Driving from Vancouver to Kelowna in Dec

[Sprucegoose]

Hi part of our trip this year is a road trip in the Canadian winter. We are picking up a Jeep GC from Vancouver and off to the mountains.

i am told me need snow tires (mandatory) are there any issues with obtaining that. Gone through Argus told them but heard nothing back.should I ring the desk directly?

driving in snow........any tips?

Looking forward to this actually.

 

[kiwitripper64]

This sounds nice. Driving in snow with snow tyres is easy but...if the snow has melted a bit then re-frozen or if there has been rain that has frozen it can be very slippery. Driving while it is snowing can be visually very hard to see far ahead and get a good perception of distances so your driving speeds may be slower than you expect. And it will be dark early in the evening.
Just as a general safety tip, there are large areas of the country around there with no cell phone reception. I think some rental cars have emergency Sat coverage in case of accidents??
Will you be able to get to Banff and Lake Louise?
Because you are travelling in winter you can eat Poutine guilt free.

 

[Deewhy]

Hi part of our trip this year is a road trip in the Canadian winter. We are picking up a Jeep GC from Vancouver and off to the mountains.

i am told me need snow tires (mandatory) are there any issues with obtaining that. Gone through Argus told them but heard nothing back.should I ring the desk directly?

driving in snow........any tips?

Looking forward to this actually.

I did a trip in December about 18 years ago across BC from Vancouver (got across to Panorama and hit places like Red Mountain, big White and silver star (nr Kelowna), in a fwd dodge neon and had no problems in snow (surprisingly). All cars in BC would have winter or all season tyres for snow driving as it sometimes snows in Vancouver. It would go without saying. Most locals actually change from summer to winter tyres and vice versa when the season changes. Most times The car tyres aren't actually "snow tyres", they're "all season" or "mud and snow"... And won't actually look any different to your regular tyres (in fact most all season tyres in aus are m+s tyres anyway...)
If you're in a jeep, it wouldn't be any issue as they'll have m+s tyres on them anyway. It was all sealed roads under the snow, so its easy if you get used to driving on the snow. If its dry compact snow then you'll actually find its quite grippy. The slushy stuff is slippery. They.l probably grit the roads in high traffic areas, so that gives more grip.

Which mountains you heading to?

Tips for snow driving are if youre going to turn or brake, do one at a time.... But then old cars didn't have abs!
It was a fun drive and a great experience. Have fun.

 

[RooFlyer]

That stretch of road is a bit of a 'rain shadow' (can be a bit like Nevada during summer) and typically experiences lower snow loads than east if Kelowna. But of course YMMV and a single big snow dump can ruin your entire day

Here is the site for BC highway info: Drive BC; highway cams, alerts, weather, driving tips etc. I find it invaluable.

ps if you get stuck behind someone driving at 40 km/hr in freeze/thaw conditions - that will be me. I've done it a hellavalot over there but the concept of black ice still scares the willies out of me.

 

[Maca44]

I've done it a hellavalot over there but the concept of black ice still scares the willies out of me.

I have driven through the western parts of Canada in summer and winter on many occasions, and agree with RooFlyer that the main thing you should be extremely cautious of is 'black ice'. In fact, when you see a car off the side of the road it will invariably be a 4X4 as they think they are immune to all conditions. In snow or winter driving speed is the killer, so take your time and respect the road, and you will enjoy your trip. It does tire you more when driving in heavy snow conditions, so rest when you can even though the trip you intend doing is less than 5hrs

 

[Sprucegoose]

I did a trip in December about 18 years ago across BC from Vancouver (got across to Panorama and hit places like Red Mountain, big White and silver star (nr Kelowna), in a fwd dodge neon and had no problems in snow (surprisingly). All cars in BC would have winter or all season tyres for snow driving as it sometimes snows in Vancouver. It would go without saying. Most locals actually change from summer to winter tyres and vice versa when the season changes. Most times The car tyres aren't actually "snow tyres", they're "all season" or "mud and snow"... And won't actually look any different to your regular tyres (in fact most all season tyres in aus are m+s tyres anyway...)
If you're in a jeep, it wouldn't be any issue as they'll have m+s tyres on them anyway. It was all sealed roads under the snow, so its easy if you get used to driving on the snow. If its dry compact snow then you'll actually find its quite grippy. The slushy stuff is slippery. They.l probably grit the roads in high traffic areas, so that gives more grip.

Which mountains you heading to?

Tips for snow driving are if youre going to turn or brake, do one at a time.... But then old cars didn't have abs!
It was a fun drive and a great experience. Have fun.

Thanks all ....good advice.

we are heading to Big White

 

[Blackbird]

Rented Jeep GC at YVR last Christmas with AVIS.
Snow tyres standard. Take your time and take a little more care.

 

[straitman]

Spruce,

I'll send you a PM with details of someone who should be able to help you.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Spruce,

I'll send you a PM with details of someone who should be able to help you.

thnxs Bill