Driving in the Alps in Winter

Many seasonaires drive to the Alps, drive regularly while in resort — shopping runs, airport transfers, staff movements — or take on transfer driver roles as part of their job. Mountain winter driving has different requirements from ordinary motorway driving, and in several countries the legal equipment requirements are specific and enforced. This is the brief.

Why mountain winter driving is different

The practical risks are straightforward: snow, ice, narrow roads, steep gradients, and hairpin bends, often in combination and often in poor visibility. A slide at 30km/h on a mountain road has different consequences from a slide at 80km/h on a flat motorway. The techniques and equipment that keep you on the road are correspondingly different.

The other factor is unpredictability within a single journey. You can drive from a dry valley floor to a snow-covered col and back in 45 minutes. Conditions change more rapidly and more locally than on flat roads, and navigation apps don't always reflect current road closures or surface conditions in real time.

Winter tyre requirements by country

France

From 1 November 2024, France's Loi Montagne regulation requires vehicles on designated mountain roads — approximately 4,000 communes in mountain areas, covering all major ski resort access roads — to have either winter tyres fitted or snow chains/socks carried in the vehicle. In conditions where snow or ice is present on the road, authorities can require chains or socks to be fitted. The regulation applies to all vehicles including foreign-registered. The fine for non-compliance is €135.

Austria

Winter tyres are mandatory from 1 November to 15 April on all roads in winter conditions — snow, ice, or black ice. Snow chains are additionally required on specific mountain passes, indicated by road signage. Austrian winter tyre enforcement is among the strictest in Europe; this is not a rule that exists on paper and goes unenforced.

Switzerland

There is no mandatory date-based winter tyre requirement in Switzerland, unlike France and Austria. However, driving in winter conditions without appropriate tyres is considered negligent — if you have a weather-related accident without winter tyres, your insurance may decline to pay out. Snow chains are required on certain passes, indicated by blue-and-white signs.

Italy

Regional regulations vary. Generally, winter tyres or snow chains are required from 15 November to 15 April on mountain roads in the designated regions, which includes all major Dolomite and northern Italian ski areas. Check local signage; the rules differ between regions and are periodically updated.

Snow chains: practical guide

Snow chains are metal link systems that fit over driven tyres to provide grip on ice and compacted snow. They're used only when actually needed — driving on dry tarmac with chains fitted damages both the chains and the tyres, and in some countries driving with chains on a dry or clear road is also prohibited.

Types: traditional link chains provide the most grip and the longest lifespan; ladder-pattern chains are simpler to fit; textile snow socks go on faster and are easier for an inexperienced fitter but have lower grip and shorter service life. The right choice depends on how often you expect to need them and how quickly you need to fit them.

Chains are sized to match specific tyre dimensions — tyre width and radius combination. Check your tyre size before buying. A chain that doesn't fit correctly isn't just useless; it's a hazard.

The practical note that experienced Alpine drivers will tell you: fitting chains in the dark, at -10°C, on the side of a narrow mountain road with traffic passing is significantly harder than fitting them in a warm car park. Practice at home before you leave for the season. It's not difficult once you've done it twice; it's genuinely difficult the first time under pressure.

Mountain pass closures

Major Alpine passes close in winter — typically from around November through May, depending on annual snowfall. Col du Galibier, Col de l'Iseran, Stelvio, Grossglockner, and Furka are among the passes that close seasonally. Planning a route that crosses the Alps in winter without checking pass status first is a mistake that costs hours or days.

Resources for current pass status:

• France: bison-futé.gouv.fr and viamichelin.com
• Austria: ÖAMTC pass status page (oeamtc.at)
• Switzerland: TCS road information (tcs.ch)
• Italy: autostrade.it for motorways; local prefettura sites for mountain roads

Navigation apps — Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps — will route you via closed passes. They do not reliably know what's currently closed in real time. Always cross-check independently before committing to a mountain crossing in winter.

Driving technique on snow and ice

The adjustments from normal driving are consistent across conditions:

Reduce speed substantially — 30–40% below your dry-road speed as a baseline, more in poor visibility or steep gradient sections. Increase following distance to at least 8–10 seconds minimum; the standard 2–3 seconds is inadequate on ice, where stopping distances are four to ten times longer than on dry tarmac.

Brake earlier and more gently. Sudden braking on ice initiates a slide that takes the vehicle wherever the road geometry takes it. Brake while you're still straight, before a corner, not during it.

Accelerate gradually. Wheel spin on ice is worse than no acceleration at all — it heats the tyre contact patch, melts a thin layer of ice beneath it, and reduces grip further. Ease on the throttle.

On descents: use engine braking rather than continuous brake application. Riding the brakes continuously on a long descent heats the brake discs and pads, reducing their effectiveness progressively. Select a lower gear and let the engine do most of the work; apply brakes intermittently rather than continuously.

Transfer driving as a job

Many seasonaires work as resort transfer drivers — moving guests between airports and resorts, or between resorts and off-mountain facilities, typically in minibuses. See working as a resort rep driver for the full picture on this job type.

The licence requirements: Category B (standard car licence) covers vehicles up to 9 seats including the driver. For vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats — most minibuses used in transfer operations — Category D1 is the minimum, and commercial passenger transport typically also requires CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) qualification.

Most transfer employers provide training on their specific vehicles and routes. What they generally cannot provide is baseline competence with winter mountain driving — the confidence to stay calm on a snow-covered col at 2,000m with a vehicle full of passengers is something that develops with practice, not through a one-day induction. If transfer driving is part of your season plan, personal experience with winter driving before you start is the relevant preparation.

Before you leave

The checklist: verify your insurance covers the country and use type (personal driving and commercial driving have different requirements). Check tyre regulations for every country you'll drive through. Carry chains or ensure your vehicle has appropriate winter tyres fitted. Download offline maps for the mountain areas you'll be driving in — mobile signal in valleys and on passes is unreliable. Know how to check pass status before you commit to a route.

The mountain road system in the Alps is well-maintained and heavily used. Most of the seasonaires who end up in a ditch or on the wrong side of a road did so because they underestimated one of the above, not because the driving is inherently beyond them. The adjustments are learnable; they just need to be made deliberately rather than assumed to be covered by ordinary driving experience.