How to drive in deep, warm snow.

[NikFu S.]

Step one, don't suck at driving.

Step two, have good snow/studded tires!

Luckily I have at least one of these qualities.

It was so embarrassing, what happened about 20 minutes ago.

Coming home as usual, same route, same pace, same traffic, same everything, but it's just a tad above 30 degrees and there is very fresh powder covering everything.
The flakes are bigger than even our mosquitos.

So there's this hill. There's actually quite a few and it's impossible to get home without crossing at least one.
I've had to get running starts earlier this month.

So there's his hill, the biggest, steepest one, and without a second thought I try to go up.

No dice.

Back down I go.
The people shoveling their driveway shake their heads, and I head across the intersection to get a good 500 foot lead. Traffic everywhere so I sit at the light twice waiting for an opening.

It's green, I mash out as hard as I can without slipping, which is like 1300rpms. It's impossible to keep the rev steady so I pump the gas slightly and quickly. I get up to about 20 in that 500 feet, get stuck a little higher, and I brake. I'm broke, the car is stopped on the hill. I hit my reverse to warn the peeps behind me, then pop in neutral and flash my brakes as I slide back down.

They creep forward.

Assholes.

I make a sharp turn to avoid and I back into the snow burm which is next to a 8ft cliff. It's pure crushed ice so it's thick I'm not gonna fall. But here I am, nose pointing at oncoming downhill traffic, ass in a pile if hard slush, not going anywhere.

I occasionally flash my brights at people coming down.

Lots of people pass and make it up the hill, except these guys in a Toyota or Nissan or Isuzu. Whatever it was they got near the top then came and reversed into a driveway. Whether or not it was intentional they are stuck now.
Good thing too.
After some rocking back and forth (poor tranny ) they come and offer assistance. They push from multiple angles and I eventually motor through the ice, and swerve into some lower parking lot.

I get stuck there.
Man, going forward is a pain the the rear... but reversing sure is easy.
I turn around in the very small space, nearly whacking a Neon, and try to reverse out a few times.
No bones.

Here come those guys again, and hey, they brough friends.

I roll the window down and comment on the beauty of AWD.
Laughing ensues.

One good push and I'm back on the road, some idiot keeps driving as I intercept his path, so I have to stop.
The man-brakes keep me from sliding back down.

With a turn of the wheel and some gas I'm free.
I tell the dudes they rock and they're like see ya bro.

I pull around to the other side of the hood where the hills aren't so steep.
What do you know.
Roadblocks.
The Chevy kind.
Whatever.
I had stopped to ponder what to do, and this girl pops out of nowhere and taps on my passenger window I'm like O_O'' WHOA**** get away don't talk to strangers kid...

I putter off and swerve past the trucks blam a minute later I'm at my avenue. I head up the hill past my pad and turn around, come back and slide into my spot.
Remind me never to do that again.
Any more momentum and I would have sideswiped my Stealth.



Yay I'm home.

I think I'll walk to the gas station.