D Nauti said:

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If you want to be sure you can get up the pass to ski no mater what then you probably want the truck unless you want to put chains on the SUV.

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Don't need a 4WD truck to drive thru the colorado passes.
Just drive slow and don't be an idiot

LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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D Nauti said:

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If you want to be sure you can get up the pass to ski no mater what then you probably want the truck unless you want to put chains on the SUV.

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Don't need a 4WD truck to drive thru the colorado passes.
Just drive slow and don't be an idiot

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On clear sunny days, this is true… on the bad days, terrible advise!

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Not everybody in colorado drives F250 and jeeps
I've made trip to 3 different ski resorts in colorado, driving a suburban, a mini van and a Tahoe
None were 4WD and made it safely each time with zero issues

LJF78 said:

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LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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D Nauti said:

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If you want to be sure you can get up the pass to ski no mater what then you probably want the truck unless you want to put chains on the SUV.

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Don't need a 4WD truck to drive thru the colorado passes.
Just drive slow and don't be an idiot

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On clear sunny days, this is true… on the bad days, terrible advise!

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Not everybody in colorado drives F250 and jeeps
I've made trip to 3 different ski resorts in colorado, driving a suburban, a mini van and a Tahoe
None were 4WD and made it safely each time with zero issues

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The guy driving a mini van to Colorado in the winter gets my vote of confidence ;(. WTF!

LJF78 said:

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LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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D Nauti said:

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If you want to be sure you can get up the pass to ski no mater what then you probably want the truck unless you want to put chains on the SUV.

---

Don't need a 4WD truck to drive thru the colorado passes.
Just drive slow and don't be an idiot

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On clear sunny days, this is true… on the bad days, terrible advise!

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Not everybody in colorado drives F250 and jeeps
I've made trip to 3 different ski resorts in colorado, driving a suburban, a mini van and a Tahoe
None were 4WD and made it safely each time with zero issues

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The guy driving a mini van to Colorado in the winter gets my vote of confidence ;(. WTF!

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So again you think everyone driving in colorado mountains, all the people headed to ski resorts are driving 4WD vehicles ? Come on man quite being dramatic

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Of course not…. I've lived in the Rockies on and off a long time. Often, the weather is just fine but it Is incredibly stupid to assume past performance is …. Ah **** it, roll the dice for yourself but don't influence others with your misinformed logic!

One of my Aggie fishing clients just before Thanksgiving drove from Navajo Dam (NM) to the Durango airport to pickup a family member and decided to stay in Durango because the roads were so bad (he has considerable experience driving in snow and had an appropriate vehicle for the conditions).

Just follow the traction laws and take your time. One of the best snow setups I've ever seen is 2wd grand sierra minivan on blizzaks. That thing was an absolute beast. I'd honestly probs of taken it over my 4wd Jeep w studded snow tires at some points. The key is making sure you follow the traction laws and allowing yourself plenty of time to get where you're going. If you feel unsafe or inexperienced in the conditions, pull over. I've been driving 70 for 2 decades and I still have moments where I go "f nope" and chill. That's just the way it is up here. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

If you aren't from here, check your washer fluid temp rating. It doesn't matter if you're on a 4wd setup w studded snows and a lift if you can't see outta the windshield.

Any info on south tahoe?

They have next to nothing right now. Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar. We were supposed to go there this weekend but pivoted to Tulum instead.

Mt Rose will usually have the best early season snow of the Tahoe area resorts. They seem to make the best of what falls and is made. Hoping for a good storm before our upcoming trip.

ETA to the above pissing match: No way I would ever consider driving to Mt Rose after a big snow storm without a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Here's hoping for a white af Christmas up there then. We're heading that way in 4 weeks

LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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LRHF said:

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LJF78 said:

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D Nauti said:

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If you want to be sure you can get up the pass to ski no mater what then you probably want the truck unless you want to put chains on the SUV.

