On Thursday, June 20, snow covered the Crown Range, but the road was not closed.
Speaking that morning, Alistair Haig, from Downer, said if he was to give the snowfall on the Crown Range a rating, it would be an eight out of 10.
At 5am, he said the snow was ''like a sheet of glass'' but by late morning it had eased.
Downer contractors were stationed at both ends of the Crown Range, ensuring motorists had chains fitted to their tyres and letting them know how demanding the road was. A saving grace was the fact that Cardrona had not yet opened, as the road serves the skifield.
When significant snowfalls occur the road is constantly monitored by Downer and the council and deciding whether to close it is a subjective matter, taking many factors into account. Mr Haig said it was not so much the snow which made driving hazardous but what the snow was sitting on.
Early in the morning, the snow was sitting on slippery ice, but after repeated trips by a grader the ice was beginning to thin.
Rather than let the snow build up, graders constantly moved it off the road and usually grit was put down only after the graders had been through and the snow was easing - otherwise the grit would be pushed off the road with the snow.
The council releases winter road reports each morning, has run chain-fitting workshops, which were well attended this year, and Mr Mander said he was pleased people seem to be heeding the advice.
