Where can I buy snowchains between Muncih Airport and Zell am Ziller

A snowHead

Off to Konigsleiten (the Eastern end of the Zillertal Arena up at around 1600m) on Saturday, flying into Munich and renting a car from Hertz. It has winter tyres included, but view seems to be that its prudent to carry chains too. According the Hertz website they want EUR 99 for a weeks rental of snowchains at Munich! I'm surprised I missed this whilst booking, I'm normally pretty shrewd. I'm not penny pinching, I don't mind paying a reasonable price to rent, but frankly 99 EUR is outrageous for something that can be bought for EUR 30-40 and chances are won't be used. To be honest I don't want to support lining their pockets with such practices. (I've since found that Budget rent chains for a snip under EUR 35, much more sensible and palatable).

I'll obviously try negotiating at the counter, or even seeing if one of the other companies will rent me a set of chains. But my reserve plan is to buy a set.

Does anyone know a specific convenient supermarket/petrol station/halfords type place that sells snowchains close to the main road from Munich down to the border or along the main road up the valley to Zel am Ziller.

Of if not any store names I should look out for en-route. I'm not at all familiar with Germany & Austria.

Thanks

A snowHead

99 is a rip off.
Mine cost €30 from an ADAC shop, but if you did do that, they will only sell them if you take the car registration document in to the shop (it'll be in the folder in the glovebox), since they will only sell you the right size that their computer tells them.
I expect supermarkets and fuel stations might have some left if you desperately need them.

If you need chains for Munich - Zell am Ziller then it'll be an ace dump. The route is basically all low level, mostly autobahn, with one hill to go up and over. I don't know the road up to Königsleiten though, so no idea what that's like. I tend to park up in Zell am Ziller, then ski over and back again.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Gazzza, As you come to the Inntal Dreieck at Rosenheim there is a big B&Q/Halfords type place literally just off the motorway called Obi . Follow the signs for Rosenheim past the turn-off for the Inntal (A93/A12) and take the next exit (Rosenheim). Stay in the right-hand lane and turn off shortly after you have gone under the railway bridge. This keffufle is necessary because you are on the wrong side of a dual-carriageway leading into Rosenheim. Take the bridge over the dual carriageway and the big warehouse type building smothered in orange writing and lights, etc is the Obi. The auto department is upstairs. Once you've found what you want, you can return to the motorway in less than 2 minutes by getting on the outbound side of the dual carriageway.

To be honest though you won't need them if the winter tyres are good.

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Hello there - I've made the route several times and (fingers crossed) up until now I've seen no need for chains.

Is it all that necessary to have them if you stick to the main motorways?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

For those of you saying low level motorway all the way... Yes it is, as far as Zell. If it's snowing though you might need chains to get up the windy road to Königsleiten.
If you don't find what you want earlier then there is an ÖAMTC (Austrian AA) at Zell. Don't turn off the Zillertal road towards Königsleiten and Gerlos, stay on in the direction of Mayrhofen. You will go through a short tunnel. On the other side of the tunnel on the left of the road is ÖAMTC. I've no idea if they'll be open on Saturday afternoon though.
The ÖAMTC place is only a couple of minutes beyond the Königsleiten/Gerlos junction.

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@Gazzza, with winter tyres you are drastically unlikely to need chains.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

If it's snowy do the local authorities stop vehicles embarking on mountain roads without chains, as they do in France?

IME good winter tyres can sometimes lose traction with a surprisingly small amount of snow on the road - especially if it's slushy. On the other hand, they can also climb without problem up steep roads with lots of snow on.

I still find it difficult, despite a lot of experience now, to anticipate when my winter tyres might not make it.

After all it is free

@pam w, I've never seen it, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.

There are often (electrical) signs saying what equipment is required at places like the Arlberg Pass - i.e. winter tyres, chains if you're over 3 tons, chains for everyone, etc (or closed, though that hasn't yet happened to me). I've never seen police there enforcing it (and I've driven over it in pretty full on blizzard conditions), but I imagine if you ignore it and have an accident you're insurance will be void.

Honestly, after some of the conditions I've got through safely with 4x4 and winter tyres, I think I'd be too scared to drive in the conditions that would necessitate chains for my car.

@clarky999, 4 x 4 will make a big difference - but most rented cars won't be 4 x 4. Presumably if a rented car comes up against a sign saying chains are needed you'd have to have chains, wouldn't you?

Or even without signs, surely there are some occasions when you can't get where you want to go without chains? I have to put chains on at least once or twice each winter - and I don't do anything very unusual, just normal mountain roads.

