SNOWMOBILE BLOG

Oh Canada

Oh Canada

            It had been over 25 years since I was last up to Canada snowmobiling. And back 25 years, most of the riding was limited to trails and a few open play areas where the slopes were gentle and the snow somewhat settled.

            This time, however, with new technology the snowmobiles go almost anywhere—actually, the will go where you have the guts to take them. The country near Revelstoke, BC is vast and endless. From any given mountain peak you can see unlimited riding possibilities.

            The main difference between Canada and many areas in the western United States is the size of the mountains. Sure, both areas feature elevations climbing around 10,000 feet. But in the United States, the climb usually start at about 6,000 feet (making mountains appear about 4,000 feet tall), in Canada the mountains start at about 2,000 feet (making them appear about 8,000 feet tall).

            Although there are those popular areas where snowmobilers tend to conglomerate, there are so many little drainages and play areas where you can go to find fresh untracked snow.

            As I reflect on the change in perspective over the past 25 years, the one though that keeps coming to my mind is “why did it take 25 years to go back?” All I know is that it certainly won’t take any time for me to start planning my next trip north.

SJ

Out Of Control

Out Of Control

            When you ride in extreme conditions, you quickly learn the need to have total control of your snowmobile. Mistakes at elevation can be costly, if not disastrous.

            If you happen to lose control of your sled in steep technical terrain, even if it’s only for a second, the chances of gravity taking charge and depositing you into trees or rocks below is very real.

            The other day I was experimenting with a new ski design from a company that isn’t known for building skis. The skis had a unique look and feel to them … but the predictability and control were terrible. So what could have been a fun ride turning into a white-knuckle experience trying to keep my snowmobile in control.

            The result was a very timid riding experience where the easier line was always chosen and became more difficult than expected. What I learned for this is that skis make a real difference in your riding experience. Good skis allow you more freedom in the lines you choose. Bad skis can strip you of your confidence and keep you on the defensive for your entire ride.

            These skis did not bode well … and were removed from the sled immediately after the ride. My only regret for the ride, however, is that I had to pass up some great snow a time of year when our rides are numbered. I won’t make that mistake again.

SJ

State of Racing

            Times have changed. About a decade ago I was flagging races in West Yellowstone where even in the Women’s class there were a dozen or so racers on the track providing an exciting show for the 2,000-3,000 race fans in the snow bleachers.

            This year in the Pro class there were four racers stretched out around the track with about two dozen fans in the snow bleachers watching … about as exciting as watching a group of tourists ride rental sleds down the Two Top trail.

            I don’t want to disparage the quality or racers … it’s just that with quantity there is quality. And we ain’t got the quantity.

            Almost everyone in the industry may have an opinion as to what’s happened to snocross racing. But the bottom line is that across the board it stinks—here, in the East, in the Midwest. When the most competitive classes are with 120ccs, you know we have a problem. And when there aren’t competitive intermediate classes for the young racers to progress to the upper classes, it’s unlikely we can sustain the enthusiasm shown by those 6-year-olds (or rather their parents) as they progress in future years.

            And if the lack or race sleds don’t discourage them, the cost of the sport will.

            Now I don’t have the answers. But I am concerned that our industry is becoming so specialized (especially in mountain sleds) that we are losing a segment of our sport where people like to get out and go fast on an inexpensive, reliable sled.

SJ

Mind Over Matter

            This is the time of year I have to keep reminding myself that my winter work isn’t yet complete. My problem is that I suffer from a warm weather disease called golf. And when the weather turns nice, I feel the need to pull out my clubs and beat the tar out of a little white ball.

            However, I still have some product testing and reviews to complete … and I need to be out on the snow to get those jobs done. So I have to remind myself that even though the good days are great for pasture pool … they are also good for product reviews.

            In fact, when it comes down to it, the only thing good days aren’t good for this time of year is being in the office; except on paydays.  (Hate missing out on paydays.)

            The trick is to convince myself that I have all summer to golf, but when the snow goes … it’s gone. This may sound easy to some, but it really is a challenge to convince your brain that your body wants to remain in deep freeze while the grass is starting to green up.

            It’s nice to know I have a few riding buddies who are willing to drag me off the course and up to the mountain. And I must admit, once on the mountain, then it’s easy to realize how right of a decision that was.

