Yup, the performance in the Altimax's is definitely not going to be in handling, it will be in climbing through any snowpile I want! Kracka seems to imply that my car will also loose its power, brakes, and steering wheel once I put these tires on...I don't think they're going to be *that* bad!
I think I only ran my winter tires (I had all-seasons last year) for about 3.5 months. It was very early december when I put them on and mid march when I took them off. Wonder what this year will be like?
For a good handling snow tire, I say go with the W300's. They handle decent and work good in the snow.