Changeover: Residents rise early for winter tire ritual

The first flakes flew, the mountains collected several inches, and the valley held on to a skiff last week. For many people, that was the sign to have snow tires mounted on their vehicles. 

A seasonal tire switcheroo - snow tires replace all-season tires for the winter. 

What may sound like an ordinary seasonal chore is actually a community ritual of sorts. The first step of the seasonal ceremony is getting in line.  

The queue, which can include anywhere from 25 to 50 people, is a unique gathering of Whitefish residents. It starts near the door, bends around the southwest corner of the building and extends along the sidewalk. 

In the cold, dark morning hours, customers, all gathered for the same purpose, wait. Some stare at glowing cellphones while others just stare into the pre-morning sky. Some chat quietly with their neighbors in line and others read books. 

Don Fleming was first in line, having arrived at 6:15 a.m., with his comfy camp chair and a large travel mug of coffee. This was not his first rodeo. 

He waits to get his tires changed over every year, and every year, he waits until the snow flies to make the switch. 

“I wait as close to it as possible,” Fleming said. “It's easier to drive around in regular tires when there isn’t any snow.” 

Fleming has two vehicles and had the first one’s tires switched about three weeks ago. 

"This car (the second one) has studs, so I don’t want to do that until the very end because I don’t want to tear up roads,” he explained. 

Although it seems this custom has been going on forever, the fourth person in line last week said it is a relatively new phenomenon.  

“A few years ago, this line didn’t exist," he said. “As recently as four years ago, I don’t remember standing in line at 6:30.” 

Toward the back of the line, three women waited under the florescent lights of the store’s sidewalk, bundled up against the 33-degree weather. They said they line up and wait every year. 

“We got here at 7:30,” one of the women said. “We were jealous of the people who thought to bring a chair.” 

When one of the women learned Fleming had arrived at 6:15, she said, “Oh, he must be retired,” before admitting that she was also retired. 

The people in line are bound by a degree of procrastination.  

“I push it as far as I can,” one woman said about her choice to postpone the switch. 

Studded snow tires are allowed from Oct. 1 to May 31 for most vehicles, yet most people wait until they see snow, which is often the second or third week in November, to arrange the changeover. 

When the doors open at 8 o'clock sharp, the line snakes into the warm, slightly rubber-smelling store. The head of the line is the head of the snake, with the first few people going directly to the service counter. 

The rest of the line follows and curls, making room for everyone to come inside. With four or five Les Schwab employees tending to customers, the procession rarely stands still and in a matter of minutes, the line is gone.  

“The reason it goes so smoothly is these guys are incredibly efficient,” Fleming said. “They’re really good at doing this.”

    The first three customers in line for a seasonal tire change at Les Schwab in Whitefish last Friday morning. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)