Any advise or tips from locals would be greatly appreciated (Sandpoint: loan, how much)

[Stephanieharper]

Hello Everyone 👋🏻 We will soon be residents of your beautiful community in Sandpoint!! We are so excited about our new chapter! My 2 children and I will be moving in a couple weeks. I know winter is around the corner and was hoping ya all could give me some advise or tips on what I’ll need to prepare myself? I have never lived in a snowy environment and I’m sure I’m getting myself in to some shenanigans 🥴🤣 I look forward to the experience though! I’m not clueless but what kinda clothes should I get for my kids they are 3rd and 6th grade, what do They need? What types of boots or jackets do you recommend? Any advise on snow removal for my driveway or roof? What equipment should I get? Also any suggestions for activity’s for us to do to start getting aquatinted with our new community? I appreciate all advice you can throw at me 🙏🏻 Thank you

[volosong]

I'm fairly new to 'snow country'. The first winter, I purchased a battery powered snow blower. Used it once and decided a shovel was more efficient. Never got a chance to use it last winter because I didn't pull it out soon enough from the backyard shed and it was 'snowbound' all winter.

The snow shovel was purchased from the local Costco. Works well enough. However, my driveway is not very long, but double wide. Just long enough for my car with a foot to spare front to back. It takes me about 20-min to a half an hour to shovel my whole driveway. Good exercise too.

On clothing: I found the temps to hover around freezing during the day and due to the low humidity, it really doesn't feel that cold. Layers is the key. When I go out to shovel snow, I start with a medium-weight jacket and am down to a T-shirt half way through. Jeans are fine and when I get warmed up, shorts even.

For the kids, I think you get get rubber over-boots. Not sure what they are called, but on their trek to school, they will jump in every virgin snow bank along the route. You want their feet to stay dry. Once at school, they'll remove their outer boot covers and go on with their day.

[Cnynrat]

As DC indicates, an all-wheel drive car with good tires will be the best for getting around during winter. Roads are generally kept pretty clear, but roads in the town of Sandpoint itself tend to be worse than out in the county in my experience. Not really a knock on their road crews, I just think it's more challenging in the confines of town without a lot of places to pile snow off the road and in some cases parked cars in the way.

Some people just use good all season tires year round, others switch to dedicated snow tires for winter. IMO good snow tires will offer better traction, but you can get away with good all-season or mud & snow tires with careful driving and assuming you don't spend a lot of time driving around in the boonies during winter.

It's really hard to give recommendations on snow removal equipment without knowing how big an area you will be clearing. You will need a good snow shovel no matter what though for dealing with small areas. I like the plastic shovels because they tend to have less of a problem with snow sticking to them. The shovels with a funny curved handle are easier on your back. You might want to keep a can of silicone spray handy as a quick spray of that will often help sticky snow slide off the shovel more easily.

If you are clearing a large enough area the next step up in convenience/efficiency would be a walk behind snow blower. The gas powered machines work well and if you get a good sized machine make quick work of even a pretty good sized driveway. It's convenient to get one with electric start. I've never used a battery operated blower, so I won't comment on them. I assume you might be working, so you may not have a lot of time to deal with snow in the morning. In that case an efficient snow clearing method might be important, or you might consider paying someone to do it, at least for your first winter.

You may or may not need to clear snow off your roof - that will depend on the weather and the design and age of your house. In any case, that's not something that needs to be done for every snowfall, so you might think about paying someone to do that when/if it's needed. The tools used for that job are usually either a snow rake or a snow shovel. Can be dangerous to get up on the roof to shovel snow, so I'd recommend having someone do that for you.

Good luck, and welcome!

Dave

[volosong]

Forgot to talk about the snow rake that Dave mentioned. Got one last year from Lowe's. Has a long, long collapsible handle that extends to go half-way up on the roof, (I'm 6'3", so that helps). Purchased it because the neighbor mentioned that as snow turns to ice throughout multiple snowfalls, the ice could damage the rain gutters, (the weight, I guess).

Took about 15-minutes to put the rake together then went around my house and the neighbor's house pulling snow off the roof. It's possible to reach quite a bit ways up, but realistically, only about several feet is enough to keep the gutters cleared. You just pick up the head of the rake, push outward and let the rake fall onto the roof at the full extent. Then, just pull and expect to get your boots and lower pant legs wet with falling snow.

For thick snow, don't try to pull so much. Do it in "layers", maybe a linear foot with each pull. Only had to do it once last winter. The snow 'came and went' and allowed enough time for melting between storms. When I finally used the rake, the snow was about 12 to 18-inches thick on the roof. Rake wasn't too expensive.

