What's your worst "Commute to the mountain" Winter driving story?

[billski]

I sometimes wake up at night in a cold sweat from the nightmare of being behind one of these on a powder day:

What's yours?

 

[riverc0il]

There are few things in life worse than being behind a plow en route to the mountain on a powder day. Thankfully, in NH and VT, the plows tend to leave enough space for a car to pass by both plows because they alternate lanes and at a reasonable distance for passing. Getting stuck behind a plow in Franconia Notch is the suck, though.

Best to always leave early and allow a lot more time in the event of plow traffic. We wouldn't get to the mountains at all without them so I try to be reasonable with my passing and attempt to keep a level head about it. En route to Jay, I have had plows pull off to the side of the road to allow traffic to pass which is really nice of them.

I don't have any specific story, but I do recall days when I got up either "on time" or a little late (on powder day timing, that is) and had to dig out my car and my lot had not been plowed yet then I got stuck behind plows and the passing lane was not dug out yet (that is you, VT, I am talking about here in regards to not clearing out a passing lane sending out lone plow trucks...). And of course, when I finally do get to the mountain after some white knuckle driving and questionably safe passes, the mountain is completely on wind hold and after hanging out in the lodge for five hours (because I forgot my touring gear even though I knew it was going to be windy), they finally announce no operations for the day.

 

[Philpug]

GSS's trip to Jackson last year was up there.

 

[billski]

There are few things in life worse than being behind a plow en route to the mountain on a powder day. Thankfully, in NH and VT, the plows tend to leave enough space for a car to pass by both plows because they alternate lanes and at a reasonable distance for passing. Getting stuck behind a plow in Franconia Notch is the suck, though.

Best to always leave early and allow a lot more time in the event of plow traffic. We wouldn't get to the mountains at all without them so I try to be reasonable with my passing and attempt to keep a level head about it. En route to Jay, I have had plows pull off to the side of the road to allow traffic to pass which is really nice of them.

I don't have any specific story, but I do recall days when I got up either "on time" or a little late (on powder day timing, that is) and had to dig out my car and my lot had not been plowed yet then I got stuck behind plows and the passing lane was not dug out yet (that is you, VT, I am talking about here in regards to not clearing out a passing lane sending out lone plow trucks...). And of course, when I finally do get to the mountain after some white knuckle driving and questionably safe passes, the mountain is completely on wind hold and after hanging out in the lodge for five hours (because I forgot my touring gear even though I knew it was going to be windy), they finally announce no operations for the day.

Steve, what a great story. You should take the place of the Warren Miller stories on the last page of SKI magazine. Miller has run out of new material and continually recycles. You write with such imagry and crispness that I can relive all of these same experiences from my own past. When I wrote that line I was thinking of all the strategies I use to avoid the plow sitution, including night-before pre-positioning, but decided it was off-topic.

One of my more interesting drives was the morning of my flight out of Denver, which I had to reach by road from Steamboat. 12" had fallen with another 12-20 in the forecast. Rabbit Ears pass was closed. Only way to Denver, without going up and around through Wyoming. Well, what's a good new england driver to do? Go around the gate anyways. The narrow pass road was steadily steep for 3 miles, the snow got deeper and deeper. I passed two 4x4s and but kept chugging along in my little Hertz front wheel drive econobox. The snow was light and fluffy, but packing on the road. It was a long hour's drive but I made it. The horror in it all was that I was leaving....

 

[billski]

And of course, when I finally do get to the mountain after some white knuckle driving and questionably safe passes, the mountain is completely on wind hold and after hanging out in the lodge for five hours (because I forgot my touring gear even though I knew it was going to be windy), they finally announce no operations for the day.

That is the worst part of the nightmare. If I could, I'd check in somewhere for the night and have at it next day. Sadly, I've usually bartered some favor for a powder day, so staying the next day, for a 2-day "holiday" (midweek it always seems to be) becomes impossible.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Last January my flight from Chicago to Jackson Hole ended up in Denver due to extreme whiteout conditions in Jackson. When our plane arrived in Denver, they weren't ready for us and suggested we take the flight back to Chicago...only 4 people took that option. I waited in line for customer service for about an hour and a half..the options were horrible..including 4 flights to Idaho Falls..so I declined and decided to rent a car. I collected my baggage and high-tailed it over to Hertz. I felt they were the most legit since OJ Simpson used to be their spokesperson.

I rented a Suburu Impreza wagon and was off..540 miles to Jackson Wy.. no maps..but really just three roads...15 north to 80 west to 191 north. Driving north into Wyoming the temperature dropped from the 50s to the 30..then westward on I-80 which was smooth for the first hour or so before I began to encounter weather on one of the many mountain passes. Greasy roads and alot of semis made the drive treachourous. It ended up taking me almost 7 hours to get from Denver to Rock Springs..I thought about staying in one of the two overpriced motels in Rock Springs but I thought..F-it..I'm getting to Jackson for first tracks in the morning.

The first part of 191 North wasn't bad..pretty flat and only light snow..then the terrain became more mountainous and the snow picked up and the visibility decreased..luckily the front and back windshield wipers and heat worked great as the temperatures dropped into the single digits..As I approached Pinedale I pulled over for a powernap.then hit the toughest part of the drive...Hoback canyon. I would go 10-15 mile stretches without seeing another vehicle then without much warning..headlights behind me and a fast moving tractor trailor..and then I would sort of pull over to yield as I was only driving 30mph and they were going 60..

The scariest part about the Hoback canyon is that you are several hundred feet above the Hoback river and a minor accident could send you plunging to your death..I finally made it into Jackson around 5AM..a full 12 hours after I left Denver..the last 180 or so miles took a solid 5+ hours..I would love to do that drive again on dry roads and during the daytime..nothing like driving through some of the most beautiful country and only being able to see 100 feet ahead of you...

I did get to ski lots of powder the next day..on an hours sleep..

 

[billski]

GSS- Nasty! I hope the powder was eggsellent!

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

GSS- Nasty! I hope the powder was eggsellent!

It was my 5th or 6th best powder day at J-Hole...lol..seriously...but I have had so many good ones in the 40 or so days I've skied there..

 

[lloyd braun]

Last winter we got about 20" overnight and the Bus got stuck before it got to my stop.

I had to walk the eight blocks to the Gondola, all uphill!

 

[riverc0il]

Oh man, I got one from back in December 2000 or January of 2001 or so. I was just starting to take skiing seriously and a friend of mine and a friend of his wanted to go skiing. So the plan was to head to Wildcat for the day.

The messed up logistics started with my friend leaving Salisbury and getting in my car in Haverhill to drive to Dracut for the third person. Then reversing direction towards Route 16 via I-95. This is a powder day up in the mountains mind you.

So we are driving up I-95 and my not being familiar with the route and not having personally driven to Wildcat before sees me missing the left hand exit for Route 16. No worries, we'll get off up a head and cut across from east to west and hook back up with Route 16. The map shows the road goes that way, no worries!

Well, as Pippin argued in the Lord of the Rings, "Short cuts make for long journeys." Aside from the slushy roads and town traffic, I almost managed to slide my car off the road when I took a turn too fast in a car without snow tires. Wonderful, I almost just killed my best friend.

We finally hook back up with Route 16 and all is well until heading up into Pinkham Notch when I get behind a plow that buries the hood and wind shield of my car with heavy slushy plow snow. Somehow, I managed to not drive off the road and clear the windshield before anything bad happened. I think we started skiing by noon time and conditions were less than stellar with (of course) the summit lift on wind hold and only the Bobcat running.

Adding insult to injury, on the drive home, something got knocked up under my car and caused some thumping in the wheel well. No harm done but yet another commuting issue of the sort I hope to rarely have again.

Lots of bad decisions and an amateur driver and lack of common sense. I still don't know how I saved my car from not going over the side of the road.... worst feeling ever.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I had a real long story written and it got deleted..........

 

[deadheadskier]

Pretty much any commute to a NH mountain that involves any sort of non-highway driving. NH has the slowest drivers of any state in the union except for PA. It drives me nuts on a daily basis. For whatever the reason where most states people drive five miles per hour OVER the speed limit on state highways, NH residents tend drive five miles per hour UNDER. Even slower in the Mountain areas. The drive from North Conway to Wildcat is always painful

 

[jaja111]

Three seasons ago I had to turn back going from Rochester NY to Holiday Valley in southwestern NY. All was clear and fine going west down the NYS thuway, but in typical lake effect snow fashion (lake Erie that is) the sky on the left to the south was pitch black. We got off the I90 and began to head south when it started to snow. We went from light flurries to an all out 3, maybe even 4 inches an hour squall. I was in an all wheel drive car, but being unable to determine where the actual road was I had to make the call to turn back half way there. Hell, I was getting vertigo and there was a foot of snow hanging off the back of the car. At its worst point it was dark as night at 2pm, street lights were on in villages, and we saw lightning / heard thunder 5 or 6 times. Lightning in the middle of a dark snow squall is something to see, think camera flash and "what the f#$%? was that? followed by weird muted rumbling thunder.

The friends we were following made it another 15 miles only because they were behind a plow and could follow its two blinking yellow lights at 5mph. At that point they called to check on us and let us know that..... I'm serious..... the sun was again out and the roads were dry. Warm lake + arctic air = snow so heavy you'd have to swim through it as it fell but only in strips 10 to 30 miles wide.

 

[drjeff]

Wasn't for a powder day, but last December during the ice storm that hit Western/Northern MA/So VT/So NH HARD! Left CT ,pretty much just after the storm had ended with the 2 kids and 2 dogs in the car (My wife decided to stay home that weekend). Got up I-91 to Greenfield, very easy. Dry, open roads, and plenty of signs of power! Off I-91 onto the back from from Greenfield upto Wilmington via 112/100. Climb up Rte 2 out of Greenfield, bam! Trees down, powerlines down, NO power except for the sporadic house with a generator Same thing all the way from Greenfield to Wilmington - 30 miles of dark ice damage - I'm thinking oh sh$t! I've got both kids and the dogs, and I'm probably looking at no power, no heat and no water at my place vs. another 2+ hours in the car to turn around and head home - mental stress for the last 30 minutes of the ride. Had to stop and wait on Rte 100 maybe 1 mile before it joins Rte 9 in Wilmington so some guys could stop and clear the tree that had just fallen across the road and in the 10 minutes it took to clear the tree, above the sound of the chain saws all you heard was the loud bangs and snaps of other trees falling (once again not very comforting as a parent with the kids in the car). Finally got to Wilmington - power Start driving up 100 towards Mount Snow - no power Get almost to Mount Snow - power And then finally the relief of turning into my complex and seeing ALL the street light working (thank you complex wide MEGA tree limb powerline clearing project. I was totally fried from the stress of that drive, WWAAYY more than any snowstorm drive which will often take an extra hour or 2 or 3 than that drive did that day!

 

[PomfretPlunge]

Wash DC covered by rare 12" blizzard work is cancelled, head for Whitetail and 10 miles from the hill, come out from under the snowclouds into bright sun. Snowfall on mountain: 0" :angry:

 

[Glenn]

We drove up to Bromley last year in a pretty decent storm. As mentioned, VT DOT staggers when they plow. However, when it's light fluffy snow, you can't see s___ for a few seconds. Not fun.

 

[Talisman]

A few years ago heading to Jay Peak on a Friday night from CT in falling snow. I-91 wasn't bad until the MA/VT border. MA had salted the daylights out of I-91 early in the storm and been able to keep the wet snow from freezing. VT had a 2-3 inch crust of frozen glop on the high way and the sub par driving skills of those heading north had blocked the highway with spin outs, jack knifed trailers and other accidents. My bride wanted us to stop and hole up in a motel, but we had reservations in Jay. After roughly two hours on icy back roads I made it back onto I-91 and crept on northward, by the time I reached exit 6 the road was powdery snow and the driving control much better. Got to Jay at ~2:00 AM, but the powder the next morning was epic.

 

[Beetlenut]

Years ago, had Warren Miller passes to Sugarbush. Everyone arrived at my house at 5:30 (guess who was driving?) in pouring rain! We talked about how it might be snow up North or if we should just bag it. This was before reliable Internet reports. So me and 6 other crazy idiots piled into the Wife's Ford Windstar and started driving. The rain started freezing on the windshield by the Mass boarder. We had to stop every 50 miles and chip-off the ice. After a while it was about 110 degrees in the van just to keep the front windshield from freezing, and everyone was down to t-shirts and sweating like crazy. 95 in Vermont was truly a hell ride as the plows couldn't keep up with the rain/snow/slush. Took 7 hours to get to Sugarbush at which point I got stuck in the parking lot. We just left the van where is was and grabbed our stuff. It was a rain/ snow/ sleet mix at that point. I skied about 5 runs, and I guess all the driving finally caught up with me, and I hit the wall and had nothing left. Passed out in the lodge at a table until my friends woke me up and said we're done, lets drive back! Got stuck two more times getting back to 89! Not one of my best decisions!

 

[powhunter]

This is a true story!! Back in 92 we were forcasted to get a monster nor'easter. 6 of my buddies decided to head up to Stowe. We had my vehicle (89 wrangler) and a car with the rest following. Started to get real nasty as we passed thru northampton. 4WD was in order at this point and the snow was starting to accumulate fast!!!!! As we neared the Vt line we had about a foot on the ground and were moving at a clip around 30 mph. As we crossed into Vt we were in the white room!! Next thing I saw was headlights comming straight towards us. A car evidently was spinning out of controll. I swerved and rolled 2 times and landed upside down in the culvert on the side of 91. So we are upside down and all I can remember is our cooler was upended and beers were exploding all over, and When Im 64 by the beatles was still jamming. None of us was hurt and we crawled out the windows. When we got out there was a crowd of people checking to see if we were allright. We were fine...Our skiis on my spare tire mount were unscathed, but all the plexiglass on my hardtop was blown out and the interior was filled with snow, mud, and branches. The strong smell of gas filled the air as we wondered what to do (leaking out) Anyways about 8 good samaritans rolled the jeep over and I drove it back on the shoulder!!!! (could have made an awesome jeep comercial!!) I was pretty shaken and didnt want to continue, plus I had no back windows and it was still dumping, so my buddy jumped in the other vehicle, and I drove off exit 2, scrounged some cardboard and duct tape, fabricated some windows, and got a rooom for the night!! Ended up skiing over 2 feet of freshies at Mt. Snow the next morning!!

steveo

 

[billski]

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