I live at 6000ft and when I replace my tires I really want something that I can be confident with regarding the trip up and down the mtn. The ride is very severly winding with lots of hairpins and very steep slopes (imagine the Alps . The journey has to be done in very icy and snowy conditions for a couple of months of the year and then very hot and dry for most of the rest of the year. i am most interested in max grip obviously but I also don't want to spend 9 months on studded tires. Would appreciate opinions on the best compromise without changing tires just for the winter.

Many thanks,
Alan

 

You need two sets of tires.

 

^
100% agree. For a tire to be excellent in the twistys and the hot and dry requires a totally different rubber compound and tread as compared to a tire that excels in the ice and snow. A tire is either going to be mediocre at both or great for one but lousy for the other.

 

What size wheels do you have?

 

www.tirerack.com
www.atlanticbritish.com, search for tires and rims.
Start your research now. At minimun you need a really good all terrain tire, at best a good all terrain tire AND a good set of snow tires.
Put the AT's and the stock rims and get a set of steel rims for the snows. You can swap tire sets inabout 30 min's once you get good at it.