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Snow Driving - Perisher/Guthega

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Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
So tomorrow I'm heading off to Island Bend campground in the snow near Guthega for some outdoor activity.

I've never been to the snow proper (have encountered it occasionally e.g. in NZ) but never had to drive in serious cold conditions.

As we're arriving at night on Friday, and I'll be leaving on Sunday morning when weather looks a bit shit (Snow with tops of -1C at Perisher) I'm keen to hear from the crowd about driving conditions in the snow.

The vehicle is a 2012 Nissan X-Trail with selectable 4WD (no low range), and I'm packing Pirelli Scorpions which have a fair amount of tread left on them. I'm told the 4WD ability precludes the need for chains.

Besides "don't drive like a coight" is there anything I need to know?
 

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
Yeah. It's gonna snow big time late Saturday onwards. Maybe 30-40cm through to Sunday. Carry some chains. Even 4WDs need them sometimes. With the later snowfall, there will be carnage on the roads Sunday morning, I predict.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
BOM says "snow showers" above 700m. Hope it clears TBH - I'd like my first snow camping experience to NOT suck
 

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
BOM says "snow showers" above 700m. Hope it clears TBH - I'd like my first snow camping experience to NOT suck

700m is bloody low for NSW. It means snow back to Cooma. And there is a fair bit of moisture in this. You will get some weather! :)
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
You say that so gleefully.

Perisher are predicting 30cm tomorrow so I assume Sunday will be fairly interesting. We will be somewhat more sheltered down in the campsite from the wind at least.
 

The Honey Badger

Jim Lenehan (48)
Just saw the weather, I would be changing my plans and maybe finding a nice camping spot on the coast.

Think it will be pretty uncomfortable in the high country this weekend

Sent from my MHA-L09 using Tapatalk
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
Just rang the visitor centre - they said it'll be windy Saturday but otherwise should be OK with chains.

Just saw the weather, I would be changing my plans and maybe finding a nice camping spot on the coast.

Think it will be pretty uncomfortable in the high country this weekend


Isn't that the point? :)

I've hiked Kosi several times in summer/autumn and it was always good fun. Winter provides something different and will test out the gear. As long as I've got chains to get back on Sunday, I should be good.

According to bonzle, elevation is about 1220m so I don't think it'll be quite as shitty as the forecasts for resorts are making out.
 

waiopehu oldboy

Stirling Mortlock (74)
So tomorrow I'm heading off to Island Bend campground in the snow near Guthega for some outdoor activity.

I've never been to the snow proper (have encountered it occasionally e.g. in NZ) but never had to drive in serious cold conditions.

As we're arriving at night on Friday, and I'll be leaving on Sunday morning when weather looks a bit shit (Snow with tops of -1C at Perisher) I'm keen to hear from the crowd about driving conditions in the snow.

The vehicle is a 2012 Nissan X-Trail with selectable 4WD (no low range), and I'm packing Pirelli Scorpions which have a fair amount of tread left on them. I'm told the 4WD ability precludes the need for chains.

Besides "don't drive like a coight" is there anything I need to know?

Do NOT use the yellow snow to make a Jim Beam & Cola slushy. An acquaintance of mine found that out the hard way one drunken rugby trip from Levin to God knows via the Central Plateau back in the day.
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Snow camping is awesome! Enjoy!

Pack chains but driving on snow that is hard packed is pretty easy and safe (even without chains). It's pretty grippy. Ice is what you need to worry about.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
Well, that was fun. Pretty manic 30 hours of driving there, waiting for the others, setting up at 1AM in the gale, sleeping 4 hours, going snow shoe thing, getting back to the campsite in the rain, pulling the pin, driving home, and then getting this photo from those I left behind:

39042061_1994942973891791_2883221849431343104_n.jpg
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
In terms of the driving, it was a bit more tame than expected - the X-Trail handled the conditions that were there, even if the snow didn't get much deeper than a few centimetres. Tested out the brakes on a couple of straight stretches which was a helluva lot of fun.

I hired chains and probably would have used them if conditions soured, but as we decided to leave just as it was starting in earnest, I was in the tracks of a few other people.
 

rugbyskier

Ted Thorn (20)
I was told that the drive back to Jindabyne from Perisher took nearly 3 hours on Saturday evening and nearly 70 cars spun off the road. The drive back to Canberra from Thredbo on Sunday arvo was slow, not due to the conditions but the sheer volume of people up for the weekend taking advantage of the great snow conditions.

Welcome to the snow addiction Pfitzy.
 

Pfitzy

George Gregan (70)
On my way out I saw someone in a FWD with no chains on, despite the snow, but at the next chain bay there was a lot of people lining up.
 
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