SJ

Good Rides, Bad Rides

Good Rides, Bad Rides

            Last week I experienced different ends of the snowmobiling experience—good snow and bad snow. And this came from back-to-back rides from the same trailhead.

 
           The difference between the rides was simple: On Friday I head to the higher elevations. On Saturday I decided to explore the riding in the lower elevations. Friday’s ride was in deep fluffy powder. Saturday’s ride was in crusty baseless snow.

            Actually, Saturday’s ride wouldn’t have been so bad if Friday’s ride hadn’t been so good. It’s hard to top a 75 mile day of boondocking in fresh snow.

 
           Everything about Friday was perfect. The sun was out, the weather was calm. The snow was deep. I wasn’t sitting in an office pounding on a keyboard. My riding group included five very good riders on new machines. We kept moving and we kept together.

            As for Saturday, things started off bad when three miles before the trailhead we noticed vehicles turning back and/or parking on the side of the road. Then some guy said the road was drifted in and a bunch of trailers were all stuck in a drift.

            So we pulled over and unloaded, necessitating a three-mile ride along the edge of the road to the trailhead. (And for the record, there were no vehicles stuck on the road and the largest drift wasn’t big enough to slow a truck and trailer in even adequate tires.)

            Choosing a lower elevation ride in March can be risky. Since we had been riding all week in great snow, we carelessly assumed all snow would be good. But once we got into the trees and broke through the crust, the snow was all crystalized and provided no compaction for base.

            For those wondering, higher elevation means between 7,500-8,500 feet and lower elevation is between 6,000-7,000 feet in this particular riding area.

 
           However, I don’t want to leave anyone with the wrong impression—Saturday’s ride, by itself, would have been a great day because we were out snowmobiling. It just merely had the misfortune of following an epic day.

            After all, a bad day of riding is still better than a good day at work.

SJ

Snowmobiling: More than Riding

Snowmobiling: More than Riding

For as long as I can remember, winters have been marked by three things: The riding season, The World Snowmobile Expo, and the World Championship Hillclimbs at Jackson Hole.

A season has yet to pass where those three aspects of snowmobiling haven't culminated in what I call winter. You ride--deep snow, crusty snow, deep snow, packed snow, then spring snow. Around that time, you spend a weekend at the Expo, watching races from behind the orange snow fence with snow pants and a t-shirt, walking up the road through slush and puddles of water to the convention center where the sound of electric fans blend in with chatter from thousands of sledders talking about next year's new stuff. Then a couple weeks later, you show up in boots, jeans and a jacket to watch the craziest dudes on sleds climb Snow King at the Jackson hillclimb. Charilift rides to the wooden decks at the top of the mountain, walking down the steep slope in the trees while a drunk spectator tumbles head over heels past you, kicking out a 12-inch-by-12-inch square platform next to the snow fence to watch the Open Mod sleds come screaming by, diving for cover when one of those takes a b-line for the crowd, then sliding down the hill in wet, frozen jeans after the race is over.

It's those types of experiences that make snowmobiling so much more than a riding activity. And it gets underway with the World Snowmobile Expo in West Yellowstone, next weekend (March 16-18). I can't wait...

-RH

What’s New?

What’s New?

            This is the standard question I get this time of year after riding all the 2013 snowmobiles. And it’s a good question. After all, it’s getting close to those snow check days when you have to make a monetary commitment on what you’re going to ride next year.

            If you invest nothing, you will be riding the same hardware as this year. In you invest a lot, you might be on shiny equipment which will make next winter one to remember.

            The big question is: Is there something worth sacrificing Johnny’s braces or Sally’s dance lessons?

            This past week we’ve spent a good portion of the time in fresh powder with the latest and greatest from all four snowmobile manufacturers. Like a kid in a candy store, we were jumping from one sled to the next seeing which one held a sidehill, absorbed the big bumps and carved through the trees.

            It’s like being able to take bites out of candy. You ride one sled for 10-15 minutes and move over to the next. If you drop into the trees, you move on to the lighter sleds. If you come to a section of rough trails, you move to the snowmobiles with the best suspensions. If you want speed, you go to the four-stroke turbos.

            So back to that question: What’s new?