---

Don't need a 4WD truck to drive thru the colorado passes.
Just drive slow and don't be an idiot

---

On clear sunny days, this is true… on the bad days, terrible advise!

---

Not everybody in colorado drives F250 and jeeps
I've made trip to 3 different ski resorts in colorado, driving a suburban, a mini van and a Tahoe
None were 4WD and made it safely each time with zero issues

---

The guy driving a mini van to Colorado in the winter gets my vote of confidence ;(. WTF!

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So again you think everyone driving in colorado mountains, all the people headed to ski resorts are driving 4WD vehicles ? Come on man quite being dramatic

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Of course not…. I've lived in the Rockies on and off a long time. Often, the weather is just fine but it Is incredibly stupid to assume past performance is …. Ah **** it, roll the dice for yourself but don't influence others with your misinformed logic!

One of my Aggie fishing clients just before Thanksgiving drove from Navajo Dam (NM) to the Durango airport to pickup a family member and decided to stay in Durango because the roads were so bad (he has considerable experience driving in snow and had an appropriate vehicle for the conditions).

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It is not " rolling the dice" driving a non 4WD vehicle in the mountains.
As mentioned majority of people traveling to and from ski resorts are not driving 4WD vehicles.
Drive slow, take your time and 99% chance you will get to where you're going no problems.
To suggest you need a 4WD vehicle and if you don't you're " rolling the dice" is pretty dramatic as the other guy pointed out

I will keep it simple. 1% of the time you will not drive over the pass or up the mountain without a 4 wheel drive or good, properly fitted snow chains. Snow chains are a pain in the azz. But most of the time you can drive your minivan, if you are a minivan man. But that 1% you will not. And even after snow plows have cleared the snow, often there is ice on the roads early the next morning after an overnight freeze.

If you are adamant about carrying some sort of traction device for a 2wd vehicle, snow socks are MUCH easier to get on than chains and they won't **** up your wheel well.

To the person that says you don't need a 4wd car or traction device to make it up the passes at times is flat out wrong. I'm with the guy directly above me. Regardless of what you have on your car, there's those 1-2% times it doesn't matter.

Just yesterday, while I was going up Ike, there were several 2wd cars trying to get up Eisenhower that couldn't make it. One was a lifted 2wd pickup truck. He was spinning those things as hard as he could and still was sliding backwards. Behind him was a ford sedan that was pulling the same maneuver. If they hadn't both been sliding backwards they would've hit each other. Luckily for them, they didn't and both realized they weren't going to make it and pulled over and waited to the met chloride to drop. I honestly didn't feel real great about it and I'm in a 4wd jeep w studded tires and drive that route 3-4x a month.

So yeah, absolutes are hard to use in the mountains. That's one time I think 4wd or a traction device was needed to actually climb the pass. Last time I can remember that was back in probs 2020 or 2021 but it happens. Again, that's the 1-2% anomaly but there are those instances where 2wd can't make it and even times that 4wd or traction is required to make it up and even instances where that's not enough.

The above poster nailed it about plows making **** slick as **** too. The WORST time to drive is the morning after they metcholride and plow. The met chloride melts the ice and refreezes into black pancake and then the plow shaves off the top layer of traction so that you're riding on the top of an ice sheet with nothing to help catch. That's a scary feel

You nailed it! They have the only decent base in the area. They are still below their season average but at least they are above 3ft. That's 1.5-2x the CA hills.

But I've got 4x4.

https://instagr.am/p/CdR1eopKRdn

https://instagr.am/p/CqirmtqBo9N

BCO07 said:

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Any info on south tahoe?

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West coast isn't getting much until around Christmas. Tough start. Everything we have gotten has been washed away with rain. Timberline has 94" since 9/1, but only a base of 24".

Vail dropped more rope today. Now the resort is 49% open (entire front side and GC Bowl).

Breck is at 20% and BC 31%. BC should be opening more soon from the sounds of it. I haven't heard any word on more terrain opening for Breck or Key is 16%.

