The Official Winter Snow Thread 2014/2015
Discussion
Well Boys and Girls, I thought it's about time to kick this off. Last year's thread started 27.08.13 so we're even ahead of schedule.
What's sparked this off in my mind is that I'm picking up a new set of winter wheels for the FXT and have been researching winter tyres...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Nokian's are looking good at the moment.
So, Puggit, Schmalex and all the other time tested PH forecasters...what do you think; snow or no snow?
What's sparked this off in my mind is that I'm picking up a new set of winter wheels for the FXT and have been researching winter tyres...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Nokian's are looking good at the moment.
So, Puggit, Schmalex and all the other time tested PH forecasters...what do you think; snow or no snow?
spikeyhead said:
I sat in a factory in Canada once when we had about 5 feet fall in an afternoon. Half an hour before knocking off time someone started up the company snowplow and cleared the car park and everyone pottered home without batting an eyelid. Here. five inches is enough to cause chaos.
You've reminded me of a memorable day some 15 years ago. Was staying in Annecy at the time and had a meeting in Lausanne. Borrowed the ex-MIL's Citroen AX Debut. Drove to Lausanne, clear roads but sky very full of snow. En route thought to myself, this will be fine as the snow chains were in the boot. Meeting started, 30mins in and it started to snow...very heavily. This continued for another two+ hours...it was a long meeting. Meeting finished, the Swiss colleagues had 15-20min drives to their respective homes. With this deluge of snow, some of the driving by the locals was quite surprising with cars becoming continually stuck. The little AX plugged on, winter tyres doing their job brilliantly and the heater on full blast. All was well until the French side of the border [for those who know this area] where the roads/land rise between St Julien and Cruseille. The roads became bogged down with fresh snow, abandoned cars and lorries. One truck driver got the shock of his life when all traction/grip was lost and his articulated truck traversed 45degs sideways downhill on a dual-carriageway. It was at this point the snow chains needed to go on...of course, the ex-MIL was carrying the wrong chains, they were too big. Improvisation was needed...found some bungee-jumps in the boot and managed to tighten up the snow chains with the bungees. A trip that would normally take circa' 1hr30mins took nearly 4hrs. The final hour spent mainly off-roading by taking the adjacent B' roads to miss the mad French drivers causing continual havoc on the Route National. This really was one of life's very memorable drives.PS fired up the log burner last night, anyone else?
Looket said:
Well it's snowing in my part of Sweden now. s
t.
Glancing through the post listing, read this quickly, brain not fully computing...and read as...t."Well it's snowing in my part of Swindon now. s
t."It stopped me in my tracks, thinking how did that happen...I know Swindon's an odd place but never knew they had they're own snowy micro-climate!
Puggit said:
We don't like Swinnigrants in Reading (people who live in Swindon for cheap house prices and commute to Reading)
Ah, very good. Never heard of that term before. It's a funny thing, understandable why folk would prefer to pay a lower house price, but Swindon? Surely not, it's such a soul less place. A family member lives in a fine village approx' 15mins from Swindon. Every time they go there they don't understand the local's language...I asked if this was due to the local dialect...no, they replied, it because no one speaks English!I had the displeasure of working in Swindon during the late 80's, early 90's. My colleagues, most of whom were from the area, insisted on referring to the town as Swinetown or Pigs-ville Villas. I guess that says it all.
PS no offense should any of you actually live in Swinetown...I mean
J4CKO said:
Thick frost here in Cheshire today, think about the third this year, compared with one all winter last year, im working from home but it involves my wife stomping about looking for a scraper and I can tell she really thinks I should be doing it
A female friend stayed over one evening last week. She's an engineer and yet the most impractical person I know. She's outside hopping around, part scraping the ice off the car windows and wondering why I'm using cold water from a saucepan to clear my car...then off she drives with only part visibility, a cold car and engine.When frosty, the following always works...start car, go back inside and fill a large saucepan with cold water to thoroughly clear the windows...by time windows are clear the inside demister is working, the rear window heater element is doing its job and the leather seat heaters have taken the chill off the seats. Return saucepan to kitchen, get in warm car and drive off; it's terribly easy...and no highly polluting windscreen de-icer spray
krallicious said:
True but if you live in the arse end of nowhere it works well. Having said that, there are some very shifty looking squirrels around 
I do it when visiting my parents and I used to do it when I lived in Switzerland where it was quite common place.
