[Chuck]

Pres,

We are headed to Breckenridge, Co and have resevations at Tiger Run. There will be snow there for sure. About 1,000 miles for you.

Bill

[Archived]

Head west on I-10 into New Mexico. Angle Fire? you can stay in Las Cruces and drive to the mtns for snow.

[Archived]

Angel Fire would be a great choice especially if you want some snow that might be more manageable than Colo. I think Ruidoso Motorcoach in Ruidoso will likely be closed then but Bill and Tom’s suggestion of Las Cruces is also great to keep the bus in better weather and do car trips from there. Santa Fe Skies in Santa Fe and American in Albuquerque will be open too and good bases to the snow areas.

[Peter]

Pres, the Redhead and I are thinking we’ll be in Santa Fe around Christmas. We’re in New Orleans for the weekend, then wandering west from here. Gonna try and visit Bill and Tom mid January in SoCal.

I talked to the lady at Riodosa, they are closed, but she said to give her a call when we get close, if the weather is ok she might be able to accommodate us. She’s awesome.

[Peter]

Mark has room in his driveway for people that want to experience real weather. When we lived in western NY our winter snowfall average was 240″ because we were in the lee of Lake Erie in the snow belt.

Ain’t nobody here with enough money to get me to go up there in the winter ever again.

And for you southerners that close the schools when the long range forecast calls for a snow flake to fall, man up. With all the snow we got we never ever competely used the 5 snow days in the school district and I am unaware of any business ever closing because of snow. Ask someone to take photos if you are not used to snow. You do not belong driving it it because the locals still drive the speed limit even with snow on the roads.

Ask Tom. He drove professionally in it for years.

[Ronald]

For those of you going to be driving in the snow , you should carry a set of Auto Socks for the outside drive tires they work great and could get you out of a tight spot. Very easy to put on and no damage if they come off.

[Fred F.]

Yep, a foot of snow was a minor inconvenience for those big truck days, ya had to go….

One really bad storm near Brockport, right on lake Ontario, the snow had drifted so bad it was up to the 2nd story bedroom window and the kids opened the window and used it as a slide. I know, you think I’m full of the stuff Jon puts on his garden, but true story.

[gary]

I believe you Tom the snow can get like that hear , one time it snowed so much it was up to the edge of the roof on are log cabin could not open the doors or windows to get out , so I pushed Trina up the chimney to the roof to get out ,she did not meet Santa Clause coming down the chimney

[Peter]

Get out the snow shoes! the It seems to be getting pretty deep! Gary

[John]

When we rode the bus to school one winter, the driver got stuck in a turn-around after it snowed quite a bit. He could get it to rock back and forward, but not quite enough to get out. Several of us got out and pushed him back out. Can you imagine the hand wringing and upset wimps today that would condem that? For us it was no big deal, it snowed and you dealt with it.

If someone wants to come up and see, wait until the middle of January. That is when we usually have more snow and the temps get down in the below zero range. Two winters ago we had 60+ consecutive days below zero and a total of over 70 for the entire winter.

[Peter]

So, from what I can gather, if I get in snow or ice, I will do what Houstonians do when the road ever freezes…

We aim at the cheap cars…

Pres

[Archived]

Peter,

Thanks for the suggestion. I was going to borrow a set of chains from the local Bus Company. But I did some checking online and the auto socks look pretty cool and you saying they work means a bunch. My plan isn’t to drive if the roads are bad but this is a good backup if I get stuck in a situation that wasn’t Planned any other advice for driving the bus in snow if that has to happen? Still use the Jake??

Bill

on edit: found this online https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/carrier-safety/carrier-safety-resources/motorcoach-brake-systems-and-safety-technologies

[Archived]

Turn Jake off if real bad lift the tag

[Archived]

Free advice for those with little or no snow driving experience.

First, try to understand that places that get a lot of snow also can remove a lot of snow. Tales of roads shutting down are not fake, but they are also not common. If a road does become impassable it will not be a sudden surprise, because preceding the shut down travel will get progressively more difficult. As a novice when roads get difficult to travel on, just find a safe spot and park.

Roads will get slippery. Sometimes so slippery it is dangerous to drive. If you are driving and you sense the ass of the bus starting to break traction or the steering non responsive you are in over your head and you need to slow down or get off the road. Even the people used to driving in snow understand that concept.

Our coaches are not so easy to get rolling on a slippery surface, but once moving they do extremely well, to the point where it is easy to get over confident. You just have to understand that once 50,000 pounds starts to move in a direction other than where you want it to go your response has to be perfect to correct the skid, or you are going to need a tow truck.

Be aware local drivers who know the roads and who have snow driving experience are going to drive very fast compared to those who have little or no experience. They are going to work or are out and about doing their errands. Respect the fact that you are not likely to drive like they do so don’t try. And if your speed is substantialy different, do them and yourself a favor and get off the road. As long as everyone is maintaining a similar pace everything works well on snow covered roads, but when there is a slowpoke people are trying to pass, hitting their brakes when they shouldn’t and generally the entire flow of traffic gets screwed up. That is when accidents happen.

[Fred F.]

Pres, if you are headed to Santa Fe or Northern New Mexico, be aware that I-40 between Clines Corners (80 miles North of Roswell) and Albuquerque can be shut down because of snow and ice. The reason is that the high desert is at 7,000 feet even though it doesn’t feel like it because the climb is so gradual. If weather is forecast for that area, take I-10 across to El Paso then take I-25 North at Las Cruces. Hardly ever any snow on that road until you get North of Albuquerque.

Have a great trip, enjoy your time.