A sourdough’s guide to moving snow

It is winter. If you live anywhere near the Interior, it is a snowy one thus far. The flip side is that the temperatures have been mild. The projected temperatures of minus 30 for Christmas week can be ignored with the hope that our meteorologists have miscalculated. Those of us with dogs and snowmobiles like snow. However, most of us have driveways, and all of us have sheds and paths that need clearing now and then. Those who live in heavy snow areas get very familiar with various mechanics for moving, clearing and packing snow.

Dog drivers benefit by having a decent snowmachine. Big, heavy machines go well when you can keep the speed up on an open trail and have a long way to go. They can be tougher to handle at slow speeds and in tight places. Wind drifts and partially blown over trails with narrow bases will drive you up the wall. Smaller, lighter machines will solve the tight places and getting trails in for hauling firewood. So … maybe you need two machines?

The same applies to moving snow. Two machines are better than one. Personally, I am not a fan of truck-mounted plows. They definitely have their place if you move snow commercially or have a big area to clear around your home. Most of us have a driveway and a parking area. Those areas require a snowblower and a decent shovel.

There are many types of shovels designed to move snow. My hands have a permanent shovel curl from many different types of snow shovels. Here are my thoughts: Shovels that push are like mini-plows. They work well in little snows if you have a place to push and boots with good traction. A problem becomes apparent when there is no more room to push all of those little snows. Push scoops are popular on roofs where the snow can be pushed off the edge and the pile alongside the building is not an issue.

A big aluminum scoop shovel works quite well for moving bigger snows and the pile in front of your door that just was pushed from your roof. The thing about moving your own snow is this: One can’t be allergic to work. Our house has one big porch and four small ones. Plus, there is another door and porch to the dog kennels (those porches are where the shovel curl comes from). The key to shoveling is a light tool that can pick a fair amount of snow and a shoveling pace that fits your abilities. Lots of folks run to the gym to exercise and get in shape. Come to my place, and I won’t charge a membership.

Everyone serious about clearing a driveway, paths around the yard and a decent size parking area should own a snowblower. Snowblowers come in all shapes and sizes, depending on one’s needs. My feeling: Go big or stick with the shovel. Understand, if you just have a walkway and a couple of paths, plus access to a two-car garage, maybe a single-stage battery-powered machine will work for you. They are cheap, light and can be easily pulled up on the roof. Drawbacks are batteries that will get weaker as charges build up over the winter, and they all have wheels rather than tracks.

You think you only need a little snowblower because of your small drive ... and then the neighbor calls. His drive is drifted in; the fun and lack of power becomes apparent. A good gas, two-stage blower is worth the money and extra weight involved. We have a 20-year-old Yamaha track machine that starts and runs like new. Sure, there are a few idiosyncrasies that have arisen over the seasons, but the machine still performs well.

There are many good blowers on the market. You will not be happy with anything under 24 inches. Twenty-eight inches is better. Tracks are a must. Wheels, chained up or not, will not do the job on heavy or packed snow. A good blower needs to throw snow 30 or 40 feet. This lets you clear a decent parking area. Adjustable skids are a nice touch if you have a gravel driveway. The intake auger can be raised above the gravel until you get a little snow-pack on the driveway. Rocks and bigger chunks of frozen dog poop are the banes of blowers. Become very familiar with how to change to auger shear pins in your blower if you figure on running in either condition. You can change to quarter-inch bolts instead of roll pins for easier installation.

Expect to pay $1,500 to $2,000 for a good machine. Craftsman and Troy-Bilt make very good two-stage blowers. The big Craftsman actually has a third auger if you are needing to move plowed berms. Yamaha or Honda will charge you quite a bit more, mostly because of name recognition. Friction drive is cheaper than hydrostatic drive and works as well, I believe. Bells and whistles are nice touches but also make for more things to fail. Headlamps have removed the need for lights on the blower. Handwarmers? If you have the wherewithal to run a blower, you can afford mittens (warm your hands up on the exhaust).

Our driveway is a half-mile. It takes me three round trips with the Yami. Three miles plus another mile cleaning up a big yard and miscellaneous paths and parking spots. Voila! No need for a gym membership. Yes, it takes me two hours. But, in a pinch, my kids can do the job; try putting an 8-year-old behind the wheel of the plow truck. This winter has begun with far too much familiarity with my shovel and my blower, but after listening to friends complain about their plow truck always being in the shop and the transmission starting to slip, I will just shake the snow from my hat and order them a snow shovel for Christmas.