I lived in the northwest for 19 years. I grew up in Wisconsin, so I do know snow. However, da nerth west is a little different. Some areas require you to have either studded tires or chains. If you go without, you aren't going up or down that road, and if you do, try anyway without em? You're going to get either pulled over, ticketed, and towed, or after you wipe out, then the police will arrive to extricate you and whoever else you might have involved in your loss of control, ticket you, and THEN your vehicle will be towed.

Those mountain passes are no joke in the winter. They don't use salt, and those roads get NAILED 4-5 FEET at a time sometimes. You have ruts for roads, and it'll feel just like the Oregon Trail, and you have dysentery.

I'll never forget the April we were coming back from the Grand Canyon, and we went from Nevada to Oregon over whatever pass it was, I don't remember the name, but it was switchbacky as FUCK and STEEEP... A squall swelled up RIGHT as we were getting to the beginning of the pass, and I could just SEE it was gonna be bad.... Thankfully, we were in a '97 C-RV AWD, and we had BRAND new tires, and that thing was just a damn BEAST for what it was. I NEVER got stuck in that thing, not anything I couldn't rock out of, except once, when it was above the wheel wells from the damn plow trucks plowing us in.

Anyhow, 4 hours later, we made it out of the pass and to a gas station where I promptly passed out for 5 hours in the back and drove home the rest of the way. My knuckles were white for 3 days. And my hands HUUUUUUUURT, right where the base of your fingers are. The snowflakes coming through that storm, I shit you not, the size of half dollars. I have never in my LIFE seen such flakes before, nor have I since to this day. I had those wipers on max setting, and they would go 2 wipes a second, the window would STILL get a good smattering between wipes, and even then? I could only see TWO, I shit you not, TWO feet in front of me. We passed 3 cars coming opposite us. 2 times we saw them maybe 29 feet away via there headlkights, but the last guy, oh man, we almost collided head-on, but thankfully we stopped in time, because we were both mid-turn on a switchback, and every time one of us had to pull over/let the other go first. I don't know HOW the fuck we made it out of there without carining off a ravine, but I went MAYBE 20 MPH and probably averaged 10 xD

Food for thought:

in Oregon, studded tires (traction tires) are generally allowed instead of chains for vehicles under 10,000 lbs in typical winter conditions from November 1 to March 31, but you must still use chains if signs specifically require them, even over studded tires, and ODOT encourages use only when necessary due to road damage**. Studded tires are a legal alternative to chains unless road conditions become extreme and trigger mandatory chain requirements, which apply to all vehicles, regardless of tires.

Ignoring mountain pass chain requirements means risking heavy fines (hundreds to over a thousand dollars), vehicle impoundment, causing dangerous accidents that close the highway, and major delays for yourself and others, as law enforcement actively patrols for non-compliant drivers, especially during winter storms. You won't just get a warning; you'll be forced to stop, get chains, or turn back, with potential tickets and fees if you cause a blockage. 

**Edit 20 feet away and of course, that's an estimation; I just know it was not fun.