes more sense on I-91 than I-89. 91 sits in the rain shadow of the Greens so you don't get the upslope lift and lenticular cloud effect other than the high point up near Canuckistan.