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First timer drive to Alps - snow chains lowdown please

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Driving to La Tania in 10 days. First timer, six of us in volvo beast of a people carrier. What is the real low down on chains? Should be we buy them in advance? Can we hire - here / there? What happends if we don't have them? Can we get them in Moutiers? Help - getting loads of difference advice from don't bother, to you're mad to leave the Uk without them. Thanks.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Personally I'd leave it until Albertville and have a look at the weather forecast. If there's likely to be snow, get some from Geant Casino or Feu Vert opposite.
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 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?
bl**dy macs, thought they were infallible Wink


Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 2-03-11 19:04; edited 2 times in total
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SwishWithMe, check the aa website for official laws and rules per country that you are driving through.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Wed 2-03-11 22:34; edited 1 time in total
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First timer driving there that is. Am a god on the blacks of course. In case there's any doubt. wink
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Lizzard wrote:
Personally I'd leave it until Albertville and have a look at the weather forecast. If there's likely to be snow, get some from Geant Casino or Feu Vert opposite.


Sound advice from Lizzard.

There's loads of choice around Albertville (including the above) and they don't need to cost you an arm and a leg. If you do get some just have a practice putting them on in the dry.

If the road conditons for the "stations" are bad info panels will say either: "équipement spéciaux recommande" or "obligatoire". The gendarmes sometimes stop cars going up in bad conditions and insist that you put on chains (if you're not equipped with snow tyres - another subject altogether!).

Have a good trip!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
SwishWithMe, you could certainly wait till you get to Albertville, then buy if it looks likely to be snowing - provided you'll be there at a time when the shops will be open. I think Feu Vert closes for lunch and the range available in the supermarket might be a bit limited (are those socking great tyres you've got?). Neither shop is open on Sundays, I suspect

If the roads are clear (and if your accommodation isn't at the top of some snowy track...) you'll need to watch the forecasts again on your way down from the resort.

If it's snowy, and the roads are bad, and you don't have them, at best the rozzers will stop you going up the road, at worst they won't, and you'll skid off it.

One fairly major advantage of buying here before you go (snowchains.co.uk or the roofbox company) is that you can practice putting them on beforehand. That's not to be sniffed at.

And it's definitely going to be snowy on 12 March. wink

Also take something to kneel on, a small shovel to clear the snow away from round the wheels and maybe some rubber gloves. And don't wear your best ski jacket when fitting them. Make sure two people in the vehicle are competent to do it, then you only have to do one each, you can do it with bare hands, which is much quicker, and jump back in before you get frostbite.
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one of my our friends, having tried to get up the road to the apartments in a blizzard without chains (deaf to his wife's entreaties and the gasps of fear from the kids in the back) was forced to do a hairy three point turn, just a few hundred metres short of his destination, and go back down to a valley supermarket to buy some. He then caused amazement in the car park by jacking the car up, taking the wheel off, fitting the chains on and replacing it. An astonished Frenchman did the other one for him, but apparently it was nothing like as neat. Laughing
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pam w, Fantastic Laughing Laughing Laughing
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SwishWithMe, Buy chains in the UK, practise and one less thing to worry about. pam w is absolutely right
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 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.
SwishWithMe wrote:
volvo beast of a people carrier.


Now I'm intruiged. Do/did Volvo ever make a "people carrier"? I think not.
If it's a 4WD XC90 with suitable tyres then the advice to watch the forecast and make a judgement call en-route is emininently sensible. You'd be in pretty extreme conditions to need chains on one of those.
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SwishWithMe, another vote buying in the Uk, just got another set from carracks.co.uk very good service and a free upgrade Very Happy
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
MazDave wrote:
SwishWithMe wrote:
volvo beast of a people carrier.


Now I'm intruiged. Do/did Volvo ever make a "people carrier"? I think not.
If it's a 4WD XC90 with suitable tyres then the advice to watch the forecast and make a judgement call en-route is emininently sensible. You'd be in pretty extreme conditions to need chains on one of those.
,

Really? Then the only suitable tyres are snow tyres, you know that!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I had to pull a Porsche Cayenne out of a snowdrift with my Fiat Multipla. Had to put the chains on before trying - with snowtyres I had enough traction for myself, but not for him as well.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
allanm wrote:
MazDave wrote:
SwishWithMe wrote:
volvo beast of a people carrier.


Now I'm intruiged. Do/did Volvo ever make a "people carrier"? I think not.
If it's a 4WD XC90 with suitable tyres then the advice to watch the forecast and make a judgement call en-route is emininently sensible. You'd be in pretty extreme conditions to need chains on one of those.
,

Really? Then the only suitable tyres are snow tyres, you know that!


I do indeed know that. What I was hoping to do was not ignite another snow tyre thread. It seems I may have failed.

