thestig
resident misanthrope
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2008
- Messages
- 311
- Reaction score
- 150
- Points
- 43
- Location
- Melbourne's South East
- Members Ride
- E34 535i M - E70 X5 M - E60 M5 - No Fear
Winter is with us and I thought that driving on snow might be some fun. So I looked into picking up a pair of chains to suit the wheels that are currently on my BMW.
After a couple of hours on eBay I ended up with a brand new set of super high grade chains made by a German company called RUD. Despite the name, these guys know what they are doing when it comes to this sort of thing. The chains I ended up with retail for AU$407.00, but I scored them for AU$60.00. Stupidity has it's uses. The seller obviously didn't know what they were selling.
A few days before leaving I prepared my Winter kit for the car, and test fitted the chains as shown below. It's actually a lot easier than you think, as shown in this youtube video.
To choose a destination we followed the BOM website looking for the most appalling conditions we could find. Mt Hotham was experiencing reasonably extreme conditions so the decision was easy. A quick trip up the Hume from Melbourne we found ourselves in Bright. We stopped here for food and such, and decided to top up the tank before tackling the mountain.
About one third of the way up the mountain we pulled into a snow chain fitting bay and fitted my latest aquisition. It was quick and painless, having never done this before, I was happy that I was in and out before everyone that had arrived prior to us. We drove about one kilometer further up the road before stopping to check and re-tension the chains as per the manual.
About two thirds of the way up, the road was closed to two way traffic and we were queued up into a guided convoy. The snow plough leads the convoy up the hill to the summit, at which point we pass the queue of cars waiting to come down the hill. The snow plough then turns around and heads down guiding the other convoy in the opposite direction, and the whole thing repeats. Below is a photo of the conditions whilst we were waiting in the queue. The 4wd heading towards us in the photo was a ranger checking vehicles, chain compliance etc.
Once we reached the summit we parked, remembering to lift our windscreen wipers so they wouldn't freeze to the windscreen. For a similar reason it is also best to leave the parking brake off.
We added a few layers of clothing and set out for "The General", a store come pub / counter lunch type deal. We ate and then went for a walk around the resort. Afterwards we decided to continue driving along the Great Alpine Rd towards Omeo, this section of road was great fun as it wasn't as "regulated" as the initial climb. Made for some decent rally style action. All in all it was a great day. I highly recommend it for any competent driver that is looking for a change to the daily grind of city streets.
L8r
After a couple of hours on eBay I ended up with a brand new set of super high grade chains made by a German company called RUD. Despite the name, these guys know what they are doing when it comes to this sort of thing. The chains I ended up with retail for AU$407.00, but I scored them for AU$60.00. Stupidity has it's uses. The seller obviously didn't know what they were selling.
A few days before leaving I prepared my Winter kit for the car, and test fitted the chains as shown below. It's actually a lot easier than you think, as shown in this youtube video.
To choose a destination we followed the BOM website looking for the most appalling conditions we could find. Mt Hotham was experiencing reasonably extreme conditions so the decision was easy. A quick trip up the Hume from Melbourne we found ourselves in Bright. We stopped here for food and such, and decided to top up the tank before tackling the mountain.
About one third of the way up the mountain we pulled into a snow chain fitting bay and fitted my latest aquisition. It was quick and painless, having never done this before, I was happy that I was in and out before everyone that had arrived prior to us. We drove about one kilometer further up the road before stopping to check and re-tension the chains as per the manual.
About two thirds of the way up, the road was closed to two way traffic and we were queued up into a guided convoy. The snow plough leads the convoy up the hill to the summit, at which point we pass the queue of cars waiting to come down the hill. The snow plough then turns around and heads down guiding the other convoy in the opposite direction, and the whole thing repeats. Below is a photo of the conditions whilst we were waiting in the queue. The 4wd heading towards us in the photo was a ranger checking vehicles, chain compliance etc.
Once we reached the summit we parked, remembering to lift our windscreen wipers so they wouldn't freeze to the windscreen. For a similar reason it is also best to leave the parking brake off.
We added a few layers of clothing and set out for "The General", a store come pub / counter lunch type deal. We ate and then went for a walk around the resort. Afterwards we decided to continue driving along the Great Alpine Rd towards Omeo, this section of road was great fun as it wasn't as "regulated" as the initial climb. Made for some decent rally style action. All in all it was a great day. I highly recommend it for any competent driver that is looking for a change to the daily grind of city streets.
L8r
Last edited: