How to put chains on; Plus an all time classic photo :)

A snowHead

It was always on the cards that chains would be the order of the day.

For the past three or four days forecast always suggested that would be the case, freezing level at 800ms and heavy precipitation.

We were flying into Grenoble and renting a car. We'd pre booked chains, and in my preparation I had an old jacket I didn't mind getting dirty, some thin gloves and a towel ready to do battle when the time came.

We landed early and I went straight to the car hire whilst the Mrs waited for the baggage as I wanted to be first in the queue as i suspected many would be after chains maybe not having booked them!

Sure enough there was a hassle getting mine, I insisted she checked the wheel size and double checked the chains were correct, she disappeared and came back sans chains, she then went somewhere else and came back with a new set, which I checked over to be sure.

I was expecting to have to put chains on just after Bourg Oisans, but by Vizzelle became obvious it would be sooner, and then a few kms up the road (Gavet) the mayhem started.

We pulled over along with every one else, wasn't the best place but really had no choice.

Did the first wheel in not too bad a time, instructions not really helping. That was on the inside, then on to the outside, and that was tougher having to stay in close to the car with those with snow tyres coming dangerously close. Good thing about the towel is that you can lay down and really get to grips with the chains, but these were cheapo cheapo, sort of thing you'd get in Lidl and really hard to put on!

So job done and we set off only to come to a halt as some idiot who had not put them on was up ahead causing traffic to become grid locked, then looking behind me scenario was even worse with a truck across the road and a snow plough trying to get through.

We managed to get past the idiot and then with some careful over taking of those who were none too confident of the conditions were out in the clear and we had a good run up to La Grave - total time including chains just over three hours.

So here are some pictures, the first gives you a good idea of what it was like!

The second yours truly trying to get to grips.....

And then the classic, they were behind us, and he was just standing around whilst she did all the work !

A snowHead

Weathercam, Absolutely fantastic, that last one is a real classic, I bet they were Bristish too Very Happy

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

Winter tyres are where it's at. We drove to Venosc/resort respectively this morning (before the roads were ploughed in my case), no problem at all.

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Lizzard, damn hard when you're flying though rolling eyes

That said when we go out for longer in March etc I have snow tyres on the van but this is a flying trip as it were Confused

And Colin B, very French............

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ooo been there a few times, sometimes in the dark! lol usually after about an hour of trying we normally either ask a local or as, on one occasion halfway up a mountain road in italy in the dark a very nice italian man stopped and put them on in about 2 minutes for us! lol dam things...... we used them about 4 times and NEVER been able to get it!

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love it

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God Bench has infiltrated France too (yes I did manage to raise my stare a little).

After all it is free

Weathercam, Hire in switzerland, winter tyres as standard Smile

did the job for me years ago driving up to Les Gets in a blizzard, you did well with unfamiliar chains to get them on in such conditions!

Hope the bloke in the last pic get's a nomination for man of the year. He obviously knew how to put the chains on but was just stringing her along Toofy Grin

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I'm glad this thread has mentioned winter tyres. I've got snow chains, and have always had them with winter tyres every time I've driven to the alps. Admittedly I've been lucky, but on rare few occasions I've needed to drive on compacted snow and the snow tyres have been amazing. The tales above of putting on chains - have these folks been on winter tyres that have failed and then required chains? Or on some occasions do the police make you put on chains even if your tyres are still coping? I must admit I'm not enamoured with the idea of needing to fit chains onto soggy wet tyres - even with a stack of thin gloves, kneeling pads, old jacket etc. Even though I've just had fancy self adjusting chains from Santa.

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Mmmmm to me it looks like chaining up was left too late......... Hence the no option but to stop where we did, meaning everyone else had to meaning if too many do then the road becomes blocked.

A N T I C I P A T I O N is the key word............. People should put chains on before they even start to lose traction.

I've heard of locals and tranfser drivers playing a little game of skittles and doing a little trick of opposite lock and full power when passing people chaining up in non sensible places...... So often you come round a hairpin where you need to increase speed to find a gaggle of tourists stopped in the road, reading the instructions and fighting with their chains they wonder what upsets locals/winter residents!

Actually in hindsight I shoulld have called this thread "caption competition" as it was meant to be more about the girl with a "Whale Tail" as opposed to a willy waving competion about putting chains on and the merits of snow tyres etc.

For the record, it wa a straight road, and we were only at 650ms with still another 20km to Bourg, not exactly hard core!

So what should a caption be?

"While you're down there Ma Pousse....can you give me a...........?

You know it makes sense.

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

OK I'll have a go

"Well love - the instructions say put the wedge under the benchmark"

A snowHead

Surely it's 'does my arris look big in these' Toofy Grin

A snowHead

I like the way that everyone is assuming it's a woman - it could be a cross dressing man!

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

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"Skid Free" (with a possible subscript of "if mounted correctly")

ps - was she fit? sometimes a view promises so much, then..... spoo

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Hope thats a Thermal Thong Smile

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Maggi trak all the way, 2 mins to put on (both sides).

After all it is free

And as Weathercam, said it is a straight, level road 20 minutes from Grenoble (at most), and a very unlikely place to need to put on the chains. We (and him) must have done the journey many many times.

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Ah the Whale Tail, I wonder if there is a matching Tramp Stamp to go with it?

As posted above - anticipation is the key. Having never used them before, got them with hire car just to be safe. Woke up Friday morning in Claviere to very heavy snow falling with more forecast so decided not to bother skiing on last day Sad

but walked to Montgenevre instead. When we got back after lunch, with a 7:00 am start Saturday morning return to airport beckoning, we put the snow chains on then.

Saturday morning, got up, jumped in car and it was great knowing we didn't have to worry about chains (well apart from taking them off at some point). Much easier to put them on in daylight with no time pressure either.

You know it makes sense.

As recommended here, the bloke is waiting for her to get the rug out to go down on that

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

Quick post script in that I've not had to put chains on for years, and I was working it out, reckon I've been driving to the Alps on and off for over thirty years and can probably count on one hand number of times I've used chains, that said the past four years I've had snow tyres, and before that I'd had a Discovery and a 4x4 Fronterra, but this trip was renting a car after flying to Grenoble.

So today we went back over the Col du Lautaret 2057m from here in La Grave to Serre Che, was raining in LG when we left and was snow at 1800m once over the Col down to Serre it was snowing but not settling as it was a few degrees above freezing, however was aware of the forecasts, and mid afternoon did get a text from a mate who is a guide in LG advising me that the Col could well be tricky.

So we cut short our social plans and left Villeneuve where the snow as I mentioned above was not settling (15:45) and same true for Monetier as we drove through road was clear, then by Pont De l'Alpe, some 6km and 300m from Monetier had to put the chains on again, obvious big hint was all the cars coming back down with them on!

And whilst struggling away getting them on again did smile, recalling some of the comments on here with regards to practice and the like.

Spoke to a mate later who said that he should practice before coming out in Feb, so I told him that I'd help him by making it more real for him, making him park on a blind bend, that he had to lay down in a muddy puddle with the tyre caked in mud so you can't actually get the chain close to the tyre and can't get the all important links to join, and whilst he was doing all this in scratched dark sunglasses I'd be kicking him and pouring cold icy water over him Twisted Evil