What was your first experience driving on ice or snow?
Do you have any tips?
Best tip, I'd say: "
Slow and steady wins the race." IOW, slow inputs, nothing jerky or quickly done. Take your time. Among other things, the general "
Basic Speed Law" severely applies, in situations like vastly-reduced grip and control.
Another great tip, I'd say:
Never be driving while fiddling with a cell phone or other device. Attention deficit kills, particularly quickly in loss-of-grip situations like ice and snow. Turn the devices off and stick to job #1: getting there safely.
For learning, I'd say a wide open parking lot is perfect. Of course, they're owned by somebody, so there's the liability threat to the owner(s) to be considered. Still, there's nothing like trying something 100's of times until you get it right. Push the limits a little, then see what happens ... then deal with it. Again and again, until learning the right responses, right adjustments, right amount of throttle, brake and steering inputs. Eventually, a perceptive drive'll get it.
While I grew up (up through teen years) in a relatively sunny area, every chance I got I headed into the hills for sledding, skiing. Enjoyed the opportunities to find an off-the-beaten-track country road where I could toy with the conditions and the car's "feel" on the road. Never had such an opportunity back home. Through the next couple of decades, I lived in a spot with nasty winters in the hills, frosty conditions where I lived, and lots of critters/crud in the road during all seasons. Learned to drive through practically every condition, and had lots of practice. Did a good number of instructor-led "track days" at nearby racetracks, learning how to deal with the car's limits in a variety of situations. (Wasn't with ice and snow, but those skills have translated moderately well, enhancing what had already become pretty decent ice+snow skills.)
One thing I have never, ever skimped on is: the right tires. (Could probably buy a decent two year old car, for the price of tires I have bought over the decades.) I've always kept an eye on them, always rotated them frequently, always replaced the moment ~10% reduction in general grip could be felt (from new), irrespective of tread depth (which is a poor indicator of grip). Pretty useful steps, generally. Steps that get deadly vital, when it comes to wintry conditions and the grip issues that can occur.
In nearly 50yrs of driving, I've only gone off the road once, and that was while creeping along at 18mph in a 45mph zone on a mountain road, in anticipation of lost grip in icy/snowy conditions. Hit a hidden patch of black ice and just continued right through the corner into a big snow bank. Was driving gingerly, slow inputs and all, had AWD and great snow tires, but it still happened. So, halved the speed again, until I was out of the area with shadow zones on the road, lots of corners, little snow on top. Once I got back to the more heavily-snowed-over areas, things were back to normal icy/snowy grip.
