In most of the United States, tire chains are a rare sight. But when winter storms sweep through the Sierra Nevada, drivers cannot travel treacherous stretches of highway without them. And California’s strict regulations frequently take visitors by surprise.
Last week, during the heavy snowstorms that shut down highways in the Lake Tahoe region and closed Yosemite National Park, the Sierra Nevada was crisscrossed with miles and miles of roads under chain controls. At Caltrans checkpoints along the highway, drivers must either confirm they have tire chains installed or, in some cases, four-wheel or all-wheel drive with snow tread tires. Hapless vacationers, unprepared for the mountain conditions, are often turned away.
“People come up there from the Bay Area or from out of state and they have no idea that they’re going to need chains or the conditions that they’re going to be driving into,” said Steve Nelson, the chief public information officer for Caltrans District 3, which includes the Lake Tahoe region.
Although tire chains can damage the roads, they are necessary to traverse the steep slopes of the Sierras, Nelson said. Traveling over Donner or Echo Summits means driving over 7,000 foot elevations with 6 percent road gradients.
For drivers unfamiliar with tire chains, Nelson advises putting them on in a driveway to practice before being caught in a snowstorm.
“If you’re out there and it’s 15 degrees and you’re getting pelted with snow and you’re trying to put chains on for the first time, that’s kind of a nightmare,” he said.
During heavy storms, many drivers rely on the services of chain installers like Alexys Llamas. Llamas, 32, who runs Tahoe Chain Installers in South Lake Tahoe, has been deluged with calls for assistance. During last week’s blizzard, he served more than 300 customers in three days, he said.
“It has been literally crazy,” he said. “People are super unprepared. When they tell you there’s a storm warning, take that very seriously, because it gets bad up here.”
Llamas’s customers are typically motorists stranded on the highway or vacationers who realize they won’t be able to make it up to their rental homes. When he arrives to install chains, the process is often quick, although the work can be treacherous.
“We’ve got to be on our tippy toes at all times, very aware of what’s going on around us, because it takes a second for someone to slide out,” he said.
California has a long history of chain installers, once known as “chain monkeys.” Demand for their services surged in the 1960s and ’70s, as ski resorts opened in the Sierra Nevada, according to The Los Angeles Times.
But in recent years, the number of permits that Caltrans has issued for chain installers in District 3 has declined, Nelson said. S.U.V.s with all-wheel drive and other cars that don’t require tire chains are increasingly popular. Long gone are the days when Nelson’s family would try to reach Tahoe in a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle, banking on its tire chains.
“Even Teslas have all-wheel drive with snow tires equipped with them, so you can drive a Tesla through chain controls,” he said.
Elsewhere in the United States, tire chain regulations are few and far between. Most states allow tire chains during winter conditions but do not require them.
In snowy Minnesota, drivers tend to use snow tires in the winter and the state generally does not permit studs or tire chains, with a few exceptions for dangerous conditions, according to Anne Meyer, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
Farther east, the Vermont Agency of Transportation recommends snow tires and does not require tire chains, except sometimes for commercial vehicles under certain conditions, said Nicholas Cartularo, the agency’s assistant public outreach manager.
“Compared to California, we don’t have mountains,” he said. “We have hills.”
Where we’re traveling
Today’s tip comes from Catherine Chimenti, who recommends a drive along Skyline Boulevard in the Santa Cruz Mountains:
”The road travels along a high ridge with spectacular ocean and mountain vistas. Most of the land is part of Peninsula Open Space Trust and can never be developed. Many trails are accessible and offer endless redwoods, oak, bay and other tree species. My go-to favorite trail winds through the forest to a high ridge line where it suddenly opens to a truly magnificent view of successive mountain ranges and the ocean. Grandeur defined. But the real reward is the honorary stone bench dedicated to my favorite author Wallace Stegner. A perfect setting for quiet reflection and a chat with my mom, whose ashes I scattered nearby years ago.”
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
And before you go, some good news
Baby boomers accounted for nearly 70 million residents in the United States in 2021 and, as more get older, it’s increasingly important they maintain an active and social lifestyle. That’s where senior centers have come in.
Senior centers across the country function as de facto community centers. While a lot of these centers are routinely run through membership fees and private foundations, Petaluma Senior Center is funded entirely through the city. It is one of only a select few in the area that do so, The Press Democrat reports.
Thanks for reading. We’ll be back tomorrow.
P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.
Soumya Karlamangla, Briana Scalia and Maia Coleman contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.
