Perisher 2012
So what vehicles do you lot drive to the snow, and who among you has an annual Nat Parks pass and/or their own chains?
Well I drive Subby so no chains, and I have a parks pass and access to the tube!
But before the subby I had my own chains and still would even though i have a tube pass. I hate the tube!! But it is quicker from Jindy if the traffic is a nightmare but i just get up there early!
This is my truck, annual parks pass as well. That thing has paid for itself twice over by now I reckon, done probably 10-12 days in parks up the coast which are normally about $11 a day and 11 days so far in the snow. No chains as it’s a 4by.
^ Looks like the perfect vehicle for parking at Guthega, yeah?
i just drive the civic down
yes to annual pass
yes to own chains
never taken the tube….
30 bucks to add onto ticket
car full of people….usually do not go down unless there is at least 4 people
so 4x30 = 120x2 = 240
driving the car down - 27 bucks x2 national park pass = 54
240 vs 54
ok granted i dont include chains or petrol…still does not commute for me
also got roof racks installed last year so doesnt make sense not to use it all the way to the snows 
Haven’t parked at Guthega this year yet Chucky, might do it this weekend though I reckon perhaps, last weekend it woulda been quicker goign to Guthega than to Smigs or FV with the traffic. I dunno bout everyone else but to I don’t engage 4wd at the chain stops, you’re lucky to be moving at 35kmh and with cooper AT tyres I have no dramas. That coupled with the fact that there is a massive line of vehicles in front of you chewing up the snow and ice on the road it just hasn’t been needed, I normally slip it into 4wd when I hit the turn off to smigs though as that gets deep, on the way to Guthega if I had gone last weekend I woulda had it on I reckon.
I drove to Guthega (in perfect, dryish conditions) in my totally non-4WD/AWD Audi in July, just to check out the road. Never again - well, at least not in a non-4WD/AWD.
One thing about the Guthega carpark, though, is there’s limited space - so you’d still need to get there early.
Ha ha ha ha, we drove a mates work non 4wd hilux there one year with a few centimetres of snow on the road no drama, took a mates SS ute there as well with no worries, it’s not a great road but I have driven a lot worse in my old SSV ute with no ill effects. What was the big turn off for you Chucky?
I liked the road, a lot actually - just not in my car. Compared to some of the NZ roads I’ve driven, it was like a freeway. The view’s great too.
We drive a ‘98 forester, we only just bought it and we managed to spin it 270 into a snow bank, taking a snow pole out in the crazy conditions on friday arvo. Nice big dent from the snow pole in the car now. (Why the f they are made of 2x2 logs of wood and not plastic, I’ll never know!)
We were less than 200m out of the selwyn carpark, on a straight and going 50kph. Was very glad we were up high enough for the snow bank to be there which prevented us ploughing into the trees. Was a very, very timid drive the rest of the way, I can tell you. We went to the servo to see about chains if the conditions the next day were going to warrant them again, but apparently they’d ruin the diff…Newer foresters have a snow button you can press and fit chains without damage.
Rode perisher monday and tuesday and had a ball both days. Bombing the groomers first thing in the morning (don’t know the run names except for towers and over there to the left..eyre t-bar etc) both days until they were tracked out before general cruising, exploring and park laps in blue cow (mon) and leichardt (tues). Wish it didn’t have to end! Would love to have another few days in both parks on those jumps!
. . . snow pole . . . (Why the f they are made of 2x2 logs of wood and not plastic, I’ll never know!)
I can answer that one - it’s because the people who make those kind of decisions are clueless morons.
Cords that sucks!
But if you had chains on i reckon you still would have spun!
no idea, as I’ve never driven with chains.
I had just finished saying the sentence “remember, we don’t have winter tyres here in Australia” to freddy as the words “oh s#@t” came out of his mouth as we started sliding, before entering the spin. There was absolutely nothing freddy could do once the slide started & he certainly wasn’t driving at a reckless speed. Was quite funny though, as all 4 of us in the car were really calm and silent as it all happened and until we came to a stop and freddy asked if we were all ok.
Then we had to dig the car out of the snow bank (Marcus couldn’t even get out of his back driver’s side door)...the plastic wheel arch protector that popped off when we hit the pole came in handy as a shovel!
I slid on Saturday morning coming over the last rise into Perisher. Didn’t go far but I know it was my driving that was at fault and i suspect chains wouldn’t have helped.
They are a false sense of security IMO so is AWD/4WD
. . . I suspect chains wouldn’t have helped.
They are a false sense of security IMO so is AWD/4WD
AWD/4WD without snow tyres, definitely - but it’s pretty difficult to lose traction enough to slide with properly applied chains.