About two weeks ago i took my lr4 up the back route towards Snow Summit (Southern California ski resort). I have a LR4 HSE with HDP and the stock 19inch conti's. It was dumping all day, with enforced chain control for most vehicles. 4x4's, not awd, got a pass and while required to carry chains, did not have to install them.
The back route, hwy 38, is a windy primarily one lane road that brings you into the eastern side of the lake. Once you hit the mountains, you are probably limited to about 40mph when its snowing (max).
First of all, the lr4 rocked. So solid, so comfortable (heated seats kept the wife happy) and my gosh is that engine wonderful in the hills...almost made me forget the fuel economy (thankfully I can just make it there and back home on one tank). Except for when I purposely tried to make her slip, I hardly ever felt the vehicle lose any traction. I kept looking to see if the rear locker engaged! Now, granted, this was not Northern Minnesota, and I wouldn't call the conditions anything beyond mild to moderate, but I was pleasantly surprised with the Conti's. If there was more than a few inches of snow, or a higher speed, it might have been a different matter. If you were already in the mountains, and it dumped heavily, you might have to wait for a snow plow to hit the roads, but for California, with our almost comical desire to close roads prematurely, the conti's will do the job for most of us. (Didn't run into significant ice, so no idea how it performs on that element) That being said, I wished I bit the bullet and bought the coops like Finlay told me to...
Slightly off tangent, but as a Northern California transplant to San Diego, I find Southern California pretty funny sometimes when it comes to snow. First of all, the vast majority of SUV's are not 4x4, and even then, many of the few 4x4's drive with chains when it snows. I wish i took a picture, but I saw a RR Sport with chains on....I felt embarrassed for them...