Steep driveway ideas

[RoBe]

Originally Posted by BillTex

Hi All,

Looking for ideas on what to do about steep (18*) driveway. The drive down to our lake camp is very steep-so steep no one will plow it in winter, so we walk in. We are at camp ~ 2x/month and young enough to hike in now, but are not getting any younger!
Current surface is some pavement and some gravel.
Our lot is long and narrow with steep drop off on both sides of driveway, so there is really no room to relocate the driveway.
The ultimate answer would be a heated drive-but that is not practical.
Any ideas on best surface for traction that is plowable?
Any other ideas on how to deal with a steep driveway?
Your experience and comments appreciated!

Thank you,

Bill

Bill,
We had a similar situation in slope/width but just under 100' long, not 300' ft. We were weekend warriors when we purchased our second home here 10 years ago. We bought a new Ariens 24 high output snow blower, w/electric start/chains, not a big investment. The Ariens is not that hard to handle, works like a champ both up and down slope, store it in the shed. Since your driveway is narrow, you can quickly blast the snow off each side in a dozen or so passes (albeit long passes for you.) Use crampons or micro-spikes.

Find that local guy who'll just swipe and clear the massive bank up top just after the big storms, so that when you arrive the heavy mess at street level is mostly clear. Also, there are guys around who will come by and use your snow blower to clear your driveway right after those bigger storms. Hopefully, the driveway area gets good sunlight for any ice build up.

If feasible, set up a camera so you know what you're dealing with before you arrive. Keep plenty of sand available.

We're retired and live here now, and the Ariens Platinum still does the job just fine. Lots of good ideas here, but for us...no heated driveway, no expensive equipment, but there's always physical effort involved.
Enjoy your winter. Best of luck.