As with any area there are good and bad points.
I'm with you there, Bill. Here's my rant, back at ya:
During a pretty recent December, we got 54 inches of snow in
southeastern Wisconsin. That's 54 inches of snow in one month. It was a
wild blip on the bell curve, to be sure, but the nearest big city
(Milwaukee) averages about 3 feet of snow in a season. And I'm just on
the fringe of the serious snow belt. The Great Lakes are a snow-making
machine in the winter!
I love Wisconsin, but the weather can be ... er, character-building. I
deal with it. Winter is not all unpleasant -- in fact, it can be great
fun. Still, there are plenty of occasions when it delivers drudgery by
the bucketload.
Consider the worst chore you can think of. Now, imagine having a
chortling heckler lounging nearby on a chaise, sipping a tall drink and
hooting while you perform said chore. As I said, winter isn't all bad,
and most of the ribbing on this list is good-natured -- but when you get
poked in the ribs 30 or 40 times a season, every season, it gets a
little old.
On to the subject of the post, sort of:
I have gone many years without snow tires. I've also ended up in the
ditch more than a time or two. Since I drive a lot at night these days,
I wouldn't have a car without them in the winter.
As I recall, you posted that you didn't find them necessary, based on
your winter driving experience (I surmise) some years ago. But modern
snow tires are a far cry from the old clunkers of the bias-ply days. The
H-rated tires (like the Nokian NRWs Ned K. and I were singing hosannas
to awhile back) drive like touring tires and can navigate an unplowed
road without drama. They've also been extremely durable -- Ned and I
have both gotten 40,000 miles out of our sets, and they're still
roadworthy. Other brands that use multicell rubber compounds don't hold
up as well.
I also recall you mentioning kitty litter as a winter driving aid -- I'm
not sure if you meant for weight in the trunk or to spread under the
wheels. If the latter, I'd have to disagree to a point. Once that stuff
gets saturated with moisture, it's wet clay. I prefer bags of playbox sand.
But then, I have snow tires, so I don't get stuck in the snow!
Russ
