Visiting HF Over Christmas

I was in a Ford Focus (front wheel drive) on Saturday with a few inches of snow and couldn't make it up the first hill on Taylor Road (the first turn off of a "major" road). We were lucky and some folks with AWD saw us struggling and gave us a ride. Even the "major" roads (i.e., county roads) were not plowed at all and it was pretty slow going.

Obviously if it hasn't snowed in a few days you should be fine, but if it has you will probably have trouble.

 

Snow tires are about 10x more important than AWD. Drive slowly, don't be a dumbass, and you'll be fine. The roads to HF are pretty standard non-Chittenden County roads.

 

Also, "all season" tires are not snow/winter tires. The "all season" part is if you live in a state that doesn't have snow/icy conditions.

 

I drive a Ford Focus ST (FWD) and have aftermarket sport springs/shocks that lower the car about an inch, while it is a blast to drive in the summer - it is in no way ideal for dirt back-roads regardless of season. But when winter comes I have a set of proper winter tires that go on the car, and I get around VT perfectly well.

With that setup I have visited HF in pretty every type of weather a VT winter can throw at you. For example I made it up there without issue the same day that a guy in a Prius from NY/NJ got stuck on the Taylor Rd hill and accidentally slid off the road into a field when trying to turn around. My point it not to make fun of the guy in the Prius, but to illustrate that winter tires (combined with experience driving on snow covered roads) make a huge difference in your ability to get around VT in the winter.

So in my experience no, AWD is not at all a requirement to make it up there in the winter, but as others have stated winter tires are highly recommended.

 

I went up to ski last winter the Saturday after Christmas and VT was getting hit by a consistent snow that ended up dropping 4-6 inches. The drive up was not so bad. I have a front wheel drive 2009 Nissan Versa Hatchback with only all-season wheels. I did not anticipate the line being what it was, and the wait was about 3 hours, and it snowed the entire time. I should have bailed from the growler line and just bought bottles. The drive back was whiteout and really rough. It would have been rough with snow tires, but it was a very slow drive home. I am used to driving in this stuff, but that was one of the more treacherous drives.

Thankfully my new 2015 Subaru Outback will be here soon and I will put some winter tires on that for VT trips to ski/beer/foods.

 

I was there late in the day on Saturday and the car in front of me was a rental sedan (Georgia plates, so we asked them once we were in the parking lot) and it spun quite a bit but made it up the hill, which was covered in a couple inches of snow. If you have at least decent tires (even most all season as long as they have good tread) you should be fine I would think (unless you are in the middle of a snowstorm). Have fun!

 

Don't believe the hype.

 

Any feedback on how busy HF gets around Christmas? I was thinking of going the day after or the week after but am not sure if based on a lot of people being off work it is a very busy time (more than normal).

 

I recall foolishly stopping in at 1pm on New Years Eve last year and at least 100 people were in line. I now avoid holiday weeks at all costs.

 

I went the saturday after christmas last year.... shit-ton of people. We arrived at noon and had a 3.5 hour wait. I'm sure the saturday prior is no better.

 

We drove up in a prius on Saturday. Totally shitty weather and road. We took it slowly and got there with no issue. It wasn't the prius it was the driver. Slow steady and don't be a jackass. The bonus was it was deserted and we got served in 5 minutes out in 20 after our samples. yes it was insane to go but heck we were in the neighborhood (almost).

 

Last year my fiancé and I took a trip the weekend after New Years. We arrived at 10am and were the only ones there. We hung out for a little while and only saw two other couples stroll through. Granted it snowed a little the night before and the low temp for the vacation was -20......

 

Saturday after Chistmas last year: 3 hour wait from the opening bell and past close, in a snow storm. You never know.

 

Saturday was more like 'average' than 'totally shitty'. Tonight is totally shitty for real.

 

Saturday was shitty enough for us, good luck with tomorrow to all braving the roads. To the brave go the spoils or some other corrupted quote.

 

Come on up, the roads are fine.




Duxbury, VT December 13

 

Unimog or stay home!

 

Check VTrans realtime road conditions website - super useful in the winter. 511VT.gov. Live Twitter feed is very helpful.

 

Depends on the type of snow. You can have dry snow, heavy wet snow (which isn't bad to drive in), or you can have snow that I can only describe as greasy . Unfortunately we've been hit with the greasy snow twice this year. You hit the brakes and nothing happens because it's slick and clogs up your tires. I have 4 wheel drive and never bought snow tires before. This is the first year I couldn't make it up the driveway. Got snow tires last week.