Rennlist Forums Flashback: Frosty Canadian Road Trip
Rennlist member proves that despite what you may have heard, you can actually drive your Porsche in the snow.
The prevailing notion among owners of sports cars is that they simply can’t be driven in the winter time. Or at least that they shouldn’t be. So those of us who live in the snowbelt simply tuck our prized rides away as the weather turns bad, heading out to the cold garage every now and then to dream of our next summer road trip. But in Canada, they do things a little bit differently.
Not only does Rennlist forum member old man neri drive his 911 in the winter time, he once took it on a 1,500-mile road trip in the snow. And in case you’re wondering, the air-cooled Porsche didn’t immediately spin out and land upside down in a ditch once he pulled out of the driveway. Conditions weren’t exactly “optimum,” either, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s been to Canada in January.
“So as some of you may know I have just moved to Manitoba, the same place I was this summer. It involved a 1500mi trip. The conditions for the most part of the trip were either snow, blowing snow, snow drifts, ice, black ice, hard back snow, and all out blizzards. Here are some pictures and vids I took.”
This is the start of the trip, it was actually a nice day when I left.”
But things quickly escalated as the sun went down, and our Canadian friend had a slight brush with disaster.
“The snow then started, it also started getting really bad. At one point the only way I could actually drive was to stare out the sides and judge distance to the snow bank. That is how I knew I was on the road. Also the blowing snow was coming from random directions which started tripping me up. For a second I looked at the gas gauge, lost situational awareness, and the next thing I know I had two wheels in the snow bank with snow flying everywhere and my car at an angle. I had to steer a bit, drop to second, and bury the throttle to get out of it. I am glad I didn’t get stuck. The 911 is a tough little car.”
By the time he made it to the hotel for the night, the snow was starting to pile up.
Things cleared up for a bit the next day, but in typical Canadian fashion, they got worse soon after that.
Luckily, the weather started to cooperate at just the right time.
“Then the weather improved for another short bit. I was lucky because it was through the very scenic parts of the drive. The pictures don’t do justice to how nice it really was through there.”
As us northerners know, however, just because the roads look fine doesn’t mean they are fine.
“The roads were still fairly slick in some spots as one can tell by the snow plow that got stuck or slid off the road.”
“Lastly, I hit one last freak blizzard in Winnipeg. There was a lot and a lot of blowing snow and snow drifts. This is the final aftermath.”Â
“The camera actually seems to have better light amplification than my eyes. The only way I could actually drive along there was to just stare at the reflectors on the side of the road. Normally you couldn’t even see pavement. The odd time I did is when I started filming.”
Thankfully, our resident Canadian (and his 911) finished the perilous road trip no worse for wear. No doubt aided by a set of snow tires, extra bright driving lights, and a steady hand. All in all, he came away impressed, declaring “911s are actually pretty good snow cars.” Despite the successful trip, however, we’ll just have to take his word for it.
