I-80 in mid-winter

[F350]

Just remember to have your car ready for the trip. Last time I was on I-80 in January the temp guage read "-2" for outside... and this wasn't adjusted for wind. I remember thinking 'if this thing breaks down I'm literally dead'. Not to be dramatic but even a flat tire can be serious business when you're in the middle of nowhere and it's below zero. Prep your car and have some supplies in case it becomes your home for a day or two. Walking to the next exit ain't an option...

[M3 Mitch]

Just something to think about - if making the trip a couple of months in advance won't work for you, you just might want to consider leaving your cars with friends/family to sell, or sell in advance of the trip, then fly out to DC. DC is one of the most car-hostile towns that I have been in, and I have been in Boston, Atlanta, etc. If I were going to work in DC I would do my house-hunting on the Metro and on foot from there, any apartment or house that would require me to commute by car would not be worth consideration.

I have made this trip through Wyoming anyway in winter a couple of times, including once in an air-cooled 69 VW Bug, I didn't have any problems but as has been mentioned you can be clobbered by a whiteout with less than a day's worth of warning anyway. I distinctly remember one early spring day at the St. Vrain nuclear plant outside of Denver (same basic climate as WY) when I left the house and saw a few snowflakes as I left town. I got stuck in the snow before I made the 8-mile trip to the plant, me and about everybody else who worked there.

Being a rural Western crew though, this was not a disaster, the guys with 4X4's got some relief operators to the plant, then carried the rest of us back to Johnstown, Platteville, etc. where those of us who lived there put the rest up on our sofas, spare rooms, etc. Left all our cars out there on the county road. Next day it all melted off, caught a ride out to the "ragged bug" which started right up and went on into workthe next day. Those were good times, really. I miss that old crew and that plant, in many ways the most advanced electrical generation plant ever built in the US...

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by F350

Just remember to have your car ready for the trip. Last time I was on I-80 in January the temp guage read "-2" for outside... and this wasn't adjusted for wind. I remember thinking 'if this thing breaks down I'm literally dead'. Not to be dramatic but even a flat tire can be serious business when you're in the middle of nowhere and it's below zero. Prep your car and have some supplies in case it becomes your home for a day or two. Walking to the next exit ain't an option...

You know, wind chill is only how it feels on bare skin. Doesn't effect a vehicle. Most of us don't even have thermometers. We just let the dog out and wait three minutes. If you have to go out and bust him loose from the tree, then we know it's cold.

[Westcliffe]

Worst road I have ever driven (not being dramatic here) Not called the widowmaker for not.

We live in NW Colorado. A couple of times the I-70 thru CO had sounded worse in terms of forecast. Two Christmases ago the I-70 was saying hurricane force winds from Copper Mountain to the base of the mtns near Denver (we travel to WI each year). Didn't sound good. SO...."We'll just take the I-80 (lalalalalalala)"

Black ice, road closures, high winds, wrecks, stressed state troopers - you name it. Thing is, the forecast called for 10-15mph winds and NO snow. What'd we get instead? 40-60mph winds. No real snow to speak of coming from the upper atmosphere; just a ground blizzard from across 100 miles of Godforsaken cheatgrass yellow plains. Every town along that stretch is suspect in terms of decent dining and they want $100 a night for a rathole when they know they have a captive audience. Nice folks huh?

I "thought" one could just check the weather, but it changes so stinkin' fast in that area you just do not know a thing. We had to turn around @ Walcott JCT before Elk Mtn and go clear back to Craig, CO just to proceed. The thing is with that road is it is ALWAYS a crapchute. You might have to wait 2 hours for it to open back up, or it could be 3 days?

My advice is to budget a scenic tour of central Colorado taking the I-70 where they actually have some sort handle on the stretch they must clear and keep snow free, keeping in mind that even with all the HIGH mtns ALL around, the I-70 really sits mostly in drainages rather than wide open plains. I would see some of UT on the way up from Grand JCT CO and then rejoin the I-80 in Salt Lake City heading west thru a massive rain shadow that RARELY sees such tremendous wind and blizzard events. The day you lose could be your life or a couple of days of your time anyway.

[barrydansmith]

Thank you everyone for your helpful comments. I just found out that I did get the job. However, given these comments and a number of other things I've read, I've decided to fly out and ship the car separately. It's just not worth the hassle, especially since I might need to miss Xmas with the family just to leave enough travel time to be safe.

I'll save that mid winter adventure for another time!

[rmmoore]

2800 miles in 8 days seems like a decent trip. BUT, your assessment of I-80 across Wyoming is accurate. Personally, I'd add a couple of days to the trip. Almost all of I-80 in Wyoming was closed for 4 days, two weeks ago. As in OCTOBER!!!! We seem to be in store for a rather nasty winter this year, at least it appears that way so far. If you get there early, no big deal, if you get there late, you already know that result. Give yourself a few extra days and enjoy the scenery if you can. Life is too short not to enjoy it when you can.

I tend to agree on the Honda, although the most dependable one is the one I'd pick. Dependable and the one you could spend a night in. You may HAVE to. I say that kind of halfway jokingly, but it certainly is a possibility. If you hit a closed section of Interstate, and your on the tail-end of traffic, you'll be SOL. There are NOT thousands, or even hundreds, of hotel rooms available every hundred miles apart (which is about how far apart the main towns are). Plan accordingly.

[F350]

"Remember, never take no cutoffs and hurry along as fast as you can."

- Tamsen Donner