Locking wheels and sliding on ice are two of the dangers that would face motorists on a snowy day on Mount Canobolas, according to a four-wheel-driving group that spends a lot of time up the mountain.
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During the flurry of activity and excitement after snow is forecast, an announcement comes from Cabonne Council like clockwork, alerting residents the road to the top of Mount Canobolas will be closed – sometimes for days.
Some residents have taken to social media bemoaning the closure of the road at “the first hint of the white stuff”, but Gavin Hillier from the Canobolas 4 Wheel Drive Club said conditions on the mountain were “dangerous” for people who didn’t know what they were doing.
“You need a vehicle with low range and a four-wheel drive because as soon as you hit the brakes (on the way down) you’ll get wheels lock and you’ll slide into the gutter or into oncoming cars,” Mr Hillier said.
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“If the road is covered in snow and ice it is dangerous.”
The 4WD club has about 40 members who regularly drive around Ophir and Mount Canobolas, and Mr Hillier said he had driven on the mountain in the years before Cabonne Council begun closing the roads.
He said while often the road could be traversable for over half the distance to the summit, he understood council might not have the resources to close sections of the mountain.
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However, Mr Hillier said he knew of times where maintenance workers couldn’t get to the top of the mountain to service crucial telecommunication systems.
Cabonne Council could not be reached for comment by deadline.
A Central Western Daily poll run over the weekend had 43 per cent of respondents say they wanted the mountain kept open during snow.