 Poster: A snowHead
|
We are hiring a car from Lyon airport on Sunday 28th November as gonna be driving up to Tignes for a week on that evening-i've booked a mid sized car through expedia (hertz is the actual car hire provider)-but have been told that i am not able to book snow chains for this size car -this seems very strange to me, do they only hire them out on larger cars?
Any advice on anywhere in particular we would be able to hire or buy snow chains enroute from Lyon airport to Tignes on a Sunday evening-would anywhere even be open?
The other question is how bad does it have to be for snow chains to be made to be fitted on the road on the way up -or should i wait and see and see what the weather is like and the forecast is closer to the time and wing it? is there anywhere in Bourg that sells/rents chains?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Atomic_Mick, even if you can't book them, they might well have some on the day, when you turn up. If not, they are generally available in the autoroute aires, though not necessarily in great variety.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Atomic_Mick, Nearer the time give Hertz a call at Lyon airport and ask them I would have thought at the snowy time of year they will have chains for their cars.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Far, far more scary, may be coming down after a big dump, with no snow chains.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Thanks for the replies - bar shaker, that thought had already crossed my mind - yes i think i will ring Hertz direct to try and clarify the situation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Atomic_Mick, it's amazing that you haven't already been lectured about how pointless snow chains are & how winter tyres will make you holier. 
I'll get my helmet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Atomic_Mick, I've hired several times from both Geneva and Chambery, they never usually let you pre order snow chains, but I just put it in the notes or special request box and they have a set sitting there ready when I go to pick up the car.
I think its about a £40ish pound charge, which is a bit steep. Being Scottish and tight I did try to save a few quid one year and called ahead to some friends in resort, "no need for chains its raining" It was snowing by the time I got there, and yes I got stuck, and had to abandon the car, and get someone to come and pick me up. It was a great way to spend the night and very lucky someone was still sober 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Atomic_Mick, usually the hire companies offer a winter equipment option which includes winter tyres and chains - you pay extra for this, but I'd say it's worth it. Cars hired at an airport will not automatically come with winter equipment because the hire company has no idea what their customers are doing - you could be driving to Nice for all they know.
moffatross, clearly isn't a fan of winter tyres, for some reason, but personally I'd take that option over chains any time - I commute to/from resort on winter tyres and have never needed chains (don't actually have any, couldn't find them in the right size last year  ). Snowchains are a royal pain in the bum to fit, especially in the snow and the dark, which is when you'll be doing it.
If you do need to buy some, try the motorway service stations first - they will be more expensive than supermarkets/Halfords type places, but you don't have a lot of choice on a Sunday evening. Failing that, you will probably find filling stations open in Bourg St Maurice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lizzard, moffatross, I find I need both!
I drive a fairly heavy rear wheel drive car, a Jaguar XF, which won't move in snow without winter tyres, but will still struggle going up a long parking ramp or anything reasonably steep with winter tyres on. I also get a bit of wobble on compacted snow roads. Therefore I always carry chains as well to get me out of any trouble.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Lizzard, it's not that I'm not a fan but the increasing number of threads on forums (not just skiing ones) that start with gentle evangelisation about snowflake marked tyres by those that use them and sometimes end with their outright patronisation of those that don't, grates me in much the same way as helmet discussion threads that start and end the same way. BTW, that's not meant as a dig at you in the slightest as I had no idea whether you used winter tyres or indeed whether you wear a helmet.
As for me though, I've worn a helmet for skiing for several years and I'd actually love to have winter tyres but my car isn't my own and its contract doesn't cover them.
Whitters, I have had to use chains to get me up the last few miles of Alpine resort access road in the past and I know it can be a physically painful and frustrating experience to put them on in the dark when snow is falling and temperatures are low so I'm now fairly sure that I'll be getting 2 packs of socks for my tyres. I was mightily impressed as a passenger in a Mazda RX8 (probably a similarly weighted RWD car to your Jaguar) last winter at how much of a doddle they were on and off and the skoosh they made of climbing up several steep, deep snowy tarmac roads from a standstill when we were ski touring in the S. of Scotland.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
moffatross, interesting to read that. My only concern with socks would be whether the Gendarmes would let you up the mountain with them rather than chains. This has been discussed before but I honestly can't remember the conclusion reached.
The chains I have on are Weisenfels Klack and Go, and they're pretty easy to fit and self-tightening. I had a dress rehearsal at the weekend so I don't find myself reading through the instructions again if I get caught out, although I appreciate it is a different story in the dark, when it's snowing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
I had a dress rehearsal at the weekend so I don't find myself reading through the instructions again if I get caught out, although I appreciate it is a different story in the dark, when it's snowing.
|
well yes it is, but it's still not rocket science, and practising beforehand is the secret, so you get them on before your hands freeze.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Whitters, I have a set of Weissenfals Klack and Go chains too. Like you said, really easy to fit and self-tightening. Fitted the chains in less than 5 minutes a couple of times last season. Just make sure you have gloves and an old bit of carpet handy for kneeling on.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
pam w, Backcountryboarder, an other convert to the Weissenfals Klack and Go chains
Been out with Mrs G having a practice and a lot easier than the previous ones I have fitted in the past
Not planning to drive to the alps but they come in handy once in a while around hear
I thought I have had though is what are the chances of fitting a set of chains you have just collected with a hire car and are trying to fit and tension up for the first time in the dark at the bottom of a mountain I would think the ones supplied by the hire companies will be basic sets
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Quote: |
I would think the ones supplied by the hire companies will be basic sets
|
Yes, they are, but once you've mastered the general principle you can generally get them on. They tend to be a bit puny - which makes correct fitting, and stopping to re-tension them after a very short distance, vital. I've known a few people have them snap - and I suspect that they might not have been well fitted in the first place.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
And if you hire a car on a snowy day - practice putting them on and taking them off in the garage, before you start.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
pam w, I think the problem as most folk never get the chance to practice
Not just a problem with the Brits though I have witness some anticts with foreign vehicles as will at the lay bys at the bottom of mountains (While Ive been sitting in a warm bus while the driver is fitting them)
Problem I think with trying them out in the garage is you break the seal and don't get a refund if you have not used them. Not an issue if you are sure you will need them though.
Ive organised bus transfer so should not be an issue unless I get the chance to head to Glenshee which can be fun at times
I would prefer winter tyres but have the same issues as some other folk with a lease vehicle
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Quote: |
Not just a problem with the Brits though I have witness some anticts with foreign vehicles as will at the lay bys at the bottom of mountains
|
Oh yes. I did once help a couple of Frenchmen in their mid-20s who had the instructions spread out on the bonnet of their car (always a bad sign). My OH and a friend were taking the chains off ours, on the other side of the road, and I went over and showed them what to do. I doubt if they told their friends that a British OAP had got their chains on for them (and even tried to give them some tips, in French, about the way to take them off again.... I probably confused the hell out of them).
On the odd occasions I've had a hire car with chains they weren't new.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| Quote: |
On the odd occasions I've had a hire car with chains they weren't new.
|
Indeed, and you'll be lucky if there are English instructions with them
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
. To find anywhere open on a sunday evening. My only thoughts are that some petrol stations on route to Tignes you may find sell chains. I would leave it till nearer the time and keep an eyeout on the forecast. the worst scenorio would be that its dumping it down (which is great really!) and the police are at the bottom of the hill making you put chains on!! then you'll be looking for accomodation in Bourg 
. The petrol stations that I can think of that I use that sell snow chains are one at Cham Nord in Chambery and the one in Aime ( not sure if its open on a sunday evening ) Best of luck, and hope it doesn't snow but do hope that it does snow if you know what I mean 
