Chaining..... uggh!

Problem is that you could almost always make it.......unless someone else screwed up first causing you to stop.
Chaining before you need to is SO much easier than after.

 

I’ve seen stopped trucks on steep grades start sliding downhill. This is a very dangerous approach to chaining if you decide to chain when it can’t go up any further.

 

Sometimes you don’t have a choice. I’ve been on Lost Trail several times when there’s been bare pavement at the chainup area on the MT side. Then by the second switchback you’re into snow. At that point you just go and see if you can make it. I was never a fan of that approach, I prefer to chain up where it’s flat at the bottom, but Mother Nature is funny when she decides where to put the snow.

 

I understand. Winter weather and road conditions is not always black or white. Lots of grey areas and potential problem areas. I’m just saying this is why state highway crews typically err on the side of caution. And when you’re “on your own” you have to find ways to determine if proceeding is advisable and if additional measures might be prudent. If no trucks or traffic is going the other way, that’s a good indication there might be extreme difficulties ahead.

 

Thing about Lost Trail is that it typically doesn't get very slick. It's cold enough for the snow to have fairly decent grip. I added lockers to the new truck we bought, and that helps quite a bit, too. But even without, in the 7 years we went over Lost Trail weekly, I think the driver only chained a couple of times.

On the other hand, some of the passes where it barely freezes and you get a lot of traffic that turns the snow into packed snow or ice, yeah, better get the gloves out, it's safer to chain.

 

The MT side is usually worse because they seem to want it bare pavement. I didn’t have to chain much but when I did I was within a mile of the top. I’d rarely chain up coming back over from Salmon.