What actually works on packed snow

Studded tires only earn their weight on ice, not on packed snow, and most of a winter route is packed snow rather than ice. Wider, lower pressure and an aggressive but unstudded tread outperformed studs on every climb this season, and rolled noticeably easier on the cleared stretches in between.

The one place studs still win is the shaded descent past the quarry, where meltwater refreezes overnight into a genuine ice sheet. Worth carrying a spare set if that descent is on the route.