Sanding and Ice Control for Your Driveway: Gravel, Grades and Freezing Rain

Plowed and sanded. The grade to the garage is drivable at 6 AM.

What you need to know

• We sand with gravel, not sand. Sand blows off and washes away. Gravel bites and stays where it was put.
• Sanding is for grades, shaded driveways that glaze, and the stretch by the garage where cars spin.
• Freezing rain is the one thing a plow cannot fix. Sanding is what gets you out of the driveway that morning.
• It is an add on to your plow plan. Ask on the quote call and we set it up for your driveway.

Kaedyn Jennings Owner, Snip&Clip Alaska. Residential snow plowing in Palmer, Wasilla, the Butte and Anchorage.

Plowing moves snow. It does not do anything about ice. Here is how we handle the ice side, why we use gravel, and when it is worth adding to your plan.

Why gravel and not sand

Sand looks like the obvious answer and it is the wrong one for a driveway. It is fine, it blows off in the first Palmer wind, it washes away on the first warm day, and what is left gets tracked into your house. Gravel is heavier, it bites into the ice, it stays where the truck put it, and it is still doing its job a week later.

A grade at dusk. This is where the gravel goes.

When sanding makes sense

GradesAny driveway with a slope to the garage or up from the road. This is the main one.

ShadeDriveways under trees that never see sun glaze over and stay glazed. Tanaina, Lucille Lake, the hillside in Anchorage.

The spin spotMost driveways have one place cars spin every winter. Sanding just that spot is often enough.

Freezing rainWhen it rains on frozen ground, the whole Valley is a rink. Sanding is the only thing that gets you out that morning.

Freezing rain

A plow can clear a foot of snow. It cannot do a thing about a quarter inch of ice, and a couple of times a winter that is exactly what we get. Rain on frozen ground, or a warm day followed by a hard freeze, and every driveway in the Valley is glass. On those days sanding is the only thing that matters, and the customers who have it on their plan are the ones who get out.

If your driveway has a grade at all, this is the argument for adding it.

How to add it

1. Mention it on the quote callTell us about the grade, the shade, or the spin spot. We look at the driveway and quote it.
2. It becomes part of your planSanding runs when conditions call for it, on the same routes as plowing.
3. You get textedSame alerts as a plow visit. Scheduled, on the way, done.
4. SpringGravel sweeps up. Sand would already be in your house.

Plowed overnight. Sanded on the grade. Out by 6.

Quick answers

Is sanding included in Pro Unlimited?

Sanding is an add on to your plow plan. Ask on the quote call and we price it for your driveway.

Do you use salt?

We sand with gravel. Ask on the quote call if you have a specific ice control question for your driveway.

Can I get sanding without plowing?

Ask the office. Sanding runs on our plow routes, so it depends on whether a route runs near you.

How often do you sand?

When conditions call for it. Freezing rain days and glazed grades, not every snow day.

2026 to 2027 season

Routes fill by neighborhood.
Lock yours in now.

Billing starts October 1. Once a neighborhood is at capacity it closes and late signups go on a waitlist.

Get my snow plowing quoteOr call or text (907) 215 7012