- - -

All-wheel drive is a must. Was rear ended last year and was given a FWD RAV4 loaner, (I've been driving a AWD RAV4 for several years). Started snowing on the way home and because of how the car handled, I immediately turned around and returned it for a AWD SUV. I run all-terrain tires with the M+S and mountain symbol and don't switch with the seasons. With North Idaho weather and roads, I'll never own a non-AWD car again.

[nm9stheham]

IMHO, advice on tires ought to follow what type of vehicle the OP has and the ability to afford another vehicle, and where they will be driving and how flat it is where you will need to go. Let everyone know what you have OP, and if you will be facing hills in your regular driving. I grew up and live in the Appalachian mountains with plenty of snow driving opportunities up hills & mountains and did/do fine most of the time with RWD cars, proper snow tires, and occasionally chains. (Ladies don't usually like to mess with chains and more and more guys don't either; I still carry them in my truck; they are just another step up in snow driving capability.)



Snowblowers or not depends on the length of area needing to be cleared as said. The 'decided a shovel was more efficient' comment is all you need to know about battery powered snowblowers.....it takes a LOT of energy to blow snow!


How much time will the kids be in snow, and will they be waiting at a bus stop each day? Things like boots for extend outdoor time versus just transiently being outdoors can be quite different.

[nm9stheham]

Originally Posted by volosong

Forgot to talk about the snow rake that Dave mentioned. Got one last year from Lowe's. Has a long, long collapsible handle that extends to go half-way up on the roof, (I'm 6'3", so that helps). Purchased it because the neighbor mentioned that as snow turns to ice throughout multiple snowfalls, the ice could damage the rain gutters, (the weight, I guess).

Ice dams.... they back up the gutters and later melting snow flows back into the roof system and soffits and even into the walls if it gets bad enough.

[oldafretired]

As mentioned by others, if you bought a house, you should get snow off the roof to avoid damage from ice dams that form near the edge of the roof. I've been using a Roof Razor and it works pretty well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNm5h03LV2A

You might consider getting removable ice cleats for your shoes when the snow turns to ice. They are very helpful in preventing falls. You can find all different kinds at places like Amazon. Insulated boots would be great too.

For winter, it's best to switch to dedicated winter tires. They are much better than all season tires when the roads become icy.

If you have a short driveway a walk behind gas powered snowblower will work. Don't waste your money on an electric one. I got one of those to clear my back deck and a snow shovel worked better. If you have a long driveway, even a good walk behind snowblower is too much work. If you can, get a small tractor to push and/or blow snow. I tried a walk behind snowblower my first winter here and it took way too long so I ended up with this:

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You have kids. A good place to buy jackets and boots for kids is Costco. Quality is good and prices are reasonable. Some of the less expensive jackets at other stoes are not really all that warm. High quality stores have excellent jackets, but high priced and kids grow out of jackets fast.

How ever many cars you have, buy additional jackets, one for each car the will live full time in the car and never be taken out. Plus a couple of blankets or sleeping bags. On the very rare possibility that you will get stranded, there is guaranteed something in the car to keep the kids warm while you wait.

I like the moon boots for kids (and for me, if I could still find them). They are super easy to put on and most of them are machine washable. Often fun colors are available.

At least 2 pairs of snow boots for kids because they get wet inside and need time to dry.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You and the kids will need to learn how to layer clothing. Then you can adjust for changes in temperatures throughout the day.


Buy the kids some fun sweatshirts in colors and with whatever pictures or characters on them that they will like to wear. Unless it is an arctic blizzard, a shirt, a sweat shirt, and a mid weight ski jacket will work just fine. Be sure to get the kids gloves and hats. Cold hands are miserable and a lot of body heat is lost through the head.


Costco is an excellent source for ski gloves and if you happen to be there on the day that the snow cleats some in, they sell a good set of snow cleats for your shoes. The cleats sell out fast.

[banjomike]

Go for fleece over cotton in layering. When cotton gets wet, it stays cold. Fleece doesn't, and will keep the kids warm even when its wet.
So will wool. Wool is the most self-regulating insulation there is; once a person reaches a point of warmth wearing wool, they stay at that point, inside or outside if there's some venting in the wool, such as some collar buttons. Open the collar, and cool down a few degrees inside. Wool can be soaking wet and still keep a person warm.

My favorite year-round article of clothing is a Woolrich prime wool pullover sweater. It's woven from Merino fleece, which is very soft, is knit loosely, and I keep it handy for the summer nights that get chilly. In the winters, I'm warm with a 60/40 parka or an insulated vest over it. It was expensive, but it's lasted 20 years so far.

I also own some Pendelton wool shirts for wearing in all 4 seasons. When the temps are really cold, I'll layer a Pendleton under the sweater, add a vest, and I'm good to go. A couple of those shirts are not 40 years old.