Driving questions (Epic, Indy)

[Mum skier]

Hello All,
Decide to ask this here rather than on facebook!
I have left it late to book a ski trip for February vacation week (I know..... kids in school, no option here) - was waiting to see which western Epic areas would have good conditions, but now flights are crazy and thinking we might just do a driving trip around NE. We have a regular 4 wheel drive SUV, no winter tires. Assuming there are no major storms (we wish there were major storms.....) what are recommended routes and roads like for:-
Boston to Saddleback - about 4 hours, assume fairly major roads at least as far as Rangely? Or not. Any info to share.
Rangely to Saddleback - if we stay in Rangely and there was snow can we get to the mountain? Or if we did manage to find a slopeside condo (probably too late for that) we'd still have to come down to Rangely for dinner I assume
Saddleback to Jay - Google says about 3 hours - I thought it would be longer than that. Is the shortest route open in winter? Route 16, then 26 (Dixville Notch - is that a high pass?). Then 105 or 111? Anyone done this, this is probably the leg I worry about. Any of these closed in winter.
Jay to Stowe - about 1 hour - anyone done that? 118 or 100, are they open in winter?

Obviously if there was a big storm we might have to change plans or stay longer/shorter in one place, but trying to get a general idea of driving in winter, but non-storm conditions.

Thanks,

 

[KustyTheKlown]

snow. tires.

see ya in the ditch.

 

[Smellytele]

Okay I’ll touch on some of this.
Rangeley to saddleback usually is fine.
Rangeley to Jay can be iffy. Dixville notch while not high is steep. Also this route is number routes but plowing isn’t always great.
Jay to Stowe can be interesting as well. While they did repair the frost heaves to Montgomery smugglers notch is closed in the winter and you have to go down through Morristown.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

sugarloaf to jay is when i flipped my car on a moose in island pond vt with about 2-3" on the road. i didnt have snow tires. bet i would have stopped on time if i did...

 

[thetrailboss]

snow. tires.

see ya in the ditch.

Yeah, it is hard to give driving/route ideas without actually knowing the weather and road conditions. When you said Saddleback and then going to Jay, I immediately went . I say that as someone who grew up in the NEK.

Heading up to Saddleback in the winter, it is likely that you will run into snow covered roads. It is that far out of the way and they get snow when others may not. There is not much traffic compared to other parts of New England.

You are right that the easiest way to go from there to Jay is "cross lots" by going through Dixville Notch and over to Island Pond, but as someone who has driven that route before a few times, it is incredibly beautiful, convenient, but damn remote with relatively limited maintenance in places and little traffic. Not to mention no real phone service if you get in trouble.

Finally, the route from Jay to Stowe is pretty much going down Route 100. That is, relatively speaking, a main thoroughfare for rural Vermont. But expect snow and rough conditions in places like the pass between Lowell and Eden and between Eden and Morrisville. Once you hit Morrisville it is pretty busy down to Stowe. Parts of 100 have limited if any phone service.

Investing in some snow tires will save you a disaster. Knowing how to drive in winter conditions, and having that experience, is worth its weight in gold. Also being prepared in case you do hit trouble is a good idea.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

literally walked for an hour with no cell service before the first car (an oil tanker) stopped and took me to town.

 

[Zand]

If you have Epic and Indy I would pick either Vermont or NH/ME and stick with one. You should be fine doing like Attitash/Wildcat/Saddleback or Stowe/Jay as any road to a ski resort is usually well maintained. But that ride ACROSS northern NE to go from Rangeley to Jay can be real nasty. If the weather is fine then thats one thing but if you book in both places and then a big storm hits on the day you drive...forget about it.

 

[thebigo]

never had snow tires in my life, been driving to ski areas in the snow for decades and have never gone off the road. modern vehicles are an order of magnitude better in snow than the shit boxes I drove a couple decades back. not sure why anyone would drive from saddleback to jay on family vacation. either set up in maine or vermont. you could start at saddleback, then do a BMOM day en route to north conway. Then WV or cannon on trip back to boston.

 

[Edd]

never had snow tires in my life, been driving to ski areas in the snow for decades and have never gone off the road. modern vehicles are an order of magnitude better in snow than the shit boxes I drove a couple decades back. not sure why anyone would drive from saddleback to jay on family vacation. either set up in maine or vermont. you could start at saddleback, then do a BMOM day en route to north conway. Then WV or cannon on trip back to boston.

