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Driving from Alta to Heavenly



 
 
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  #21  
Old October 25th 04, 07:28 PM
Dmitry
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"AH" wrote

Also, I'm hiring a car in LA (we're doing a 3 week trip going out as far as SLC) and I need to get some snow chains. Just need
them to last three weeks.. anyone got a suggestion about where to buy some cheap ones?


Man, more than 10 hours.. thats going to kill me.. gonna have a 6am start then I guess.. can't waste an extra day, otherwise that
will be one less day on the slopes..


If there's night skiing at Heavenly (I don't remember, but Squaw
has night skiing for sure and you'll have to drive by anyway),
so if you start early enough you might still make some tracks
that day.

And by no means it's wasted time - the scenery is pretty
spectacular.


Ads
  #22  
Old October 25th 04, 07:29 PM
Dmitry
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"lal_truckee" wrote

I can't believe you said that! "Chains required" condition on I-80 is
a VERY GOOD THING, and you should be driving your wheels off
to get to the mountain ASAP, and NOT holing up in a hotel. Ugh!


No, he should hole up elsewhere. It's unsafe to be in the mountains and specially near the slopes, when the roads are snowed on. I
know, since I live near the slopes and I suffer extremely dangerous conditions every single time.
Like now. Bummer.


Eh? Where's this danger is coming from?


  #23  
Old October 25th 04, 08:05 PM
The Real Bev
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Dmitry wrote:

"Walt" wrote

I thought car rental companies frowned on the use of chains,


Yes they do. They also frown on driving on unpaved (dirt) roads.
What they don't know won't hurt them. But you could be in trouble if
they find out.


This is quite strange, chains/cables are, among other things, a safety
device. I'd imagine rental companies will get suied in a blink of an eye
if they prohibit chain installation..


Perhaps they prohibit driving their cars in areas where chain
installation is required.

apparently real made-out-of-real-chain chains don't fit in the
wheel-wells of modern cars.


I think it depends on the car.


A lot of expensive cars, esp. with sport package/big wheels don't
have enough clearence for chains. But cheaper ones that are
the bulk of what rental companies offer should not be a problem.


Aren't the ones with cable on the sides and what look like aluminum
beads on the tread surface supposed to work? Painful closure method,
at least those nasty red things on conventional chains didn't slice your
fingers open and could be dealt with nicely with Channellocks if they
gave trouble.

--
Cheers,
Bev
---------------------------------------
That's my opinion. Ought to be yours.
  #24  
Old October 25th 04, 08:12 PM
pigo
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"Dmitry" wrote in message
news:mKafd.314194$3l3.65114@attbi_s03...

This is quite strange, chains/cables are, among other things, a safety
device. I'd imagine rental companies will get suied in a blink of an eye
if they prohibit chain installation..


Most people are too stupid to instal them properly.


What kind of car is he renting? Subaru wagon or FWD with snowtires should
eliminate the need for chains anyway.


  #25  
Old October 25th 04, 08:18 PM
pigo
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"AH" wrote in message
o.uk...


Thanks for your advice..

What is the deal with chains? I'm from Australia, but live in London, and
as it rarely snows in both places, I have never really driven in snow..


If that's the case, I would feel better if you left the driving to public
transportation if chains are required. They should be running to get you to
skiing. If the roads (interstates) are that bad postpone or pull over.

At what point should you put them on? If there is 2 inches of snow on the
ground is it really necessary to fit them at that point?


They let you know.

What kind of car are you getting? Good snow tires and moderation of speed
should do you just fine. AWD would be nice if you can afford it but not
necessary.

Maybe we can ski a day or have a beer while you're here (SLC)?

pigo


  #26  
Old October 25th 04, 08:21 PM
pigo
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"Dmitry" wrote in message
news:rSafd.4997$HA.1223@attbi_s01...


I can't believe you said that! "Chains required" condition on I-80 is
a VERY GOOD THING,


Only if you are one of those that *doesn't* live in the mountains.

and you should be driving your wheels off
to get to the mountain ASAP, and NOT holing up in a hotel. Ugh!


Not from the POV of one that lives in the mountains.


  #27  
Old October 25th 04, 08:28 PM
pigo
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"AH" wrote in message
o.uk...


Man, more than 10 hours.. thats going to kill me.. gonna have a 6am start
then I guess.. can't waste an extra day, otherwise that will be one less
day on the slopes.



Leave after skiing and do 1/2 and 1/2. You'll still get a 1/2 day in Tahoe.
It's an easy drive. Long but easy.

10 hrs is about right. It's 530 something miles to Reno, I think, from SLC.
The posted speed limit is 75 so you can set your cruise to about 82 and not
worry about cops. I'll pass them going in my direction at about 80 and you
can get a bit more if they're just trapping. MAKE ADJUSTMENTS FOR WEATHER
THOUGH !! They'll get you for driving too fast for conditions in a
heartbeat.

pigo



  #28  
Old October 25th 04, 08:29 PM
AH
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"pigo" wrote in message
...

"Dmitry" wrote in message
news:mKafd.314194$3l3.65114@attbi_s03...

This is quite strange, chains/cables are, among other things, a safety
device. I'd imagine rental companies will get suied in a blink of an eye
if they prohibit chain installation..


Most people are too stupid to instal them properly.


What kind of car is he renting? Subaru wagon or FWD with snowtires should
eliminate the need for chains anyway.


I am renting a Dodge Stratus.. I have no idea what that is, however it seems
a little bigger than compact, and its cheap at under $300 for 3 weeks.. but
its not FWD, and we're picking it up from LA, so I doubt it will have snow
tires..


