Unless your gears are being jammed up by the snow/salt, I think it'd be a whole lot cheaper and easier to add a Front Derailleur and a smaller chain ring to give you those low gears for going up hills.

I'd consider the H-bars on their site which are used for touring and can break down/split in in two for easy packing into a suitcase. Of course, you'll need new cables and shifters. I tend to like Bar ends particularly w/ friction shifting for the RD.

If you keep flat bars than Ergons would be a must! However w/ H-bars I find being able to grip in different hand positions fixes a lot of hand/wrist soreness...

Would rather have a rear rack than front esp. if you're not using a shower cap. I've heard the front rack also affects the handling more.

If you're getting by without a showercap now, I think it'd be the last thing I add.