J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by msej449

Well, I wouldn't do it in France, for sure. The Ecole du Ski Francais is simply a xenophobe cartel whose members do just about everything to make sure you're going to fail. Even after qualifying, my friend found herself arrested on a trumped up charge because the ESF were determined to hound her out of the resort. Think about doing it in Switzerland or Italy. The Swiss programme is about 12 weeks and costs around £6K, according to my son's instructor. My son did the first week on the basis of a week's 1:1 instruction and got this as a credt, and is considering doing this winter in Switzerland to qualify.

Personally, I think that the problem is with the perspective views used in all Alpine skimaps. In the bigger areas they simply don't work, and I can't understand why, when you MTB/walk an area in summer you happily use a conventional contour map and then, in the winter have this crazy squashed-perpective thing.
In fact I have done a plan version of the 4 valleys ski area but more as an armchair introduction for someone new to the place. A proper cartographer could do something which is ten times better than my effort and 100 times better than the standard perspective map.
I think that a plan contour map would work well with a PDA with SatNav, but you'd need a suitable notation for piste, off-piste, lifts etc.
Anyone interested in starting up a company?

And finally, as ise pointed out on the other thread, a lot of mainland Europeans tend to swap to winter tyres in the winter (when else?). So well before the 'A', 'D', 'CH' etc. and locals are putting on their chains, we Brits will be in the ditch. If you're driving down on English Summer tyres, don't wait for the locals to put their chains on.
If you can afford it, winter tyres are worth considering, as you're only paying for the swap-over twice a year (one car can't wear both sets at the same time, after all) and winter tyres are still good in the UK as they shorten braking distance in temperatures under 8C or so (up to 25%+ if it's below 0C). But I can appreciate it won't be worth it for most people.
What irks me is that a lot of the UK chain sales/hire companies don't explain this, and are happy to provide chains which, for many higher-performance English cars, either won't fit at all, or cut it very fine in terms of potential damage to the suspension/steering.
If you're driving your UK car to the mountains, check the manual, as I said. If your wheel/tyre combination takes chains, that's great. If not, then you may have a problem, even if someone's willing to sell/rent them to you.

And finally, as ise pointed out on the other thread, a lot of mainland Europeans tend to swap to winter tyres in the winter (when else?). So well before the 'A', 'D', 'CH' etc. and locals are putting on their chains, we Brits will be in the ditch. If you're driving down on English Summer tyres, don't wait for the locals to put their chains on.
If you can afford it, winter tyres are worth considering, as you're only paying for the swap-over twice a year (one car can't wear both sets at the same time, after all) and winter tyres are still good in the UK as they shorten braking distance in temperatures under 8C or so (up to 25%+ if it's below 0C). But I can appreciate it won't be worth it for most people.
What irks me is that a lot of the UK chain sales/hire companies don't explain this, and are happy to provide chains which, for many higher-performance English cars, either won't fit at all, or cut it very fine in terms of potential damage to the suspension/steering.
If you're driving your UK car to the mountains, check the manual, as I said. If your wheel/tyre combination takes chains, that's great. If not, then you may have a problem, even if someone's willing to sell/rent them to you.

Definitely agree: A UK tyre industry survey showed exactly that: the majority of mainland Europeans swap winter and summer tyres, while only a small percentage of British (like me) do so. Brits think winter tyres are 'snow tyres' when in fact they're just as important in cold temperatures (under 8C or so). So here we all are, running on low-profile summer tyres and then we come down to the Alps - The chances are probably 2:1 that our wheels can't even take chains. Even if they can, we're going to need to fit them long before most European winter tyre drivers need to put them on. This explains why a lot of British drivers get into trouble in snow: they're running on summer tyres when the locals are on winter ones. By the time locals start putting on chains, most Brits are in a ditch.
What annoys me is that a lot - if not all - of the UK chain retailers/hirers don't explain this to their customers and are happy to see them drive off with chains that either won't even fit, or which are cutting it very fine in terms of damaging the suspension/steering.

I used to work for Pirelli, and this question of chains came up a lot from dealers. The issue isn't much to do with power, if at all. The issue is that most chains are attached via a ring around the rear of the tyre and wheel. There are some types, like the Spyker, which attach without any rear protrusion, but they all have their downsides. Over the last 10-15 years, more and more English cars have been fitted with low profile wheels as standard, on the assumption that English drivers deal predominantly with wet-weather driving, and there's a school of thought that says these reduce aquaplaning and they certainly improve cornering. So, for example, on my current estate, you can have 15", 16", 17" and 18" diameter wheels. Since the rolling radius has to be the same (i.e. the total diameter including tyre), then the aspect ratio of the tyre itself has to reduce (i.e. the height of the tyre decreases) and this tends to demand that the tyre be wider, in order to maintain the dynamics. To fit a wider tyre poses a problem, however, as the wheel can't project outside the wheelarch, so the extra width is added to the inside of the wheel, resulting in an asymmetric cross-section. So this is why, in my own case, the manufacturer only certifies chains to be fitted to the 15"-diameter wheel, as the 16/17/18" wheels leave less and less space behind the wheel, between the tyre and the suspension. With the front wheels, there's even less usable space, as they also turn. Hence my recommendation that you check your owner's manual - you don't want to discover that the chains fould the steering when you're half way up a mountain, in the dark and snow.

Look in your Owner's Manual - check that your wheels can actually take chains. A lot of English cars get fitted with lower-profile wheels than in mainland Europe, and the extra wheel width is often on the inside of the wheel - i.e. the tyre is closer to the inner wheelarch/mechanicals. Chains that nominally fit your wheel may foul the inner side suspension and/or steering. Press the supplier (like the above) and they'll eventually state that they don't guarantee they'll actually fit! So just check with the manual or your garage - three out of the last four cars (including a Jeep Cherokee 4x4) I've owned have had wheels which wouldn't take chains (with the garage saying that this was because the spec. for English versions had low-profile wheels).

There are two issues with chains. Firstly, in most places you simply don't get chains with hire 4x4s, even 'though, as you say, you will still need them in certain circumstances. I've had this in the USA as well as Europe - it can end up being better hiring a non 4x4 with chains than a 4x4 without. However much you hassle the desk clerk, they simply don't seem to stock the right size.
Second, if you are using your own car from the UK don't assume that chains will even fit. Especially if you're from England. Many English cars get fitted with low-profile wheels which simply won't take normal chains (this includes 4x4s). A lot of chain sales/rental outlets get vague about whether they'll fit OK if you try to pin them down. This is because lower-profile wheels tend to be wider, with the extra width on the inside of the wheel. Chains that fit around the inside of the tyre may foul the suspension/steering. Best thing is to check in your owner's manual.