Panda- what is the best weather forecast site that the locals use? I'll be at CB in a couple weeks for my annual trip.

JustPanda said:

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Vail dropped more rope today. Now the resort is 49% open (entire front side and GC Bowl).

Breck is at 20% and BC 31%. BC should be opening more soon from the sounds of it. I haven't heard any word on more terrain opening for Breck or Key is 16%.

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Appreciate you posting this info. Today was the last day to cancel everything to Brek without penalty. Can always go another time when we can have a better experience.

OpenSnow is the best by far.

I think that's a smart idea. Look at the current base and forecast. I wouldn't be paying for Sumco hills right now. It's gonna be BARE in 10 days with this forecast.

Vail and BC have rhe same extended forecast, but they are working with a lot more snow at this point. See below:

https://www.steamboat.com/the-mountain/live-cams

I have certainly seen a lot worse years. Actually it looks pretty good to me for early season.

See what I posted about steamboat above. It's well below its average but it's gotten recent snow to help it keep a 30+ inch base. The problems gonna be this upcoming week when it hits the mid 30s with no snow expected before the 20th at the earliest. The snowpack is good but that won't last long. Time to get in turns is this week but they actually have a base to build their snow making. That's what they have going for them that Breck and Key don't. Breck and Key don't have much outside of what they've been trying to get open since early November and made no progress.

Luckily SS catches a low angle sun in December unlike Keystone and Breck.

Just sent one of my good homies a message asking her what she thinks the hill will look like over the next 2 weeks. She's a life long local and knows SS better than anyone I've ever met.

I'll lyk what she says

Panda I sent you a email about that ski jacket for my wife but I'm not sure if I sent to the right place. Can you please confirm your email. Thanks

Yup got it - I'm at the beach in Tulum. I'll prove it when I get back from teaching yoga in like 2-3 hours.

RangerRick9211 said:

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BCO07 said:

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Any info on south tahoe?

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West coast isn't getting much until around Christmas. Tough start. Everything we have gotten has been washed away with rain. Timberline has 94" since 9/1, but only a base of 24".

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Praying that storm at Christmas produces. Would be big for us down here and the Tahoe resorts.

The latest GFS model run today is indicating a big pattern shift heading into the week of Christmas. Colder air and significant moisture could result in big snowfall potential. The graphic below shows estimated accumulated snowfall from around Sun the 24th through Tues the 26th. pic.twitter.com/6tJyefkTe3

— RyanWeather.Com (@Ryan541) December 10, 2023

I hope that pans out. We got about 3" at the house over the weekend and it's virtually all gone now. Temps keep getting into the upper 30s everyday. We have virtually no snow pack, which is not good for reasons larger than just skiing.

The sad thing about that is getting excited for an estimated 9-17 inches 13 days away when 40+ just raised the base by barely 2 ft.

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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RangerRick9211 said:

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BCO07 said:

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Any info on south tahoe?

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West coast isn't getting much until around Christmas. Tough start. Everything we have gotten has been washed away with rain. Timberline has 94" since 9/1, but only a base of 24".

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Praying that storm at Christmas produces. Would be big for us down here and the Tahoe resorts.

The latest GFS model run today is indicating a big pattern shift heading into the week of Christmas. Colder air and significant moisture could result in big snowfall potential. The graphic below shows estimated accumulated snowfall from around Sun the 24th through Tues the 26th. pic.twitter.com/6tJyefkTe3

— RyanWeather.Com (@Ryan541) December 10, 2023

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It's just lol for all of us this month. We're back to Bach this weekend. Staying in Sunriver on some certs Friday-Sunday. Will be the wife and kido's first turns. Only place spinning multiple lifts. Bruno is open on T-line. Anthony Lake's is opening this weekend, but I don't know to what extent.

gross...I don't anticipate getting my skis out here in MN at least until after the new year