I have driven in Colorado winter for 18 years and never had winter tires. I always use good all season tires and they work just fine for me. My HAH has been through one winter and a few bad snowstorms. OEM tires are not great and I plan to replace them with a different tire once they are worn out (or if I start to hate their handling before that). The only time ground clearance was an issue for me was the time when there was 3 feet of snow on the road and most high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles were getting stuck as well