  #29  
Old October 25th 04, 08:32 PM
uglymoney
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On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 18:41:32 GMT, "AH" wrote:


"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...
AH wrote:
Hi all..

I am going to be skiing at Alta/Snowbird on the 6th and 7th of December,
then driving on the 8th to Heavenly and skiing there for 2 days... Map
point says that it will take about 9 hours, which is fine..


Pap Point is wrong. I figure 10 hours to Truckee when I make the run -
Heavenly is farther. It's a long drive, but doable in a day, but you will
want to make a couple of walk-around stops.


However, what I didn't realise is that this motorway is pretty "high"
(asl) and it seems to snow there.. my question is, how likely is the
highway to be closed, and if it does snow and stay open, how much will
this affect my journey?


Maybe from Carson City to South Shore (Heavenly) you will see snow and
chain control - if it's in the forcast stop off in Reno for cheap chains -
every corner store in town sales chains - expect to pay $25-$30. But by
then you'll know if you need chains, so you will likely save the cost by
not getting them.


Yes. There is somewhere to buy chains in Reno 24/7. We had to stop
and buy some at Wal-Mart (i think, or a similarly distateful bigbox)
at around 2:00 am once. No problem. Pick up some bungie cords while
there. Use the bungies (2 per wheel usually) to tighten cables so
they won't ruin the wheelwell of rental.

In our case in 1998, by the time we had reached the passes over to S.
Lake Tahoe, they had nobody checking for chains with the sign still
saying we needed them, but we didn't bother of course... on I-80 over
Donner they mean business. Put them on or rent 4wd if they signs are
flashing.

I've seen only flurries coming accross Nevada; neve
needed chains. Since it's a long way and all pretty much the same
exposure, so if chains were required accross Nevada it'd probably be for
200+ miles; you don't want to do that: hole up in a motel and wait a day -
it'll melt.


Also, I'm hiring a car in LA (we're doing a 3 week trip going out as far
as SLC) and I need to get some snow chains. Just need them to last three
weeks.. anyone got a suggestion about where to buy some cheap ones?


Man, more than 10 hours.. thats going to kill me.. gonna have a 6am start
then I guess.. can't waste an extra day, otherwise that will be one less day
on the slopes..


If you can afford it try to rent a car with XM satellite radio or
somehow get your hands on a unit. I think avis offers it on their
premium or luxury cars. You'll basically be listening to nothing
otherwise across much of the west.

I've driven across Nevada numerous times. It is almost always
passable even in storms. Its a high desert. At worst it will be a
blizzard on the top of some passes with ice, and snowing down low, but
unless a semi jackknifes and blocks things up, you should make it
through unless you are really hopelessly unable to drive on slippery
roads, which is possible in your case.

Go slow. In order to avoid a skid at all cost keep a large following
distance. Lane changes should be smooth and turns should be extremely
low g. Don't brake hard, or accelerate hard. If you do skid, steer
into it to regain control. Remember that the tires with the least
traction always lead. If you are driving a front wheel drive car that
means that if the rear end breaks loose and starts to come around in a
skid, giving the vehicle gas will cause the front tires to skid, and
it will likely slow the skid and allow you to compensate and correct
for it by steering into the skid. On a rear drive car, try to
maintain an exact nuetral throttle in order to allow the wheels to
regain traction. On a 4wd car, slight positive accelaration is often
your best bet. If you happen to skid and have lost control, but your
momentum is taking you in a safe direction, lock your brakes to
proceed in a straight line till either you stop, or you impact
whatever it was that you decided was softer than the semi.

If you have never driven in snow, and it snows, find an open parking
lot spin around a few times to learn the tricks of the trade.

If the massive semi trucks start to scare you on I-80, or more likely
blind you as they go past especially in a tailwind situation where the
rooster tail of snow that they throw up will likely blind you for the
better part of a 1/16 of a miles, pull off, sleep for an hour or two
or three or all night till it gets better. No matter how good a
driver one is, it is almost always the other drivers that determine
when you should pull off the road.

You run into the chain issue once you hit the Sierra Nevada's, only
the last hour or so of travel on what should be for you a pretty
modestly traveled road.

nate
  #30  
Old October 25th 04, 08:43 PM
Walt
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AH wrote:
"pigo" wrote


What kind of car is he renting? Subaru wagon or FWD with snowtires should
eliminate the need for chains anyway.


I am renting a Dodge Stratus.. I have no idea what that is, however it seems
a little bigger than compact, and its cheap at under $300 for 3 weeks.. but
its not FWD, and we're picking it up from LA, so I doubt it will have snow
tires..


A Stratus is FWD as in Front Wheel Drive, but not 4WD as in Four Wheel
Drive. They will almost certainly have All-Season tires on them, which
meet the legal definition of "snow tire" but is not as good as a genuine
snow tire.

Unfortunately, ou can't usually rent vehicles with snow tires. Almost
all rentals have "All-Season" tires, which work acceptably well in snow,
but are not genuine snow tires. Real snow tires make a huge difference
- too bad you can't rent them.

My advice - serious this time - is stick with the Stratus (a 4WD vehicle
will cost you at least twice as much), leave some room for adjustment in
your schedule, and watch the weather.

If it dumps while you're in SLC, follow pigo's advice and drive to the
bottom of BCC or LCC and take the bus up to the slopes. You can also
take public transportation around to Park City, but it's a bit more of a
hassle.

--
//-Walt
//
// Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community
 




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