It snowed over 12 inches today, or close to 25 centimeters. Now, this isn’t the first time I have seen snow, but it is certainly the first time that I have driven in so much. It certainly made things more difficult.
My wife and I drove from Denver to Keystone today to go skiing, and it took 3 hours to get there, on what should be a 90 minute trip. Nothing is quite as grim as waking up at 5:50, and getting first turns in at 10am.
Ky is still recovering from a very nasty cold, and we ended up only staying on the mountain for a short time. Cue another 3 hour drive, this time in absolutely blanketing snow. It was certainly an experience.
When doing anything in tough conditions, there are some heuristics that work. First, pick the right tools. Our car has a “snow” function, which I don’t really understand, but certainly made a difference. Without it, things got skiddy. Secondly, know your trade offs. At some points driving back we have the choice to save 10 minutes of driving time, but doing so would mean going on to rougher roads. We took the long route.
Finally, learn quickly. Driving in these conditions taught me that being gentle on the brakes AND the accelerator was key to staying safe, and once I got the hang of that, I had it dialed in.
All these approaches to driving in tough conditions can be applied to any task which is complicated by external factors.
Anyway, we made it safe and sound, and ended up having one of the best sandwiches of the year to boot!
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