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@pam w, yeah then they'd have to have chains, for sure, but AFAIK the village will be the high point of the OP's journey, and roads will almost certainly be sufficiently cleared and maintained. It would be clear enough from forecasts before travel if conditions like that are likely though - I wouldn't buy chains 'just in case' unless a pretty extreme storm was forecast to low levels.

I'm sure it does happen and probably not all that rarely, but I haven't experienced it. My ex and I used a two wheel drive car for a few years before I bought my current car, and we only had to put chains on once, and that was on tiny tiny little country roads to reach a remote house past a remote farm community where everyone had either 4x4s or tractors. Oh, and once with some friends we had to put chains on get out of the car park at Obertilliach, after I had snowed about 50cms during the day we were skiing there snowHead

But the roads in and out of the village were fine with front wheel drive (and, admittedly, a Finnish driver).

I actually don't own chains myself atm. I keep meaning to buy some to keep in the car 'just in case...' But on NYE I 100% safely and securely drove up and down an unplanned and unmaintained forest track with 5-10cms of melting/re-freezing snow sitting on 5cms of ice (with 4x4 and good winter tyres) without any loss of control (another friend with winter tyres, front wheel drive and chains got nowhere)... No public road would open in conditions that bad, so I can't see myself needing them to get anywhere need to go.

Edit: Not that that helps the OP at all, sorry! Or maybe it does: just hire a Duster with winter tyres Laughing

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@SaraJ, @Gazzza, there is also an ÖAMTC place at Kufstein just off the road to Ski Welt (Eibergstraße 1, 6330 Kufstein, Austria)! But like the others say I'm not sure it will be open on a Saturday afternoon.

The only place you may need the chains is the last section, so what is the forecast like?

@pam w, I've seen the police turn cars away as well as other vehicles when they did not have the right equipment. I had to help some English coach drivers put chains on a coach once (much much messier than a car). They had not practiced before so my husband and I got out of the coach and helped them (@clarky999, that was on the road up to Axamer Lizum turns out of Axams up the hill on to Olympiastrasse.

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Konigsleiten is a great area, really mellow. I drove up there last season from Zell and they seem to do a good job of keeping the roads clear. Only time we were driving on snow rather than Tarmac was in the car park and even then the winter tyres coped fine.

@clarky999, I once went over the Julierpass in a blizzard in a front wheel drive VW Golf... Was my GF's car and due to slight miscommunication I was under the impression we had winter tyres, but didn't. Interesting experience, but not one I would want to repeat Toofy Grin

The return journey from St.Moritz was also interesting. I had chains (which I bought in St.M), but others didn't. The Swiss police were waiting at the top of the pass and were sending everyone who didn't have chains back down to buy some. More than anything else that confirmed my opinion of the swiss police as a bunch of complete utter bastards...

You know it makes sense.

@Steilhang, Laughing

That's insane! Driving down is WAY more dangerous than going up!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Yes the road to Zell is all motorway then low level A road so will be fine. The road from Zell to Konigsleiten is a windy ascent up the mountain, 40 minutes ascending from around 500m at Zell up to around 1600m at Konigsleiten. I've only driven it in Summer (10 years ago) heading up to Kirmml Falls just past Konigsleiten - from memory the steepest bits are the early part of the road from Zell up. I found a website that says chains are occasionally required on the road up Konigsleiten.

Thanks all for the replies and the tips off about Obi, ADAC and OAMTC. That one at Rosenheim looks a fairly simple jump off the motorway, and they sell these for EUR 35.
http://www.obi.de/decom/product/Cartrend_Polar_Schneekette_Safety_Gr._60/9973769&position=1&pageNum=1&pageSize=72

We are renting an Opel Insignia Estate (or equivalent). So it won't be a 4x4 unless we are lucky and get a free upgrade. Paying to upgrade will probably more than double the rental price.

Metcheck and snow-forecast both seem to agree on forecast - Maybe 1-2cm overnight tonight, then cloudy but no snow due tomorrow, with perhaps a light snow shower tomorrow night. So I'm fairly sure we'll be fine getting there tomorrow without needing chains. There's a storm due, and some nice dumps forecast for early next week Mon-Weds. Too early to say for the following Saturday but early signs from Metcheck is for no snow.

So that just leaves the return journey which is too far to accurately forecast. So it just begs the question if I don't need them tomorrow to get up to resort, am I likely to need a set to get down the mountain if it dumps for the return journey. Is it reasonable (great word isn't it Happy

) to assume winter tyres without chains are fine to get down ?
ie. Has anyone using winter tyres ever needed to put chains on for a descent ? I've only ever seen people putting them on for the ascent.

