 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello All.
Me and some friends are flying to LA and hiring a car to drive to Mammoth in february. Does anyone here have any experience at doing that drive or around that area? Do the roads get cleared regularly?
Is a SUV a necessary? 2wd with chains be ok? (i read some that hire companies don't like chains on the cars)
Just trying to find ways to save some cash, 4 of us with all our gear takes up a fair bit of room and the big SUV's aren't that cheap.
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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hello
drove down from tahoe to la last april time , used the 395 most of the way . this road is mostly through the desert , try looking on google earth . should take about 5 hours , this was the first time i had driven in the us , and its so easy . navigating out of la is a different matter , i hired a sat nav from dollar but its expensive , probably cheaper to get the maps for your sat nav in england .
never been to mamoth didn,t have time to stop on way so i can tell you about roads up to mamoth . interstate 395 has its own website try googling it , also try caltrans for highway conditions . hope this helps
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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the roads get cleared fast once a storm ends, but sometimes storms last for several days.
most vacationers are on time schedules and cant wait a couple extra days.
if they throw up chain restrictions you cant get by without chains or 4wd.
i'd go for the 4wd.
its the reason i drive this
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Illicit, good advice above.... I drove from LA on a sunny April day, aircon on and needed all the way to cool us down and not a single flake of snow to be seen in resort on arrival - but still had a decent weeks skiing.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The drive takes 5 to 6 hours depending on traffic and stops. We flew to LA on a Saturday, stayed at an airport hotel overnight, got up early next day (your body clock will still be 8 hours behind) and drove up on a Sunday (in early April). It was clear and sunny all the way until we were just south of Mammoth when it started to snow. Next day we had 14 inches of new snow on a deserted Monday morning.
Even in bad weather a lot of the drive at the lower elevations will not be a problem as you are in desert. The climb as you get to Mammoth is relatively steep and short .
Watch out for speed traps etc on the way up and back. The speed limit is (I think) 55 or 60 on the open road and lower in the towns you pass through. We saw numerous police radar traps.
We had a 4WD, as did a lot of other people. They seemed the vehicle of choice for tourists and locals
The driving in LA can be "challenging" but if you time it right it is not a major issue. The route from the airport (after a good nights rest and in daylight) is not a problem....maybe more so in the dark after a 12 hour flight and any delays.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Until you hit the village of Mommoth, you won't get much use of that 4wd. And once you're in the village (assuming you're on the bus route), you don't really "need" to use your own transport. Convenient, yes. Neccessary, not.
If money is an issue, I would definitely look at other options beyond SUV. But, check prices around, SUV is not neccessarily any more expensive.
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Took about 6 hours for us a couple of years back, but we hit the LA Freeway at almost peak times (and you thought the M25 was busy  ) - although with there being more than 1 in the car, we could use the 'special' lane, which saved us about 20 seconds in total
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Did my first Mammoth trip in March 97 they had some deals on to upgrade to a 4x4 at LA airport which we took, never needed it all week even for the day trip further north up the 395.
Drove from Tahoe to Mammoth in Feb this year and it was a complete whiteout the road was closed to any vehicle without chains. We had a minivan with chains which was fine.
I would spend the $40ish cost of having chains in the back of the car, never had any problems with the rental companies and chains.
Also did Vegas to Mammoth in 2002 in Feb never saw fresh snow all week.
Best of luck
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