Nervous in the snow

[irr]

Will be flying into Seattle on Dec 22 and driving to Clarkston Wa, I am nervous about the route and driving in the snow as I have never done so. Any info and reassurance would be appreicated. Do you need to keep certain things in the car and what about the tires on a rental car. Do they automaticially have the correct winter tires on them?

[Foy]

Hello irr,

While it's far too soon to predict or forecast weather for 22 December, I can fairly estimate you've got a single primary crux point between SEATAC airport and the Idaho border at Clarkston--Snoqualmie Pass. It's just east of Seattle on I-90 and you should have ample time for and availability of up-to-the-minute forecasts and current conditions at the pass, quite possibly right at the rental car counter.

It's quite likely Washington has a "chain law" which one can find on their DOT website, and theirs is quite likely like those in other western states: Chains OR 4-wheel drive required on designated roads at designated times. Your car rental agency can comment on whether or not (and, for liability concerns, I rather suspect not) they'll provide chains. I suspect it's a moot point for you, as the heavy snowfall periods which would trigger the "chain law" for a few hours at a time represents conditions you will likely choose to avoid, anyway. If that's the case, you'll just find a coffee shop somewhere in the Seattle area (should be easy!), and hole up for a few hours until the storm passes and the roads are clear. No worries at all.

Foy

[irr]

Thanks for the info, would I take I-90 to Spokane or what other route would be better?

[glc]

If necessary, Snoqualmie Pass can be avoided by going down to Portland and taking I-84. In fact, you could fly in and out of Portland. From either city, you are looking at about a 6 hour drive.

Have you looked into taking a connecting flight to Lewiston ID? That would eliminate any driving at all!

The most direct route from Seattle is I-90 to I-82 to Pasco - then WA-124 to US-12.

[irr]

I would like to fly from Seattle to Lewiston, but that adds $700 per person (x2) to the trip. A bit excessive, wouldn't you say?

[Midwest Michael]

These sort of short haul flights are typically going to rather expensive, because there's usually only one airline who provides the service and there is little demand - so the costs are spread out over fewer people. Throw in the fact that you're traveling over the christmas holiday, that's usually not going to make it cheap.

However, I just did a quick look for a one way flight from SEA to LWS on 12/22 and the price I found was $150 on Alaska Airlines.

Plus if you're flying to Seattle from some other destination, its probably even cheaper to book direct from your starting point, rather than booking 2 seperate flights.

[Foy]

I would like to fly from Seattle to Lewiston, but that adds $700 per person (x2) to the trip. A bit excessive, wouldn't you say?

Entirely excessive. That, and the endless array of additional fees, plus the joys of dealing with the TSA and the airline employee unions all combine to drive me away from airline travel for virtually any trip.

Foy