Mountain driving in the winter

[springshades]

Originally Posted by cowboy_71

There are several "passes" between Montana and Washington on I-90 and yes Does cross the "Rocky Mountains"
Bozeman Pass is one yes, but not the worst by far.its actually relatively small.( kind of a long hill and not twisty at all)
Then there is "Pipestone Pass" just before Butte (6453 ft) a little hairy at times in the winter .Then ya got a few "hills" here and there between Butte and Missoula Mt. After that ya will hit "lookout Pass" at (4725ft) at the Idaho Border. And as far as "winter-snow" type driving goes it just depends on how well accustomed to it you are.. There are times in the winter in Montana and Idaho and wyoming you can experience "white-out" conditions.it can get "iffy" travelling but for the most part the Interstate is pretty safe. Just to add, i use to live in Montana and NEVER used chains once in my life there, no one that I had ever seen used chains there either. It just wasn't something that was normally done. Although carrying chains with you would be a safe thing to do. Like others have said just keep an eye on the weather forcast in every state you'll be travelling thru and plan accordingly.. Good luck and be safe.

Yup you're absolutely right cowboy. Couldn't remember the name of the twisty steep pass so I googled up the names of passes on I90, came across bozeman, and assumed that was the right one since the name was familiar to me. Pipestone pass sounds right and the elevation matches with what I remember. So keep an eye on conditions for pipestone and the continental divide. Don't worry about bozeman pass as much.

[mconzemius]

Thank you all so much. I'm starting to vaguely remember the mountains near Idaho/MT. Having lived in Nebraska all my life, I'm very accustomed to driving in snow/ice/bad road conditions. However, we are also looking into the option of flying and just shipping items we need. We are moving to Washington, so it's going to be hard to get all of our items shipped, but I wasn't going to be able to take much with me in the minivan anyway. Most of the furniture I own is garage sale/hand me down, etc.. anyway, so it doesn't hurt me to leave it behind!

Thanks again for all of your help!

[cdelena]

My wife and I learned our lesson about winter driving in the west and will avoid higher elevations and will certainly not venture out without chains and emergency equipment.

We carefully watched forecasts and made a trip in February because all looked clear. With a forecast of partly cloudy and windy we set out on a route after getting an all clear from truckers that had just come the other way.

A bad snow storm blew up very rapidly dumping heavy wet snow in high winds. We encountered white-out conditions, abandoned one car, the other way hit by an 18-wheeler that did not see us in the storm, and spent days and much money recovering.

Use caution in planning winter trips!

[Skytripper]

The route you stated that you are planning on taking....out of Cheyenne, WY....north on I-25 to Billings....then west on I-94 is an option.....but likely a potentially.....bitter cold one that time of year and there is NO way of avoiding mountain passes along the way.
Your other alternative would be to continue west on I-80 out of Cheyenne and pick up I-84 in Utah......but there are also mountains to take into consideration just east of the Salt Lake/Ogden area that get a lot of snow as well........but if all goes well past that area......its wide open as far as passes go until you reach Snoqualmie......assuming you head north on I-82 out of northeastern Oregon which, BTW.....has some elevation rise through the Blue Mtns. that could get tricky......or, like another poster said......you could stay on I-84 through the Columbia Gorge into the Portland area.....then head north on I-5 to Tacoma......without any passes to worry about......maybe ice in the gorge though.
Any way you look at it though.....travelling through the West that time of year.....CAN mean trouble with various winter weather conditions, blizzards, etc. to think about......and carrying chains IS advisable as well as monitoring the weather forecasts on a frequent basis!
Good Luck, be prepared and enjoy the scenery along the way.

[Pugetsoundman]

I'll be driving from Rockford, IL to Tacoma in early January and all your suggestions are very helpful. Thanks to all!!

[mconzemius]

Just a little update. My husband and I have decided to wait for the kids and me to wait until May to travel. This way we can drive and be fairly sure that we won't run into bad weather. The last time I drove this route in May, we had a little snow and slick roads near Billings, MT, and ended up stopping for the night there. But, that is 1/2 way anyhow, so it was okay. Anyhow, thanks again to everyone for your help and information!