I'll be off for the second drive of the season, down to Le Grand Bornand April 9th (in a 4WD with proper snow tyres)
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
MazDave, was that...
I'll be off for the second drive of the season, down to Le Grand Bornand April 9th (in a 4WD with proper snow tyres)

Me too, as it happens... Very Happy
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Wow. Leave a query post on snowheads, have dinner and cajole kids to bed, and lo - come back to a super thread (well fairly long for me). Thanks for all comments. It is indeed the XC90, but not mine hence I wasn't sure exactly. Suppose it is 4WD now you come to mention it. Do 'suitable tyres' come as standard with the XC90. Suppose I better turn to the owner driver to check. No - I can't get into a debate about snow tyres - still in basic swot up module for snow chains for chrissakes. More, more everyone. If we do have to buy them, whadda cost for instance. These are big ol' tyres aren't they?
Plus, we're popping down to Moutiers once done done first drop off at La Tania - to collect more people from train. Do we have to put on and off and on again if weather dictates? Questions questions. Shocked
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SwishWithMe,
Quote:

Do we have to put on and off and on again if weather dictates?

Yep ,cos you can't drive on black tarmac with chains on. (Most chains are up to a very max speed of 20mph on snow)
To further confuse your thoughts have you considered snowsox, now legally considered the same as chains in France but I understand much easier to get on and off.
http://www.autosock.com/


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Wed 2-03-11 21:41; edited 1 time in total
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My suggestion would be to buy in the UK from a high street outlet (Halfords/Motorworld).
Have a good look at them to reassure yourself you are familiar with how they are fitted if required.
Take them away and if you get in a pickle you can fit them and be grateful. If you dont need them you have kept your receipt and i would imagine you could get a full refund (normally within 28 days or something).
Ultimately you will avoid the stress of worrying all holiday if you will need them and if you use them they will be worth their weight in gold.
This is hypothetical as i have never taken my own car to the mountains by the way.
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Another vote for the buy in UK and practice putting them on - you really don't want to be putting them on for the first time in the dark in a blizzard.

Plus for a Volvo XC90? you may struggle to get the right size locally and I bet you need 9mm low profile chains as well. Give snowchains.co.uk a call and listen to their advice.

You may spend more, but some of the easy Klack&Go ones are worth the extra when it/should it come to it.

Make sure you have torch, cheap pair of gloves and a mat in the car to hand to grovel around putting them on
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...and put the chains in last so you can get them out to put them on Toofy Grin
Sometimes you see people unpacking the entire boot area to get to the chains stored in the spare tyre
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
allanm wrote:
MazDave, was that...
I'll be off for the second drive of the season, down to Le Grand Bornand April 9th (in a 4WD with proper snow tyres)

Me too, as it happens... Very Happy



Ok - my opinion (and that's all it is) get the right tyres for the job, you already have 4WD so that's a good start. If you have an all season (or better still) winter tyres on your 4x4 then chains you can pretty much forget (in fact I did last trip) rolling eyes

Vredestein Wintrac Extremes on here:



I go searching for snow to drive in now.

Winter tyres can be the same size as your standard tyres - in fact that's the easiest option. If you're a geek like me you'll buy a second set of rims to put them on. Having said that I'm not sure how available winter tyres are right now in the UK. That might be a deciding factor. Recommend Camskill for tyre supply by the way.

I got caught out in Luxembourg mid December in a company car with summer tyres on - how I missed our Pathfinder as I pushed the stupid slithering thing up through the freezing Ardennes....
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Thing is (and yes, I know we've had all these discussions before.....) a couple of snow chains cost a lot less than a full set of big old Vredestein Snowtrac tyres, for a vehicle just making one trip down to the Alps.

I have no idea how that kind of vehicle drives on the snow without the right tyres - I do know that the differences between different "ordinary" cars are quite startling (e.g. a rented Ford Focus, without snow tyres, did remarkably well one very snowy drive to Les Gets from the French side of geneva airport).

I wouldn't rely on just "looking" at a set of chains to get an idea how they are fitted; I'd say you actually have to do it a couple of times. Only once you've done it - probably wrong, then tried again, then realised just how far over the back of the wheel you need to push the wire thing, and how not to get the ratchet wheel stuck under the tread, etc etc etc, does it all begin to make sense.

I still wouldn't bother to risk mucking up a new set of chains if there was no snow forecast, though.