Same with snow tires, only because I’ve no place to store them. Otherwise, I would. AWD with decent skillz gets me by.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Same with snow tires, only because I’ve no place to store them. Otherwise, I would. AWD with decent skillz gets me by.

my local shop stores my off season tires for $30 a month. worth it.

 

[LoafSkier19]

I agree with everyone else, I would skip the trek to Jay. I’m assuming it’s because of Indy blackout dates, or lack there of, was the reasoning for trying to go to both? With that in mind and your Epic pass you can still hit Saddleback, BMOM, and the MWV areas (BlackNH, Wildcat, Attitash).

As far as needing snow tires in Rangeley, I have personally never used them heading up that way. The biggest hurdle is the first hill heading up Dallas Hill Rd to the Mtn from Rt 4 and my car has been fine each time it was snow covered. Just watch for moose if heading up at night.

What I don’t know is the road from Saddleback to BMOM (Rt. 17). I know the sketchy spots have been repaved this summer. But haven’t heard anything as far as damage from the big rainstorm as I would assume that stretch would’ve been just as susceptible as Rt. 4,16,&27 were. If anyone has driven that in the past month I’d be curious to know.

 

[BenedictGomez]

never had snow tires in my life, been driving to ski areas in the snow for decades and have never gone off the road.

DISCLAIMER: Past performance is not indicitive of future results.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

for real. you dont have a shitty incident til you do. snow tires are the best money i have ever spent.

 

[parahelia]

If you're driving around that area, just be aware that there were a lot of road closures in northern ME due to the 12/18 storm. Rt 16 is still closed between Rangeley and Stratton due to a bridge washout, which closes the main route to Sugarloaf from Rangeley. Rt 26 was closed from Newry to the NH line until just a few days ago, but I think it was E of the intersection with Rt. 16. I use New England 511 to get the latest.

That being said, I think your route is open. I agree that the 3-hr estimate between Saddleback and Jay seems highly optimistic - I've driven over from Sunday River a few times and even that takes longer than it should.

If you go to BMOM, allow yourself extra time to get over Height of Land on Rt 17 (which gets snow when other places don't). The road was comically horrendous last year (5mph in places), though it sounds like it's better from the conversation above.

 

[BenedictGomez]

for real. you dont have a shitty incident til you do. snow tires are the best money i have ever spent.

Learned my lesson about 20 years ago on Moscow Road in Stowe (I'll bet GPS has destroyed that trick).

SUV with all-season tires. Even then I knew you should have snows on an SUV; I did have a year of Physics in college. LOL, but I was young and poor earning Vermont wages. Pre cellphone. Never made it skiing that day, eventually got towed out.

 

[shawnanigans]

I drove 17 from Rangeley down past BMOM on New Years Day and the road is in pretty good shape. No signs of frost heaves yet but those will likely pop up as the season rolls on. A couple of washouts on the sides of the rd in spots but they are marked well. That route is in better shape than past winters.

 

[2Planker]

for real. you dont have a shitty incident til you do. snow tires are the best money i have ever spent.

Been driving Rangely to Saddleback for years... No worries w/ snow tires, and I drive a Quattro.
My buddy hit TWO MOOSE in one day on that route
Totaled his truck, hitched back to borrowed a patrollers truck and hit the 2nd one with in
5 miles of the first one.... Bad Day to say the least

 

[KustyTheKlown]

lol that is impressive. one moose was enough to disable my car. upside downly.

 

[Bratwurst]

sugarloaf to jay is when i flipped my car on a moose in island pond vt with about 2-3" on the road. i didnt have snow tires. bet i would have stopped on time if i did...

Why didn't you ask the moose to flip your car right side up and then push your car back onto the road? I flipped my car on the way to BW in NH on Rte. 3 just north of Cannon landing on my roof, cd still playing but there were no friendly mooses/meese around to help. Had to pay $450.00 for a wrecker. Snow tires are a good idea if you drive in winter in the great white north. Driving 10 to 15 mph BELOW the speed limit helps too.

 

[AdironRider]

Well let me tell you something about DOT and Town plow guys. They only do that job for the OT, and so far, they aren't earning much OT. You can bet dollars to donuts that any sign of snow and they will be out in force.

So I'd say don't worry about it. You will in all likelihood be fine.