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Old 10-15-2010, 08:32 AM
 
Location: Just outside of Portland
4,828 posts, read 7,423,281 times
Reputation: 5115

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xanathos View Post
The very fact that you are oftentimes not only encouraged but REQUIRED to outfit your car with specialized equipment (be them studs or chains) in order to be able to make the drive indicates that yes, that drive is in fact dangerous. A lot of people (particularly those with rear wheel drive cars) have an immense amount of difficulty making it through the passes, particularly in the dead of winter.


Does this mean that because someone has to put studded snows or chains on their car to drive around in Rochester, Minnesota during a winter storm that it's a dangerous place?

If you just decide to jump in your poor running Honda Civic with bald tires and without any preparation at all drive over the pass in a raging snowstorm, yeah that's dangerous!
If you get in your well running front, rear, or all wheel drive car with studded tires and/or chains, watch the weather report, and don't go when there is a blizzard on Mt Hood, dangerous gets downgraded to slightly hazardous, and the "immense amount of difficulty" making the drive disappears.

DON"T MAKE THE DRIVE IN DANGEROUS CONDITIONS. THAT TAKES THE DANGER OUT OF IT!

What did people do before the invention of front and four wheel drive vehicles?
They put sandbags in their trunk and put chains on their drive wheels for traction. They did all right!

Winter driving from Portland to Bend is a NOT a journey of constant blinding snow and ice storms, thousand foot cliffs, cars constantly careening out of control and death and injury around every corner.
The elevation of Government Camp is only 4000 ft. It's not Alaska.

Last edited by pdxMIKEpdx; 10-15-2010 at 09:22 AM..
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Old 10-15-2010, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Austin Metro
113 posts, read 370,774 times
Reputation: 44
"That said, there are sunny days in the winter there, more often than in Portland, so keep your eyes on the weather and go when it looks good and you're about to tear your hair out here."

This is good, sound advice. Thanks! I'm sure there are loads of rentals around there too. I'm not too worried about the dangers of the drive... lived in Vermont, live in 5 months of snow now and I'm used to driving in the mountains (although I'd rather skip the blizzards if possible). I was wondering about the time. Google maps says 3.5 hours. Someone I met in Portland told me 2. ???
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Old 10-15-2010, 02:34 PM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
7,785 posts, read 18,765,652 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rhino5 View Post
"That said, there are sunny days in the winter there, more often than in Portland, so keep your eyes on the weather and go when it looks good and you're about to tear your hair out here."

This is good, sound advice. Thanks! I'm sure there are loads of rentals around there too. I'm not too worried about the dangers of the drive... lived in Vermont, live in 5 months of snow now and I'm used to driving in the mountains (although I'd rather skip the blizzards if possible). I was wondering about the time. Google maps says 3.5 hours. Someone I met in Portland told me 2. ???
In the summer, not on a crowded weekend, not paying attention to speed limits, it could be done in just over 2 (also depending on what part of Portland you are leaving from and what route you are taking). Trying to drive out on a Friday or come back on a Sunday - not so much. Add a little snow or a little ice and really not so much. Planning on around 3-3.5 hours is a better estimate.

The fastest "sun break" from Portland is generally Kah-Nee-Ta Resort which is a realistic 2 hours out.

Last edited by PNW-type-gal; 10-15-2010 at 02:49 PM..
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Old 10-15-2010, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Austin Metro
113 posts, read 370,774 times
Reputation: 44
Thanks for the info PNW-type-gal. Just what I was looking for.
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Old 10-15-2010, 03:26 PM
 
499 posts, read 1,443,335 times
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When I was a junior & senior in high school we would drive over to Kah-Nee-Ta during spring break. The sun was always shining when we were there & even if it was windy & a little cool the warm pool took care of that. We would spend hours in that pool. I recommend it to any Portlander crossing the mountains for some sun.
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Old 10-15-2010, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Bend, OR
3,296 posts, read 9,665,502 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal View Post
In the summer, not on a crowded weekend, not paying attention to speed limits, it could be done in just over 2 (also depending on what part of Portland you are leaving from and what route you are taking). Trying to drive out on a Friday or come back on a Sunday - not so much. Add a little snow or a little ice and really not so much. Planning on around 3-3.5 hours is a better estimate.

The fastest "sun break" from Portland is generally Kah-Nee-Ta Resort which is a realistic 2 hours out.
I definitely agree with this. I've lived in Bend a little over two years and we've had to make the drive to Portland several times in the winter to catch flights out of PDX. Most of those times, we allowed 3.5 hours and were fine. Of course, we did have family arriving into PDX this summer and made the drive in 2 hours, but that was pushing the limits and during the middle of the week.

It's really not a bad drive, snow or otherwise. After spending the first 32 years of my life in Colorado, I can tell you the only thing really dangerous on the roads are the people from other parts of the state that don't know how to drive in the snow! If you're not needing to do this commute on a regular basis and will have some discretion based on the weather, you'll be fine! Plus, living in PDX, there always seems to be cheap flights to warmer, sunnier locations. That'll help cure the winter blues.
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Old 10-16-2010, 11:30 PM
 
Location: Gilbert, AZ
139 posts, read 528,934 times
Reputation: 84
When I used to live in Portland I had to go to Bend once a month all year round. After a couple of harrowing trips over 26 I started going by way of The Dalles and taking 197 south in December, January, and sometimes February. I never ran into bad weather that way.
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Old 10-17-2010, 10:35 AM
 
9,961 posts, read 17,464,967 times
Reputation: 9193
I've made it up over 26 in pretty snowy conditions in my AWD Subaru(never put chains on once). The biggest hazard for me is other drivers on that road, especially people who have no idea how to drive on snow. But for most of the year, the road is fine. They plow and sand it pretty regularly when it does snow, and once you get past Hood and towards Kah-Nee-Ta the road is usually bare of any snow. I've had worse times driving over Santiam Pass---but even that route isn't that bad. I guess 4 years of driving up to Mt. Ashland in the middle of a blizzard-- where the road ends at about 6,500 feet---prepared me for winter driving.
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