@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, (e-mail address removed)
says...
I am going to a ski trip to Whistler (British Columbia, Canada) on the
first week of December. I am driving a 2005 Subaru Forester 2.5x. Do I
need snow tires? Or snow chains? I have no experience at all since I
used to drive to a bus stop and let the resort's bus take me up to the
mountain.
I live in the Vancouver area, and have driven to Whistler
in the winter a bunch of times. Up to Squamish (about 1/2
way from Vancouver) you're not going to see heavy
accumulations of snow. You're pretty much at sea level
until then, and right on the coast. Beyond that, the
weather varies considerably.
Most of the time, all you need are a good set of wipers and
rain boots.
All the other times a set of All Seasons with good tread
was enough. I've only ever had to pull over for chains
once, and by the time we got them on, the snowplow drove by
and we had to take them off to follow.
How much snow driving experience do you have? If you are a
snow rookie, then I'd recommend snow tires. The Whistler
web site recommends snow tires - and I can see their point.
(
http://www.whistlerchamber.com/dyn.Getting_Here.php) A
few hundred bucks in tires is cheaper than a more than a
few hundred bucks in repairs.
Most places, however, suggest that All Seasons with chains
is the minimum. (ie:
http://www.emrvacationrentals.com/whistler-bc-
directions.ihtml#car )
The biggest thing to remember when driving in the snow with
an AWD vehicle is that you cannot STOP better than you
would in a non-AWD car. This is deceptive because you
don't notice how slippery it really is UNTIL you brake -
unlike cars that have trouble getting going.