A snowHead

@Gazzza, I use chains more often descending than ascending. I have excellent winter tyres but sometimes I need chains too. (I drive up the road to Hochfügen every day.)
What time of day will you be leaving?
If early morning or late evening there's likely to be less traffic and therefore more snow... So more likely to need chains.
Your memory is correct that the steeper parts of the road are near the beginning.

A snowHead

@Gazzza, probably reasonable to assume you won't need them, but if you do need them, you'll need them more on the descent than the ascent.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I appreciate that this is a difficult decision, and plenty of people will have managed without any at all, or been able to pick them up easily en route.

But I'd rent the chains and just accept it as part of the total holiday cost. Yes, it's outrageous, and you'll probably not need them. But you may not actually get the car that is stated so you can't be sure what wheel size you're going to end up with until you pick it up. You may find that the size you want is out of stock and then what? Do you really want to be spending hours driving 'round just to find some? In reality, the difference is what, €55?

And there's the added issue that if you are given certain 4x4s or sportier models, then they may not be capable of taking chains - if a hire desk sees that you've not gone for chains, they then give you one of the cars that can't take them. i.e. they palm you off with a car that they can't give to someone who has booked chains.

So even if you do opt for the buying chains option you need to check the wheel/tyre size, then check in the owner's manual (if there is one) and ensure that that size can take chains. Low-profile wheels, even with winters on, often can't and you risk damaging the steering/suspension/brakes if you go ahead and fit chains where there's not the space for them to rotate properly.

Yes, I know - the odds of you having problems is very low. You'll probably not need chains at all. If you get given a 4x4 the odds of needing them are even smaller. It's unlikely that you'll be given a car that can't take chains. You just have to make one of those difficult risk assessments about whether saving €55 is worth the risk of these unlikely outcomes.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Gazzza, I'd go with @andy's suggestion to be honest. Even if you pay for overnight parking and a taxi down to the car on the Saturday it will be less than the cost of a set of chains you won't be using again! What will you do with them if you are able to buy them? The Rosenheim Obi is open until 19:00 on Saturdays.

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@andy, +1

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Ive NEVER even considered getting chains for Austria.

After all it is free

Can't differentiate by just nation, even if french places tend to be up a hill and austrian places tend to be in a valley with a lift up the hill (even that's not true, but it's the usual stereotype).

In the specific case of Zillertal, it's a flat wide valley about as hilly as the Netherlands, at an altitude of 550m, pretty much. Comparing to French Alps, that's like talking about needing snow chains to go down the Autoroute from GVA to the Taninges turn off. No hills, and certainly no hairpins or passes involved at all. The biggest road incline is the autobahn slip road and 1-2 underpasses on the main ziller road.

Königsleiten and Hochfügen being "anomalies" in the Zillertal in that they are hills/passes up out of the valley.

Yes the Inntal autobahn does have places to put snow chains on, but in the very rare case of needing to do that, getting to the hotel in Königsleiten or back to MUC will be the least of your immediate worries.

I'd drive up the road from GVA to Les Gets or Morzine with no chains (the former being in a 1400m pass), but I wouldn't go up to Avoriaz. I've driven to Zell am Ziller on summer tyres once, and the only issue was the carpark.

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Local authorities in Morzine have already issued warnings that nobody will be allowed up without chains tomorrow.

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@andy +1 again.

snow reports

@clarky999, took nearly 6 hours with chains on all the way to drive from St Johann im Pongau via the A10 Tauern-Autobahn and A8 to Munich once in early January. I think it was 1995 or 1996. Hubby was out cold on the backseat with a very bad bout of flu and I was lumbered with driving all the way back to the UK. We were able to take the chains off (I was that is), just the other side of Munich. Snow all the way home but the worst driving conditions were in Kent after we landed from the ferry! Only one lane open on the A8 until theMunich side of the A8 and to be honest I was glad as it kept everyone's speed down to a reasonable one. That was dictated by the snowploughs that were at the front of the queues clearing the road!

I don't think the French motorways allow chains. I did once pull off onto an aire in the vicinity of Dijon because of quite heavy snow and poor visibility. I had winter tyres but it seemed idiotic to carry on in those conditions. I was behind a big HGV which started sliding very slowly backwards, down the infinitesimally small incline up into the parking area. Fortunately he got a grip, and carried on (the radio had put out instructions to all HGVs to get off the road - they hold them in the aires until things have calmed down).

Any time you don't feel safe driving on a motorway you should just get off (I've done the same in heavy fog). I'd have been fine pottering along on my winter tyres - except for all the idiots still driving too fast in an outside lane white with snow..... Skullie

)

You know it makes sense.

Help!!

Where can I buy snowchains between Muncih Airport and Zell am Ziller

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