Durango to Ouray (and winter driving advice in general)?
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Heyo... I'm new to Durango and driving the the mountains. Sorry in advance for some dumb questions, but I'd rather feel dumb then cause problems for my fellow drivers. |
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Just consult this: |
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Youre gonna want 4x4 to be an ice climber round those parts. Lizard Head Pass/Molas Pass/Red Mtn Pass when its snowing is terrain you should avoid |
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Lizard Head is more mellow. Red is not bad unless its been snowing, it does dry out when the Sun comes out with icy patches and some snow packed areas. I drive it regularly and most of the time never have to engage 4WD. If your going to be driving over those passes regularly winter tires and 4WD are nice to have. At a bare minimum you should have really good M&S tires and carrying chains. There is usually at least one fatality every Winter on RMP. |
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Highlander wrote: Lizard Head is more mellow. Red is not bad unless its been snowing, it does dry out when the Sun comes out with icy patches and some snow packed areas. I drive it regularly and most of the time never have to engage 4WD. If your going to be driving over those passes regularly winter tires and 4WD are nice to have. At a bare minimum you should have really good M&S tires and carrying chains. There is usually at least one fatality every Winter on RMP. This is good advice. In general 4WD or AWD + snow tires will really help out of you plan to live in the area for any length of time, and plan on being an ice climber.Go as slow as you need to, to be safe, and plan around good weather if you can. I've been in heavy snow on RMP totally white knuckled at 8mph around some of the hairpin sections. |
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Lizard head takes longer but is much safer. |
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If your vehicle/tires suck and you drive 8mph, youre screwing everyone else on the road who is prepared. |
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Stiles wrote: If your vehicle/tires suck and you drive 8mph, youre screwing everyone else on the road who is prepared. I think that is reasonable feedback. I sure as heck don't like being the first guy in a parade. |
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Okay, I will be picking up some snow tires and chains for the rear wheels (my trucks manual explictly says no front chains). |
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Stiles wrote: If your vehicle/tires suck and you drive 8mph, youre screwing everyone else on the road who is prepared. I hardly call a 4WD Tacoma with studded snow tires ill prepared. 8mph was passing speed that day. |
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A manual Tacoma 4wd with decent, even stock, tires will get you through just about anything, anywhere. I grew up driving in extremely icy and snowy conditions, and still do, in a new Tacoma (6 manual) |
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Whatever you do turn off that cruise control when it’s a bit slippery. |
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Once winter starts, I don’t brake till spring. |
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Yeah 4wd also means four holes deeper faster. |
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Andrew Rational wrote: A manual Tacoma 4wd with decent, even stock, tires will get you through just about anything, anywhere. I grew up driving in extremely icy and snowy conditions, and still do, in a new Tacoma (6 manual) OP's tacoma is RWD. Second, downshifting is not better than braking in the snow. Braking applies stopping power to all four wheels whereas downshifting only the rear drive wheels. Additionally you can modulate the brakes much more precisely than engine braking. Also most modern vehicles have some kind of ABS which would not work when downshifting. Third, I disagree that driving in 4WD is dumb. 4WD will help reduce the chance of accidentally oversteering when roads are slippery. Just don't drive in 4WD if the roads aren't slippery.Sorry man, I don't like to be that guy picking apart a post and I don't mean to attack you but I think you are spreading misinformation. To the OP: I would recommend fully studded winter tires in that area if you are serious about getting to Ouray and back. Even better is to ditch that RWD Tacoma and get something with 4WD/AWD. RWD trucks are for Texas. |
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So I got myself some studded winter tires and will be conservative about where I go and in what conditions. I've been trying out various things on the glacier that is my apartment complex parking lot, and next time I'm leaving purgatory there will be a large, snow-covered iced up lot with open areas where I will work on my driving skills. |
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Vaughn wrote: Downshifting IS better than braking on slippery ground because, if you have a manual trans and do it correctly, the inertia of your spinning engine will keep you wheels spinning at approximately the correct rate at all times, i.e. it's pretty hard to actually slide. Not so with brakes, even though ABS helps some. Good drivers hardly ever touch their brakes on slippery ground. Driving in 4WD is generally not a great idea if your vehicle doesn't have a front/rear differential (most 4WDs, including Tacomas don't; AWD on the other hand always do), because torque can build up between the front and rear wheels then suddenly release and cause a slide. You're basically adding load to an already marginal frictional interface. Only drive in 4WD if your wheels are slipping much of the time anyway (e.g. consistent soft snow coverage). |
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Eric and Lucie wrote: Well I can agree with you on that at least. |
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Vaughn wrote: If you don't downshift and don't touch your brakes, how do you slow down? ;-) |
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I used to drive 550 from Montrose to Durango regularly the winters of 2014 and 2015 in 97 Nissan Pathfinder with shitty tires and no windshield wipers. Just put it in 4 high and don’t drive like an idiot. |
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I took an avalanche safety class in Silverton back in the day. The county sheriff said that the tunnels on 550 were the place to be if you get caught up there in a snowstorm. |