Chain controls are usually only for semi-trucks. If it's bad enough that chains are required for cars, the road is usually closed. The big thing about snow here is it's very dry, and easy to drive in. This isn't at all like the Sierras. I lived for the first 30 years of my life in Northern CA, and spent a LOT of times in the Truckee/Tahoe area, the conditions don't even compare. For the first 9 or 10 years I lived here all I had was a front wheel drive, and never had a problem, even on horrific days when people were in ditches. 3 or 4 inches over that period of time is really nothing. Supposed to start snowing here in the Denver area tonight, but it's over 60 degrees right now. Roads will most likely be clear, and you'll probably see snow blowing around on the road. Completely harmless, that's just a sign of the great powder for skiing. Relax, and have a great time!

Skiing at the Summit? Where are you staying, and what're you doing? If you're skiing, there's a great bus system that's FREE for the summit areas.

Will I be OK?

Only CDOT and the snow/wind conditions can tell you that, not us. The weather here in the mountains is really, REALLY unpredictable. We've had dire predictions of mammoth storms turn into nothing but wind and scattered snow flurries... and we've had what I term "six inches of partly cloudy", both within the same week. And sometimes the weather guys are dead on.

That said, the past couple of storms have both forced CDOT to close I-70, and this one is predicted to be as bad or worse.

Word: Even if they don't close I-70, they don't do much to the roads out here, if anything at all. Meaning the fact that it's in the sixties today indicates a fair amount of black ice if/when a storm does occur. I-70 up around the Eisenhower Tunnel (and Vail Pass) is always, ALWAYS terror-stricken in any kind of weather, even brief snow squalls. It's steep, curvy, 2-lane, narrow and there's always wind and ice up there.

I would almost be tempted to check out getting a set of these, since they look to run around $50/pair and are like YakTrax for your car. Looks like you'd have to know the car's tire size, tho. The problem isn't usually the car, it's the tires, and there is NO guarantee that a rental is going to have decent tires on it.

The problem also isn't usually completely due to the road conditions, it's the several million horrible California (and Texas) drivers who've moved here in the past ~10 years. It won't be as bad as if you were trying to do the trip up on a Saturday morning, but it won't be nice, either. Plus you'll have quite a bit more heavy truck traffic on a weekday, as well.

apologies, eek

Thanks eekacat! That's a big relief. We're heading up to the family house in Dillon for a few days of snowboarding at Keystone & A-basin. For years I've driven around CO in the summertime, but as I was checking the weather, it struck me that I'd never driven in the snow there.

It's frustrating, and the basis for my lack of CO winter driving experience - I used to take the shuttle vans from the airport up the hill & then get around on transit, but the shuttle van prices have gotten to be significantly more than the car rental. Like nearly $300 for 2 people round-trip, vs. $90 + tank of gas for a rented Neon. Wacky.

On Preview: Thanks for chiming in, LFR! I'm going to map out a few spots to bail & buy chains if I need 'em. Good point about warm ground + snow = black ice, too. I'm moderately familiar w/ I70 up to E'wer tunnel (that tunnel seemed sooo much longer when I was a kid in the back seat). And on the up side, I'm already surrounded by several million horrible California drivers! ;-)

Wave at my inlaws: you will be flying over their house as they live very near to the airport.

Triode, if ice is going to be an issue, it'll be down here, though really, I70 gets enough traffic that it generally stays pretty clear. It's still cold in the mountains, though as lfr says, if there's snow, there will be ice around Eisenhower tunnel. I never go up on the weekends, so my experience is much different than lfr's. I find they do a pretty good job keeping up with the road during the week. I think the massive amounts of weekend warrior traffic really hinders their efforts. I've been up 4 or 5 times this winter, and haven't had any problems in any weather, but again, I never go up Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. Definitely keep warm clothes with you in the car, and stop for snacks/water on the way to have in the car just in case. I can give you a ground report tomorrow for I70 through Golden in the morning since I have some errands to run.

It's funny. Even after living in Colorado for 14 years, it never ceases to amaze me that we can have an amazingly beautiful day like today up in the mid 60's in Golden, and the next day can be several inches of snow. Tomorrow is definitely a photo day with the dogs in the snow for Furry Photo Friday!

Looking at the current forecasts, they're making it sound much worse than previously predicted. So it might be a long slow trip.

no problem lfr, I think we've had different experiences with mountain snow travel. Odd though that I'd be the optimist!

Morning report from Golden. Just over an inch of accumulation, and the roads aren't bad at all. Barely sticking on my street actually. Just got back, and the worst part was scraping the windows on the car. Looking at the CDOT cameras for I70, looks like pretty decent conditions considering the weather. No problems at all. Even Eisenhower Tunnel looks OK.