- Joined
- May 19, 2007
- Messages
- 7,745
Lots of folks get into trouble in your neck of the woods when they either mis-read the weather, or ignore the warnings. So first thing is make sure that you can stay put if it all goes bad. Flashing lights will help you from getting run down by the snowplow, and will let them know that there is someone in the car.
Don't assume you will be able to get to the trunk, if you go into a deep ditch, it may not be worth while to crawl through the snow to get your kit. if you don't have a folding rear seat, keep at least a few things in the back seat. A blanket can sit across the back seat without bothering anyone.
I used to keep all my winter gear in two containers, a blue rubber maid for the "hard" stuff, stove, shovel, jumpers.... and a MEC duffel with the soft stuff, boots, ski-pants, mitts, and extra hat. having a few cheap bottles of water is great too, even if you do need to thaw them to use them, it takes less heat to melt ice than snow. If you need cheap heavy winter clothes, try farm supply stores, Carharts are $$$ but there are other brands of monkey suit that can be had for cheap, and can be a lifesaver.
Another thing to think about.... I think that north of Red Deer, studded tires are okay (If the roads you stick to are mostly clear most of the time, don't bother, they only help for ice) but winter tires are your friend! I'm amazed at how many people think that all-seasons are just as good. below -20 or so, the added flexability in the winter tires adds massive amounts of grip (just don't use them in summer or you'll burn them off in a heart beat, the reason I never used them in Calgary, too many winter days with hot dry pavement!) You may also want to think about chains. They vastly limit your speed, and are "illegal" for road use, but I think if you were puttering along a back road to get home, and it was bad enough you'd need them, there wouldn't be a cop in sight, (or you might be giving them a helping hand.)
your county might also have info on which roads have priority for plowing which can be really helpful info. Just in case your commute drive takes you on a low priority road, in the crap days, you might take a better route.
keep warm, and be visible, not much else you can do beyond that.
My summer kit was just lots and lots of water. (driving crap cars will do that to you, I had enough to fill the cooling system twice over in one car!)
Don't assume you will be able to get to the trunk, if you go into a deep ditch, it may not be worth while to crawl through the snow to get your kit. if you don't have a folding rear seat, keep at least a few things in the back seat. A blanket can sit across the back seat without bothering anyone.
I used to keep all my winter gear in two containers, a blue rubber maid for the "hard" stuff, stove, shovel, jumpers.... and a MEC duffel with the soft stuff, boots, ski-pants, mitts, and extra hat. having a few cheap bottles of water is great too, even if you do need to thaw them to use them, it takes less heat to melt ice than snow. If you need cheap heavy winter clothes, try farm supply stores, Carharts are $$$ but there are other brands of monkey suit that can be had for cheap, and can be a lifesaver.
Another thing to think about.... I think that north of Red Deer, studded tires are okay (If the roads you stick to are mostly clear most of the time, don't bother, they only help for ice) but winter tires are your friend! I'm amazed at how many people think that all-seasons are just as good. below -20 or so, the added flexability in the winter tires adds massive amounts of grip (just don't use them in summer or you'll burn them off in a heart beat, the reason I never used them in Calgary, too many winter days with hot dry pavement!) You may also want to think about chains. They vastly limit your speed, and are "illegal" for road use, but I think if you were puttering along a back road to get home, and it was bad enough you'd need them, there wouldn't be a cop in sight, (or you might be giving them a helping hand.)
your county might also have info on which roads have priority for plowing which can be really helpful info. Just in case your commute drive takes you on a low priority road, in the crap days, you might take a better route.
keep warm, and be visible, not much else you can do beyond that.
My summer kit was just lots and lots of water. (driving crap cars will do that to you, I had enough to fill the cooling system twice over in one car!)
I maybe should look into that again...
