AWD for what?

Tell me why I have an AWD vehicle and just laid out $600 for new snow tires again? Winter has all but disappeared from our region. Schools cancel classes when it smells like winter, road crews spend countless hours spraying salt solution on highways, salting and cindering local roads and the NWS interrupts my daily dose of shitty terrestrial radio to warn me of impending winter storms.


But what do we actually witness? It ain't snow. No, nowadays winter storms consist of a 'wintry mix'. Maybe there are a few stray snow flakes mixed in there, but mostly it's a sloppy concoction of freezing rain, sleet and outright rain.


Once upon a time a snow storm meant at least 4", to me that's still a benchmark for a weather event to acheive the status of an actual winter storm. 1-3" can be fun, but it's gone all too quickly. With raving road crews aided by our new average temps residing in the 40's, the snow melts and leaves us with nothing but salt encrusted body panels, heaving and spalling sidewalks and dirty hardwood floors.

I want snow. I want snow that piles up and means shoveling to get out of the house and I want a snowstorm that sticks around for days. How about a 2 footer?

I want to be able to go out and play with the family, build a snowfort, make snow angels, wear my Sorels. I want to get behind the wheel of my very capable Subaru and haul ass up to a local ski resort to find REAL pow. Not the infamous 'packed powder' conditions that they all list on their reports (for the uninitiated, in PA, packed powder = yellow ice and stinging snow making guns blasting your face).

I read the news articles that mention that England was just literally paralyzed by a two-pronged storm that left the country covered with just 8 total inches of snow. I scratch my head in disbelief at this. 8" and a country falls apart? Thing is, with diminishing winter weather frequencies here, we are in danger of the same.

I recall the days back in Cambridge, going to school in 4" of snow...it took 6 to close them down. I keep an eye on the snow reports from Utah resorts, 3 foot storms can be normal. I remember my first western ski trip, we arrived during an early March blizzard that had already blanketed the canyons with 2-3 feet of snow. We awoke to the rumblings of our hotel windows from avalanche control Howitzers blasting shells into the bowls. We ended up getting a total of 7' during our stay. How do they manage to carry on with life as usual? We are weak, and I just want to drive in something worthwhile. It's fun.

Rant off/

Here's to winter!