BRING ON THE SNOW

At the North American International Auto Show press preview in Detroit, I heard many out‑of‑town show attendees were greatly concerned as a Midwest and East Coast snow storm threw travel and other plans up in the air. Me, I was in Manchester, Vt., hoping for about 12 ‑ 24 inches to hit the Green Mountain State, but I wasn't there for your typical ski vacation, writes Bob Burns, Events Manager, Land Rover North America.

I was waiting for the imminent arrival of a cadre of international journalists that just attended the Detroit Show as guests of Jaguar Land Rover, with the promise of doing some hard core American winter driving afterwards. Here is our story.

The media were invited to a 'Winter Wonderland' experience at The Equinox Resort and Spa in Manchester Village, Vt., to follow the press preview of the Detroit Show.

Our Land Rover and Range Rover owners drive in the ice and snow all winter long on the East Coast, and therefore we thought it would be a fun story for the media to attend one of our school locations to enjoy a little winter driving. The added bonus to our trip was that we were lucky enough to be smack in the middle of one of the worst winter snow storms that has hit the Northeast this winter.

The group managed to fly their way out of Detroit and landed in Albany, N.Y., a few hours before the storm touched down in Vermont. By the morning of our drive day, 12 inches of fresh snow was on the ground, and there was a virtual white out as more snow continued to pour down. PERFECT!

As the small group of British and European journalists have surely had their own experiences with heavy snowfall in the U.K. and Europe, we were excited that Mother Nature allowed them to experience the type of heavy snowfall that Vermont copes with each year.

The plan was to drive a few of the class‑three and class‑four roads, which ranged from dirt country roads to off‑road like trails, between the hotel and the Grafton Inn in Grafton, Vt. Just the day before, our concern was to find snow conditions that would challenge our driving skills. The plan couldn't have went any smoother, as we attempted one class‑four road that was approaching three ft. deep in certain areas where the snow was over the bumpers of the 2011 Range Rovers and Range Rover Sports. That was until we hit an uphill stretch that required us to use winches to help the vehicles navigate the slope. If time allowed, we would have made it through slowly, but instead, decided to turn around and get to Grafton in time for lunch. Our concern over having challenging conditions to drive in, went away very quickly and our main priority became getting everyone to Grafton safely.

Traffic, as you can imagine, was minimal. Our group and a few solitary heavy duty snow plows, attempting to clear the roads, were literally the only souls brave enough to combat the snow‑filled roads. Even the infamous Vermont Country Store was closing to allow employees to head home due to the heavy snow fall, and ironically the only location we did find open to buy coffee had one lonely 1995 Classic Range Rover parked outside. Turns out the owner was on his honeymoon and didn't see the weather as any reason to keep him and his new bride inside. We agreed with the newlyweds when they said, "It was a perfect day for a leisurely drive, with perfect weather to be behind the wheel of a Land Rover."

After lunch at the Grafton Inn, our group spent a great afternoon working our way back to The Equinox on more class‑three and class‑four roads that offered even more fun and exhilarating snow driving for our guests.

The Land Rover Experience Driving School at The Equinox Resort & Spa runs year round and is close to several ski resorts within a short drive of the hotel. Our guests spent a little time reviewing what Manchester Village has to offer with premium outlet shopping, excellent skiing and a top‑notch spa that is open year round, no matter the weather. The journalists lived through what many East Coasters deal with every winter; something we like to call perfect weather to be driving a Land Rover.