SwishWithMe, as for when to put them on and take them off - put them on at the first slight loss of traction, take them off when you can't stand the racket, are tired of driving at 20 mph or feel guilty that your friends' expensive car is being beaten to death by flailing loose bits (there aren't any flailing loose bits, when you stop to check, but it always feels and sounds as if there are).
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Oh wow, pictures posted on my thread. It's like that feeling with my first born. I'm so proud. Madeye-Smiley
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SwishWithMe, Laughing Laughing Laughing I wish I'd had a camera in the car when we came across that crestfallen Frenchman with his Porsche stuck in one of those big walls of snow pushed up by snowploughs (if it hadn't been there he'd have been right over the edge and long past being pulled out by a gaggle of British old age pensioners).
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 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.
SwishWithMe, How do you do the pictures thing? Serious I must be a bit tom&dick!
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Markymark29, to do it with a lot of faff you need to pay money. wink
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
pam w, Paying money is one requirement, having a brain cell or two is another (speaking as one who has never managed to post a big pic) Embarassed I can do little ones... bigger ones are another matter. Toofy Grin
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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SwishWithMe, IMHO, buy chains in the UK, have a practise fitting them. If you do need chains when you get near resort, you may be one of many and going on a 'chain hunt' may be the last thing you want to be doing. If this is a first time you've ever fitted chains it may not be a quick or pleasant experience.

Ive been driving to the alps for the last 6 years 1 or 2 trip per year). I've had chains for each trip, had to fit them once, but I do have snow tyres. There were many occassions where, without winter tyres, i'd have been outside putting the chains on. Hopefully we are going to be getting big dumps of snow, that's what I'm wishing for. We've got 6 weeks before our trip to Val Thorens for the SFaB. Bring it on!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Schuss in Boots, To make your little ones bigger take the word thumbs and the / out of the line of code before pressing preview and then submit Cool (assuming you are using the snowmediazone)

I don't know what all this fuss about putting chains on is all about.
It's getting the effing things off that I find the real pain.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
i bought snowchains in the uk, for my 19" rims they were 50 quid which i thought was pretty good.
one thing though use them before you go.
as i bought the cheaper ones they were a pain to get on the car at first and had to untangle them for first use.
however once you get the idea they are fine
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 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?
Boredsurfing, Ah.. enlightenment. Thanks Very Happy
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Boredsurfing, Yeah they can be a pain to get off.

Top tip: Keep a large robust plastic bag in with the chains, I use one of those blue Ikea bags, to dump the wet/salty/icy/dirty chains into rather than trying to wrestle the said chains back into their normal bag. Protects the car and gets you on your way quicker. Worth getting one or two cheap rubber car mats from Tesco to kneel on too.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Basil, Good tip, It's a shame that sH hasn't got a top tips section!
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Sorry - have to post it. Note the use of mat and gloves, also helps to make it look like you are praying to the god of snowchains!

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Boris, that's such a great photo!

I agree that getting them off generally takes longer than getting them on and you need a big fat poly bag to put them in.

another top tip: Note where the ratchet thing (often red) rests, compared to the clip where you join the two ends of the heavy wire. You want that clip to be pretty much at the top of the wheel, when you take the chains off (both because it's easier to find and reach, and because gravity will then help - if you start trying to take the chain off with that clip down near the ground, you're unlikely to succeed. In fact you're doomed).

So, wherever the ratchet is when you've finished putting them on (likely to be quite near the ground), you need it in a similar position when you try to take the chains off.

However, I often have to move the car half a revolution or so, in between taking off the two chains. One of life's little mysteries. Is that what "differential" means?

It's much easier to have someone show you how to do it than to try to read the instructions, by the way. Reading the instructions in the dark in a blizzard and without a torch is particularly challenging. A head torch is a good thing to keep with your chains.

Then you can sweep magisterially past all the other poor boogers crawling round in the snow. Rejoicing in the thought that all that fresh powder awaits you.

Or, possibly, regretting that you've spent an entire week skiing on a mixture of ice and grass and now the snow will make your journey home much longer.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Gloves are necessary but dirty wheel arches can ruin your precious ski jacket if not careful so I was thinking of getting a pair of those extra long gloves, the ones vets use for putting their arms up a cows whatsit. I am sure they have many other uses too.
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SwishWithMe, I got some well priced chains for my XC90 from here:

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/premier-vehicle-products/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

They didn't have XC90 chains on the auction, but I spoke to a chap called Mike on 01424 830727 who sorted me out with a set.

(but I now have snow tyres which have been fantastic in the pre Xmas snow so I'm hoping not to need chains, apart from the last mile to Stuben in the HUGGE April storm I am forecasting....)
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I do it fast, without gloves, as I find they make the job more difficult and slower. Then you need baby wipes to clean up (or rub hands on jeans). I gave up using marigolds having several times nipped the damn things into the clips - where you have to heave and pull at the bit with the rubber tensioner on, to get it far enough across the wheel. One time I was so frustrated at this, was tempted to pull hand out and leave the yellow plastic glove flying round like a flag.

I also invested in some much better chains, which are so easy to put on it's just not a big deal. I can't believe snowsox would be significantly faster.
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