From Westcoast to Midwest

Going eastbound is more uphill than down, since Denver is the mile high city. But those downhill stretches can be a real bear if you are not careful.
Wasn't there something in the news a few years back about a driver failing to control his downhill speed coming into the Denver area and plowing into a bunch of vehicles, killing several?
I-70 into Denver from the pass is like a roller coaster.

 

Used to run produce out of SoCal to Cinci area. Would run the routes these folks are recommending. As an Owner Op there were trade offs around clocks running, cost of tolls, and cost of fuel to balance. Sometimes I just paid the tolls as a way to help preserve my sanity.

If the company reimburses tolls I would run 44. Just pack cash to cover the bill.

 

They got ya rollin now!

 

Unless 80 was clear and 70 was getting blasted, I'd always end up taking 70 in the winter months. I'd rather run heavy snow than glare ice.

If you haven't yet, I'd recommend using some downtime to get familiar with chaining up. Better to learn in a dry parking lot than trying to figure it out in a blizzard with a 30 minute time limit and Highway Patrol breathing down your collar.

 

Dont be scared... Ive chained up 6 times in 1 day before and did it multiple times a week for 3 straight winters running western montana..im from arizona, and never drove in snow until i went trucking. If i can do it anybody can. Some guys will tell you to park it, and never chain up. They obviously havent done local work in the northwest, you will be sitting there until atleast july.