Originally Posted by Steely Dan

riding through and over ice, snow, slush and all of their various textures and combinations is absolutely a special skill compared to riding on dry pavement.

from my experiences, studded tires have made a tremendous difference (marathon winters), but i live in chicago where ice is the main winter riding obstacle i face as opposed to deep snow. chicago's fleet of plow trucks is MASSIVE and vigilant. streets rarely stayed filled with snow for long.