Snow Wheeling Boardman Lake rd - January 21, 2012
Today's snow wheeling trip took us up the Boardman Lake rd. We had been waiting for some decent snow accumulation at this low elevation spot. Unfortunately the good weather didn't hold and it warmed up and rained heavily the night before. The result...several feet of slush! Some places the snow literally turned to water as we drove. We expected a lot of downed trees, but only encountered a few. We took a short snowshoe walk into Lake Evan. Always cool to see a frozen lake.

Hangover Run 2012 - January 1, 2012
Mother nature threw us a curve ball for the 2012 hangover run. A massive land slide took out the road. We headed north to Whatcom county to do a little snow wheeling in my old turf. It was a pretty short trip to the top once the snow was deep enough. Still haven't gotten much snow accumulation this year. Never know what to expect on New Years Day!

Siping Tires for Deep Snow

Why should I sipe my tires for deep snow wheeling? Siping is one of my three criteria for a deep snow tire. As you drive through the deep snow, the snow gets packed under your tire. The siping gives your tires hundreds of new biting edges. Additionally, the siping helps loosen the tire carcass allowing your tire to flex better when aired down.

Deep Snow Tires

Wider is better. Not so fast! Given equal tire pressure, a 36x12.50 and a 36x14.50 will have the same size footprint. The shape will be different, but the total area will be the same. Don't stop reading. I'm not crazy. Here's the deal...to keep things simple, lets say we have 4,000lbs vehicle. We'll assume it's perfectly balanced and therefore 1,000lbs at each tire. If the tire is inflated to a known pressure, say 5 psi(pounds per square inch), we can now determine the area of the footprint in sq/in using the following formula....more

Snow Wheeling 101

Stop before you get stuck. That's right STOP. Getting unstuck from the snow is generally pretty easy, unless of course you make it worse. So if you're stuck, just stop. Unless you've got some advanced snow driving skills, it's pretty unlikely that your going to drive out. Stop early and get a tug or dig your way out. You'll have more fun!