I have always shovelled - we have a snow blower, it is a great big beast (over 200 pounds) and I have always been rather afraid to tackle it. When we experience a large snowfall, I do as much as I can and then leave the real big work to hubby and the blower (I work from home, he does not, so I do the majority of the shovelling). However, we did get a huge dump of snow a few weeks back when my husband was out of town. There was no way I could shovel it all so I put on my "you-can-do-it suit" and faced the monster blower. I read all the instructions and wrestled it out of the garage. At that point, my son came home from school and, together, we got it running. It took a little trial-and-error (I misdirected the chute a few times and covered my son with snow ha!) but eventually we got the driveways and sidewalks cleared - success! I was so proud of myself for conquering the blower beast! So, now I know I can use it if I need to BUT I am not going to make a habit of it. haha