Snow Chains V tires

[farquah 0]

Prob going to be driving up to either Iwaparra or Shiga Kogen in a few days time, and just looking at how much its been dumping recently. Did drive up to Hakuba three weeks ago or so and was fine with just chains but not sure now how it will be higher up at Shiga Kogen, etc. Any advice?

[r45 4]

Shiga Kogen will probably pose more of a problem than Iwappara - that road up there can be a challenge in bad conditions.

[SKI 15]

You should be ok, I presume you don't have snow tires at all? They are great if you are living in the snowy regions.

[SnowConnection 0]

It would be easy to access Hakuba, Myoko, and Yuzawa(Naeba) by car. But, it would be more tough to go to Shiga Kogen from Yudanaka. There are many steep slopes with frozen corners. A "4WD" car with snowtires or chains is recomended.

In Shiga Kogen, all ski resorts are connected with lifts. It is an idea that you deposit your car at Yudanaka, and take a bus to go to a Shiga Kogen resort. I do not know if a free parking lot is at Yudanaka....

OT. Shibu Onsen at Yudanaka is really nice. I highly recommend to visit there once if you are an Onsen fan.

http://www.shibuonsen.net/

[gamera 0]

If your care were a 4WD one, I think snow tyres are your choice. The other day someone from Saitama needed me to help them. His car got stuck and could not go ahead or backwards at all. It wore a set of stadless tyres but it was a 2WD (FR) one. I pulled it by my pajero to get it in my parking. But it even could not go when he turned the wheel a lot. I adviced him to do that slightly little by little to go on.

 

So just for a reference, probably you had better have both, I guess.

[tsondaboy 0]

Snow chains give you better traction on icy roads than studless, but it is really tiring to drive long distance with them. Also they can brake really easy if you accelerate more than 50 km/hr or were the road is clean of snow. I had to wait for 2 hours till the JAF guy arrives last week on my way to Yuzawa, because 1 of my chains broke. The guy sold me 5000 yen worth of chains for 13000.

Next time I will put snowtires on the car and keep the chains for emergency conditions.

[farquah 0]

Cheers for the info and reccomendations guys, appreciated. Am thinking of driving to Yudanaka as Snowconection said and leaving car there, or even just to Nagano and get the bus up to Shiga Kogen from there, better be safe than sorry!?Will look for parking there or failing that just stick it in a 7eleven car park for couple of days!!

 

Will check out the onsen SC reccomened too thanks or the link! Cheers!

[SnowConnection 0]

FYI.

Charge at "Shibu Onsen Parking Lot" is 800 yen a full-day, and 500 yen within a day(business hours). Phone:0269-33-3637. Reservation is recomended for busy time zone. 15-20 min walk from Yudanaka station.

[farquah 0]

Snowconnection, top info. Cheers, will get on the phone and have a word.

[snobee 0]

Snow tyres are great in most situations , but chains are at the top end for dependability.

 

Troublesome, slow, noisy and more, but they give you much more reliable traction than any tyre.

 

Putting chains over snow tyres would negate the tyre's on it's own holding value as much as ordinary tyres.

 

After a "I - know - everything - slide" a couple of seasons back, I now humbly accept chains do what they say.

 

But I'll still avoid putting them on if I really can.