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[Bumpsis]

Does anyone know how passable is the road from Roxbury, VT (Rt. 12A) going to E.Warren and then down to Warren at this time of year?
I'll be coming up from south on I-89 and I was thinking about taking exit 5 to Northfiled Center and the Roxbury.
I do this route in the summer, instead of connecting through rt 100B. This usually save at least 40 minutes of drive time, but I never do this in winter since the road from Roxbury up the hills is essentially a dirt road and I'm afraid of getting stuck - so much for short cuts.

I drive a Ford Minivan (front wheel drive) and my snow tires are in good shape.

Any opinions?

 

[freeheel_skier]

Very muddy and rutted up. This time of year take the paved roads. As for saving 40min???? I don't think so.

Good Luck and Drive Safe!

 

[djspookman]

route 12 it really bumpy right now too.. I took it friday night and it was quite the roller coaster.. as for the gap, yeah, this time of year its muddy and rutted till near the end of april.

dave

 

[Bumpsis]

Thanks for the info - l'll do my usual "winter" route.

 

[gmcunni]

I drove up to Sugarbush from CT on March 20 and let my GPS guide me.. oh, what a mistake!! It took me over some back country mountain road that was snow covered and in horrible shape.

My bad for trusting a stupid device. :dunce:. TomTom was renamed DumbDumb the rest of the weekend.

 

[polski]

I drove Roxbury Gap on my way home from MRG last Wednesday and let's just say that even with 4WD it rated a solid black diamond. Heavily rutted.

I've also taken it a couple times in better conditions and while I estimate it shaves 18 miles off the trip to/from MRG, as far as I could tell it didn't really save any time. It sure is a more interesting ride than the extra miles on 89 though -- cresting the gap in clear weather is awesome in either direction.

p.s. I did some research on this route earlier this season, including correspondence with someone who drives it regularly year-round, and from what I could tell it apparently stays in decent shape even when snow-covered. Being a dirt road, plowing tends to mix dirt with the snow so it doesn't get too slick. I haven't driven Roxbury Gap during a snowstorm but I do know that I-89 is no picnic in those conditions either, especially when heading north on that big downgrade into the Barre-Montpelier area.

p.p.s. anyone have any thoughts on whether it saves time to approach Roxbury Gap via exit 4 on 89 instead of exit 5? I know that makes for a longer stretch on back roads but it always irks me to have to go "the wrong way" on 12A to/from exit 5 (12A north to I-89 south and vice-versa).

 

[BeanoNYC]

Ask Grassy about the Roxbury Gap....Mapquest put him on that route. His first time in the MRV, and at night!

I took 12 last time I was up. It's pretty banged up. I would take 100B down from exit 9 or go through Bethel.

 

[nelsapbm]

Any of you do Bethel Mountain Road/Camp Brook Road from Bethel to Rochester and vice/versa? It cuts of 10-15 minutes versus the 107 to 100 route from Bethel. It's a windy, curvy, steep mountain road (paved), so if you don't like those, don't do it.

 

[gmcunni]

Any of you do Bethel Mountain Road/Camp Brook Road from Bethel to Rochester and vice/versa? It cuts of 10-15 minutes versus the 107 to 100 route from Bethel. It's a windy, curvy, steep mountain road (paved), so if you don't like those, don't do it.

that is the way TomTom pointed me. driving in my non-snow tired front wheel drive car sucked!! first 1/3 of the ride was fine.. then suddenly there was 6+ inches of snow on the road (mind you, it was a clear night and i don't think it had snowed in a few days). Then the uphill grade got bad and i spun my way to the crest of the mountain.. downhill was a creeping 5 miles per hour as the SUV driver in front of me appeared to be very uncomfortable with the conditions. They eventually pulled over to switch drivers so i passed them. then i could go 10 mph !!

 

[BeanoNYC]

Any of you do Bethel Mountain Road/Camp Brook Road from Bethel to Rochester and vice/versa? It cuts of 10-15 minutes versus the 107 to 100 route from Bethel. It's a windy, curvy, steep mountain road (paved), so if you don't like those, don't do it.

I've done it. I don't think it saves much time (5 min, maybe) , but it's certainly scenic. I've traveled close to 5 hours when I get to 89. I like the no-nonsense drive down 100B.

 

[Lostone]

So I get on the lift one Sunday, around 2:30, with a couple. It is a pretty good ski day, but when I ask how their day is going, they say (forcefully) "Don't ask?"

Thinking they had some problems with the mountain, I switch to ambassador mode and ask what is wrong. They tell me they just got there. I figured they were there for the week, and just got a late start for the day. I asked if this was so.

No, they were there on a day trip, on a bus from the Boston area. They seft around 4:30 in the morning and spent most of the day stuck on Roxbury gap. Turns out the bus driver ignored the directions sent by Sugarbush and followed the info from his GPS.

Didn't he see the the "Not recommended for winter travel" sign? They (almost yelled) answered in unison... "YES!" :uzi:

I decided I might better talk about something else. :-?