As we all know the search feature isn't ideal. Nonetheless I've read a number of threads and feel if anything a little more confused. Where I'm at (Seattle) snow is rare and fleeting, as is ice, but it is something to contend with occasionally. I find myself attempting to actually approach it with some preparation for the first time.

Ideally, I'd like to see this thread become recommendations for specific conditions, both tire types and pressures, for everyone, everywhere.

But first I'd like to ask the collective wisdom of the group. Over the next three days I am going to be commuting in at about 0630 PST (or an hour earlier to give me some time for trouble). Although it will be snowing, my greatest concern is about ice. I have to climb a 500 foot hill at the end of my commute in to school/work, and I suspect whether it is snowing or not there is going to be a thin layer of ice over everything.

Right now my commuter is set up with Continental Gatorskins and fenders that are pretty close to that and a pain to remove. I've seen some suggest that high pressure tires cut through conditions, so is running 1 & 1/8th inch (28mm?) at 120-ish PSI okay for this? I also have Vittoria Randoneur Pro's I could mount (26 x 1.50"). I normally run these at 90 PSI, if I mounted them should I lower the pressure some? How much?

Tomorrow I've only got one class that ends at 9AM, and then I'm free (except for homework). I'm going to go ahead and try my usual commuter set-up for this (the Gatorskins at about 120 PSI). After I get home I plan on putting sheet metal screws into some old tires and getting my touring bike running well enough to mount them so I can deal with the ice I'm expecting for the next few days. There's supposed to be snow, but I don't really expect any problems with 3-6 inches of snow, it's the ice under it at 6AM that I'm worried about while I'm trying to climb steep hills to and fro.

My touring bike is an old '88 GT Timberline and clearances are tight for larger knobbies so I am going to experiment with a Conti Town & Country (1.9) for the rear. I know the 2.1 knobbies I have in storage fit okay for the front, so I'll also stud-up one of those. Right now it lacks fenders though so it's my go-to for an experiment with the studded tires.

Any recommendations?