I live in PA, too, and recently had a stuff experience.
Dropping off a friend at his house, I pulled out of his drive which (which is uphill) and I started sliding and lost control. "No biggie" I thought. I kicked on four wheel drive and tried again, just to find that my car started sliding down a giant hill next to his drive way. I had to floor it, or else my car would have been lost to the woods.
Then I hit a ditch, which really sucked, but I got out.
The lesson I learned is that slamming the gas pedal solves all problems.