This, I even have one squirrel who, at breakfast time, stops at a kitchen window eyeing up the cherry tomatoes...this gives much amusement at the breakfast table. He then scampers off, meets with three or four fellow furry friends to feast on tree berries...they're very entertaining.I do it when visiting my parents and I used to do it when I lived in Switzerland where it was quite common place.
If the above comes true I'll be delighted. We have a Christmas Lunch for neighbours in the village Pub on Fri 12th. Last week I was joking that if snow fell that day I'd ferry everyone home in the Forester and then ski back for the last person...of course, this is all wishful thinking...but it would be bloody marvelous should the snow start falling during the lunch. Have yet to put winter's on the FXT...will hold off until the first flakes fall...
benjj said:
Sticking here. Been proper snow for a couple of hours now. 2 inches on the ground and showing no sign of stopping. My 5am start in the old BMW will be fun!
Hello Ben, bugger the BMW, take the 944...it should even have the right tyres on for snow. Re-plot your route and take every A & B road between you and Donnington, still with a max' 30mins MPL and as per 1971...from "Harrogate It Started" You'll need a copy of The Who's Greatest Hits and the radio locked on to 247MW c/o Noel Edmonds at warp 9. TT 3hr47m, must take in Bakwell, Carsington Water, a beer at The Coopers Arms and approach the circuit from the Melbourne Road.Have a good trip
MentalSarcasm said:
It's not just you v8250, it's all these people getting special tyres for their cars and bringing skiis and panic buying tampons that are ruining it for the rest of us 
Honestly people, the less prepared you are then the more likely the snow!
I'm specifically not getting prepared...which for an ex-Boy Scout some forty years ago is a very hard thing to do. So, have yet to buy Nokian winter shoes for the Forester, am down to last 1/4 tonne of logs and the snow shoes have yet to be dusted off from last season. Anything else I can not do to be unprepared to ensure big snow falls? Honestly people, the less prepared you are then the more likely the snow!schmalex said:
When I look at the charts for around the 28th - 30th, my willy wobbles ever so slightly...
It's all about trends at the moment and the trends are looking good
Schmalex, I'm delighted to hear you've a wobbling willy. Here there's no wobbling at all...the charts appear to be warming and showing lots of this; I do so hope they wrong...It's all about trends at the moment and the trends are looking good
Thankyou4calling said:
Is the Great escape on/ i always enjoy that.
Now that would be great, haven't watched The Great Escape for years...can't wait now, put the TV on for the first time since Oct 2013 [really!], the log burner cranked up to mark.9, Steve McQueen in the slammer, Donald Pleasence forging away to his hearts content...just one more Mince Pie and a few feet of snow outside 
It's hard to believe the film was released in 1963...
J4CKO said:
Forgot about that, it is indeed wonderous, like the time in probably about 2001 where I had an old Pug 309 "Look" as a daily and there was about 4 inches of fresh snow, the wife dispatched me to go and get something and I took a detour past the leisure centre car park which was empty, I had a happy half hour until a Police car came in and put the blues on, I drove over and wound my window down and the copper said "You, ps off", which I did 
found another car park and had some more fun and went home. Pug was good, but the Metro 1.0 "Clubman" was the best snow car, skinny tyres for traction, dont care if I broke it, good visibility, short wheelbase for a quick spin and an epic. handbrake.
Winter 1981, there was some good snowfall and learnt to drive in a friends VW Beetle. Lost count the number of times we got the the stuck in the rural snow covered lanes of West Berkshire. Some days we were out for 5+ hours practicing using the handbrake, desperately trying to master over steer, thinking/wishing ourselves to be Eric Carlsson or Stig Blomqvist and wondering what the hell is a 'Scandinavian Flick'. Spent more hours digging the car out than driving and learnt the valuable lesson why carry two coconut doormats in the car when it's snowing. How the little Beetle put up with this thrashing I'll never know. But, by Jove, we had the very, very best of fun s off", which I did found another car park and had some more fun and went home. Pug was good, but the Metro 1.0 "Clubman" was the best snow car, skinny tyres for traction, dont care if I broke it, good visibility, short wheelbase for a quick spin and an epic. handbrake.
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