How do you plow snow?

Torvy · 2025-11-19T05:57:47-0500

@Hay Dude I understood what Arly meant. Growing up in the North (due west of the Twin Cities), we always had real snow. Maybe 1 of 3 Halloweens, we trick or treated in parkas and snow boots with a foot or more on the ground. 20 years in Texas, we've maybe had 3 years that had real snow and they were typically just one storm each.

To me, 'real snow' means you actually NEED to get out and remove it. Anything under about 2" it's almost easier to just let the sun, wind, and friction remove it. Other factors may come into play, dry vs wet snow, surface type, or slope, to name a few. It is highly unlikely I will ever need to remove snow again. If I do, it would simply be a loader bucket job.

Our first winter in Wisconsin, we had 55" of snow just in December. That was real snow. We seemed to get 4-8" every 3 or 4 days. The rest of that winter, we had little 'real snow'. A dusting of dry snow is 'fake'.

ArlyA · 2025-11-19T06:00:08-0500

Real snow pictured here.

Hay Dude · 2025-11-19T06:13:53-0500

Torvy said:
@Hay Dude I understood what Arly meant. Growing up in the North (due west of the Twin Cities), we always had real snow. Maybe 1 of 3 Halloweens, we trick or treated in parkas and snow boots with a foot or more on the ground. 20 years in Texas, we've maybe had 3 years that had real snow and they were typically just one storm each.

To me, 'real snow' means you actually NEED to get out and remove it. Anything under about 2" it's almost easier to just let the sun, wind, and friction remove it. Other factors may come into play, dry vs wet snow, surface type, or slope, to name a few. It is highly unlikely I will ever need to remove snow again. If I do, it would simply be a loader bucket job.

Our first winter in Wisconsin, we had 55" of snow just in December. That was real snow. We seemed to get 4-8" every 3 or 4 days. The rest of that winter, we had little 'real snow'. A dusting of dry snow is 'fake'.

@Torvy,

I could not imagine living in the misery of being cold & snowbound like that for so much of the year. Also the energy and expenses exerted to clear roads, walkways, campuses for that much of a year. It would be like prison to me. Talk about carbon emissions, wow, all those trucks running day & night clearing snow. All the road salt spread on roads ends up in the water and the ecosystems.

We usually get 4 or 5 2”-10” snowfalls per year here and they must be cleared or they will turn into packed ice, which is much more dangerous. 2” of snow left unplowed in cold weather is a nightmare for my customers as we don’t run around with chains or studded snow tires for months at a time.
Once every 5 years or so, we’ll get 2 feet of snow and it gives you a window into the drudgery of removing it constantly like someone in Michigan must endure. No thanks. I have better things to do than deal with shoveling snow, frozen rain gutters, tire chains and $1,000 heat bills for 7 months a year.

I have been in the commercial and residential snowplowing business for 30 years, so I have seen years where we got 30” of snow in one shot, and 3” of snow in an entire winter. The small amount of snow we usually get here is plenty enough for me and puts a little extra $$ in the bank account.

grsthegreat · 2025-11-19T07:57:18-0500

This year we were supposed to have a colder, wetter winter. So far i have not installed snow gear or chains. Generally i start with plow until i get nice consistent cold weather to keep rocks out of blower. Then use blower until spring. As i get older i get lazier. I installed heated mats on front steps so i dont have to shovel. The wife pushes a small gas snowblower to maintain some foot paths.

KennyG · 2025-11-19T08:07:31-0500

ATV snowplow attached to the frame and box blade to pull the snow away from buildings. Originally I used the FEL and then tried a rear mounted snow blower. The plow has turned out to the be the fastest, easiest solution, since we usually don't get over 100 inches a year.

ArlyA · 2025-11-19T08:09:47-0500

KennyG said:
ATV snowplow attached to the frame and box blade to pull the snow away from buildings. Originally I used the FEL and then tried a rear mounted snow blower. The plow has turned out to the be the fastest, easiest solution, since we usually don't get over 100 inches a year.

View attachment 4420435

Moose blade?

Hay Dude · 2025-11-19T08:10:05-0500

grsthegreat said:
This year we were supposed to have a colder, wetter winter. So far i have not installed snow gear or chains. Generally i start with plow until i get nice consistent cold weather to keep rocks out of blower. Then use blower until spring. As i get older i get lazier. I installed heated mats on front steps so i dont have to shovel. The wife pushes a small gas snowblower to maintain some foot paths.

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I can’t imagine the workload of being 60++ and living in the countryside on a budget in a heavy snow climate. Getting out there and plowing, salting, shoveling, ice chipping….100++ inches per year.

I’d move to warm, sunny climate

. I can barely stand the winters here and they are “only” 3-4 months. I have to work outside every day and that’s hard enough on the body, but at least we can still work in the woods. Couldn’t imagine trying to work with 25” of snow on the ground messing everything up. Then adding months of snow shoveling, snow plowing, salting, ice chipping…
If the kids have left the home, there’s no sons around to help. Now you have to pay more money for help. Astronomical heating bills, too. Especially with the way energy prices went up from ‘20-‘24.

YUCK lol