<font color="blue">but leave acouple of inches of snow on the gravel. My 4 wheel drive is the only thing that goes up the gravel drive to the barn so some snow is fine. My only other challenge will be getting the 300-4000 feet across the field to the woods evry few weeks to dump manure with the trailer. For that I may just drive over it to keep it packed down. </font>
I know snow conditions are different, but when I did this, i.e., not removing down to the gravel I regretted it. My goal was to not pick up gravel with the FEL and then dump gravel into the field or, with the rear blade, drag it there.
The little snow I left, got packed down so dense it turned to ice and neither my tractor nor my 4x4 was any help. The only thing that resolved the situation was sunshine that melted the snow. Where the packed snow was in the shade, only warmer temps helped.
My other mistake, while I am doing true confessions /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif , was thinking I only needed to plow out the driveway/gravel area at the barn every other snow. Afterall, the driveway at the barn fronted on the road the township plows. When I decided it was time to plow the driveway at the barn, there was 8 - 10 inches of snow to deal with. It wasn't ice, but it might as well have been. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Now what I do, is plow out any place I think we might want access to after every snow. On paved and gravel areas I scrape down until I see paving or stone. This means I usually have gravel in the field and/or divots in the gravel where I dug too deep., but figure skating on a tractor and a 4 x 4 cured me of leaving any layer of snow. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Note: I do not use chains on the tractor or the 4 x 4 which may make it easier to travel a road/path covered in packed snow.