I-70 Question (Denver, Colorado Springs, Loveland: travel, job, house)

[FoRuMRideR420]

how is driving after a snow storm of I-70 in 2 wheel drive car?? I went to vail today and there is some big ass hills to travel down. Just wondering how this would be when theres actually alot of snow around? I'll mainly be traveling to Loveland....

[HappyMontrose]

Can be tough even in front wheel drive or 4 Wheel Drive....

The Plows do a good job but beware The Black Ice...

I watch the weather and leave around the storms!!

HM

[COflower]

People do it all the time. You just leave earlier than usual and take your time.

My last trip from Colorado Springs to Vegas, I rented a Pontiac Grand Prix as my Honda had a cracked radiator. I drove in some pretty scary snow on the way there. For a car I wasn't familiar with, it handled well even if I was driving like a granny.

You just take your time and hope those around you are of the same frame of mind.

[sunsprit]

I commuted weekly from the Denver metro area up to Vail from 1972 through 1988 with rear-wheel drive cars, and rarely had any problems. I generally ran serious snow tires ... mostly Gislaved Frost (now Nordfrost) on BMW's (2002's), and MB and Peugeot Diesel cars. There's a lot more high quality/performing snow tires available today, and it's a good practice to run them in the front range winters.

Snow packed roads were OK to drive on; it's the "black ice" or very deep slushy/rutted conditions that were more difficult. The DOT does a fairly good job of plowing the deep snowfall, and sanding the roadway, but it's tough to keep up with it during heavy snowfall and dense traffic on weekends.

Between traffic density and road conditions, I found that speeds of 35-45, sometimes 50 mph, were the most reasonable to maintain for safe travel in those adverse conditions.

I bought an old Audi 4000CS Quattro in 1989, and it's so far superior (and easy to drive!) to a RWD car for this type of driving that I wouldn't choose to drive a RWD in the nasty stuff anymore. Having worn out the Audi, I've now switched to Subaru AWD wagons, and they do the job very well for us.

If you're only commuting to Loveland from the front range, then you don't have to go over the Eisenhower tunnel ... which makes for a much shorter travel distance and fewer steep hills to deal with, although traffic can get "backed up" heading Westward by Idaho Springs on a Saturday AM. The "stop and go" in heavy traffic can be a bear heading up the hills ....

[Charles]

Like they wrote above, the DOT will take care of it - after the storm. When it is windy and a blizzard there is nothing DOT can do. The snow just blows back. I experienced this last 12/21 in COS. That was scarier than hell. The frightening, and potentially fatal thing is driving up there in a storm. White out conditions, taking side roads to "beat" the traffic, etc.

[COflower]

Oy, pet peave alert.

It's CDOT, not The DOT or DOT, it's CDOT. (Pronouced see-dot).

You can see my Colorado coming out when I do this. It's not "The 25" it's I-25 it's not The 70, it's I-70.

Okay enough with that.

CDOT is very good but be prepared for the worst. Good tires are most important in any snowy conditions. Crappy tires = not fun driving. Carry a shovel, a blanket, a bit of water and a few snacks for the "just in case". Blizzards can come out of the blue and the one in 1997 left a lot of people stranded on I-25 as they were only predicting 4-6 inches of snow that turned into a heck of a storm in a manner of hours. People were not prepared.

Last winter, people had a better idea of the potential but those that work outside their home were caught in the grips of the first one.

I'm one that works from home but I also prepare myself for the potential for bad snow. I usually get to the grocery store before everyone else does so I can stock up. I remember the blizzard of 1982 when I was a kid all too well. It hit Christmas Eve and I was freaking out when my father drove me home the next day to my mom's house. It was that bad.

Okay then, another rambling post. I apologize. I am avoiding some work and I don't want to work!

[b.adams]

During the worst snow storms, or shall I say blizzards ... it can be scary as hell. Mainly going downhill on the passes. And as others said, its the ice thats wicked. Just a bunch of power is usually not bad at all. I prefer running in lots of snow, as its rarely all the icy, unless its iced and then covered up. 4WD can help, but it more a benefit in getting going on slippery surfaces. They are some who buy a 4WD and assume they like a snowcat ... and drive like idiots (too fast) and end up in the ditch or causing accidents. You WILL see these folks in almost every storm ... the fools. Drive slowly, give 3 times the normal distance from the car in front of you and lay off the breaks as much as possible. Downshifting also can help. Some people have studded snow tires put on in the winter months, but its a little bit overkill, perhaps ... and noisy.

THe other thing to watch for is white-out conditions and/or dense fog. The fog is pretty rare here, but I have been in white-out conditions, where your following someone and can barely see their tail lights ... and suddenly, they go off the road in front of you and your lucky if you don't also.

I recall one blizzard on rabbit ears pass where you could't see the hood of your car ...
and we watched a guy in front of us in a 4WD truck ... just disappear off the edge. So we pulled over to attempt to help ... and the moment we stepped out the door, we slipped on the ice and onto our butts. Those situations are RARE!! Most people are surprised to find that the snow removal in the mountains is generally much better than in the city, because they do it all the time ... and have fulltime plows and drivers ... vs. part-timers in the front range who often don't do nearly as good of a job.

[wankel7]

Its all about your tires....snow tires are a great thing.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Snow packed roads were OK to drive on; it's the "black ice" or very deep slushy/rutted conditions that were more difficult. The DOT does a fairly good job of plowing the deep snowfall, and sanding the roadway, but it's tough to keep up with it during heavy snowfall and dense traffic on weekends.

Between traffic density and road conditions, I found that speeds of 35-45, sometimes 50 mph, were the most reasonable to maintain for safe travel in those adverse conditions.
. The "stop and go" in heavy traffic can be a bear heading up the hills ....

Yes.
In all my years in Colorado, Vail Pass was the only time I ever really got scared.

[FoRuMRideR420]

when going down big hills does anyone use low gears? my car has a Low gear and 1 and 2? ive never used them tho?