Driving the Coquihalla in winter

I'm from Vancouver and going to Big White for some snowboarding with friends on Friday. Now with all the snow that's falling, I'm wanting to make sure I'm prepared for driving through the Coquihalla as I've never driven through there in the winter before.

I have a stock 2021 TRD offroad access cab, Nokian Hakka R3 SUVs for tires, and I'll be keeping some traction boards and my Canadian Spec V-Bar chains in the back. With 4 adults in the truck, a truck cap and gear, I think I'm looking at close to max payload...

I'm wondering, should I try to lessen the load? Should I bother bringing chains, and if I do, when do I put them on? Should I be driving in 4HI the entire time?

 

I will be making the drive on Christmas day as well, and have made the drive in winter many times.

I've never used chains on the drive, but they are definitely smart to bring. As soon as the road has snow on it, definitely put your truck into 4hi.

The extra weight will help you with traction, but just be mindful when it's time to slow down and stop, as you don't want to be hitting the brakes harder than you have to.

Just take your time, and you will be fine. If things start to get really slick, throw the chains on, but you should be okay. Don't worry about the crazy people who are flying by you. Just drive at a pace you're comfortable with.

I definitely find that the connector to Kelowna is typically far worse than the coquihalla in winter, and generally has very dense fog. Definitely put your hazards on if it is foggy, because sometimes it's tough to see much past the front of the hood.

 

Sounds like you are well prepared compared to most. Good advise in the other reply. Biggest risk is always the other jack@sses on the road.

 

Four adults in an access cab? That's going to be a tough journey for the pour souls in the back. I know there is no way an adult could ride in the back of my access cab. Good luck, Lily! Sounds like you've got it covered.

 

Gonna Need some Jack Daniels to....

 

“YOHB- saw you on Highway Thru Hell”

 

Good to know, thank you for the advice! I haven't driven in dense fog before and definitely didn't think about having my hazards on, I'll make sure to do that if I encounter any. Hope you have a safe drive

 

Thank you! And yeah sucks to be them haha. Luckily none of us are big 200lb dudes, so it helps a bit, but I've sat in the back before and yeah it's not very comfy

 

I'm just sorry that I used the word "definitely" so many times

 

Say hi to Lisa if you see her!

 

Oh I didn't even notice LOL, but I now realize I said "definitely" in my response when I normally wouldn't have, so I guess I subconsciously noticed? Haha whatever, words

 

Take a jacket

 

@justSomeGirl how was the drive and the mountain?

 

Hey we went up ver the coqu Christmas Day too! - Berkey

 

Part of our group wasn't comfortable with the weather conditions, so we ended up not going ._. Shame cause I was kind of looking forward to the drive. Thanks for checking up tho!

How was the drive? From reports, it looked like it was a snowstorm just before the Christmas weekend and right afterwards it was freezing rain?

 

It was generally fine.
If it makes any difference, I drove it in a minivan (grand caravan). Few spots were just one lane and passing slow traffic was a bit hectic but it was fine.

 

Ah too bad! Drive up was generally okay. Some single lane unless you were brave. Connector was foggy and a bit slick. Lots of cars on their roofs in the ditch. Way back was clear for us!

 

Travel in winter can be like that, I'd say you made the right call after looking at the weather, the Connector, and the news.
There would be ways around if you had to get there - both the Hope Princton and the canyon could be used to get to BigWhite eventually..

We zipped back and forth to the South Okanagan from Kamloops, but we stay off the Coq between Thanksgiving and Easter..