Many of Fjeldheim's fans believe it is at its most beautiful when blanketed with fresh snow and festooned with icicles. If you haven't stayed with us during the ski season yet, this looks like the year to do so (and if the perfect dates for your family are taken, book them for 2014 now)! But getting up to the house in normal midwinter conditions can be challenging, when local roads and our steep driveway are covered with snow or slush, or enameled with ice.
Fortunately, Josh Lufkin has lived all his life in the Northeast and in the Tahoe Basin, and can coach you through the toughest winter driving conditions. Here are his top four tips for winter driving:
1. Know the weather forecast and road conditions before you begin your trip.
Weather.com is good; "Weather Underground" (wunderground.com) is even better, but more technical. Use our ZIP code, 89449, to find out the current weather conditions and the ten-day forecast.
To find out road conditions, plan your route, then check the state Departments of Transportation websites: they will usually have up-to-date information on road conditions and storm closures (if any).
Best of all, just call Josh and ask him. He always knows local road and highway conditions and will give you the best information and advice about the Tahoe/Reno/Minden/Meyers area.
2. Know your vehicle, and prepare it as best you can.
If you are driving your own vehicle, carry snow chains that fit your vehicle's tires well. Practice putting them on at home when the pavement is dry.
Before you leave for Fjeldheim, have a mechanic check your suspension, steering, brakes, and tires. If anything else might be an issue, get that checked too. You don't want your transmission failing on a steep mountain grade, or a tire that's wrapped in snow chains going flat on you. Mountain driving involves more mechanical stresses than normal driving. Make sure your car is up to it.
If you are renting a vehicle, we strongly recommend choosing four-wheel drive. The extra expense is well worth the infinitely better traction, not to mention saving you time, hassle, and inconvenience-- you'll never have to put on chains!
3. Adapt your driving habits to road conditions.
If the road is wet, snowy, or icy, SLOW DOWN. Change speed gradually: brake early when you must slow or stop; downshift to maintain a lower downhill speed, rather than riding your brakes; accelerate gradually; take turns at a speed that won't make your rearview mirror's fuzzy dice swing at all. Imagine you have a glass of milk perched on your dashboard, full to the brim: now drive in a way that the milk won't ever spill. Do this and you may never notice how little traction you have, in ice and snow, because you'll avoid generating the lateral forces that overcome that traction and make you skid and slide.
Josh emphasizes, "If you do begin to slide, take your foot off the brake (or accelerator) for a moment. Chances are, that's what began your slide in the first place."
4. If your vehicle begins to slide sideways in a forward skid, turn your front wheels in the direction the car is moving, not the direction it's pointed, or the direction you want it to go.
This will help your front wheels, at least, regain traction with the road-- which they will do when they are turning at the same speed, and in the same direction, that the road surface is moving past you.
The same principle is true for braking and accelerating: if your tires lock up when braking, or spin out when accelerating, allow them to match the speed of the road beneath you to regain their grip, so that you can use whatever grip you can maintain to help you slow down (or accelerate).
Nothing creates and maintains that grip like new mud-and-snow-rated radial tires. Or a great set of snow chains that fit your tire well. Choosing the best chains for your vehicle is a whole 'nother topic though...
Please, drive safely, arrive safely! We hope to see you here soon, while the snow is fresh and deep.