            Well, since this blog is expected to be short and to the point, I don’t have time to get into the details here. But the March issue of SnoWest (which is being shipped within the week) will let you know which manufacturers stepped up this season.

            As for Johnny’s braces and Sally’s dance lessons … maybe it’s time for you to have the bright smile and sing for joy when you put your name down on a shiny new 2013 snowmobile.

SJ

SnoWest Newsletter - February 23rd

Don’t Lose Winter

            This hasn’t been a banner winter when it comes to snow. In fact, in some parts of North America, this hasn’t been winter at all.

           For whatever reason, expectations didn’t match reality. It’s not that winter didn’t come with cold and moisture. It’s just those two key ingredients to making snow didn’t come at the same time.

            When we got our cold temperatures, the skies were clear and blue. When we got our moisture, it rode the back of warm fronts and erased the remnants of any snow that might have been on the ground. Most of our “winter-like” storms only lasted a few hours and didn’t fulfill meteorologists expectations.

            So here it is the end of February, spring right around the corner, and many have less than 500 miles on their snowmobiles. What do you do?

           Our first suggestion is to not give up on winter. You may have to look a little harder, climb a little higher—but there is good snow out there. You also have the World Snowmobile Expo coming up in West Yellowstone, MT., March 16-18. This would be a good excuse to plan a week-long vacation to West and do some serious riding for a few days. There is good snow in the area and the trails can get you back to some spectacular country.

            Face it. If you give up on winter, it will be gone until next December. That’s a long time to go without your douse of snow. It doesn’t have to happen that way. You don’t need to lose this season merely because it didn’t come to you. Go to it. It’s well worth the extra effort.

View the SnoWest Newsletter – Feb. 23rd 2012

Next Morning Pain

            You can measure how good a ride is by the pain you feel the next morning when you try to get out of bed. The more it hurts, the better the ride.

            And by that standard, Monday’s ride must have been epic.

            Usually I don’t like groups larger than five. When you get too many people, you tend to have a lot more problems. And that was no exception on President’s Day. Trying to keep track of eight in some extreme mountainous backcountry (located east of Idaho Falls, west of Alpine and just south of Hell) proved to be a challenge throughout the day. And that’s even taking in consideration that we were the only tracks out there. Not once did we cross tracks with anyone outside of the group.

            This in itself tells you two things—first, we had all the fresh powder to ourselves; second, where we were riding was too extreme for anyone with common sense to venture.

            By the time all eight sleds made it up (and sometimes down) the steep slopes of non-descript locations called Red Ridge, Fourth of July, Bear Creek and Big Elk, the landscape would resemble a war zone with trenches, craters and some non-essential parts scattering the terrain. And each time as we reached a new peak or ridge line, the thought in everyone’s mind would be “I sure hope we don’t have to come back this way.”

            About midway through the ride we realized that we didn’t have enough daylight (or strength) to complete our projected route, leaving us with the frightening realization that we were going to need to go back some of the way we came.

            It’s remarkable how slopes that seemed almost vertical on the first go round suddenly become even steeper and more trecherous on the return trip. Within a few short miles it felt like we assaulted pretty much an all-star line-up of hillclimbs resembling the RMSHA circuit … without the hill crew to catch your tumbling sled. Our snow suits were soaked from the outside in as well as from the inside out—sort of like hot and cold running sweat.

            Although the seven-plus hours of riding only netted just over 50 miles, you can bet we earned every one of those miles during the day.

            And Tuesday morning, when we rolled out of bed and dragged our sorry bodies off to work, you can bet we felt all 50 of those miles.        

SJ

Night Riding

It's been years since I've been on a good night ride (that was intended to be a night ride, anyway). But last weekend I took a friend out on a loop through the mountains in Island Park. We left at 10 at got back around midnight.

The first thing I noticed is how we have taken headlights for granted in our mountain sled tests. Since we weren't on a trail and we were going up and down the whole time, snow buildup and having a wide beam of light are big issues.

The other thing is that if you're going off-trail, you better know the area better than the walk from your bed to the john, because when it's dark, you lose all your landmark points of reference. There were a couple spots where I was looking at snow drifts trying to confirm that we were where we were supposed to be.

In a cycle of rides that seem to run together, a night ride reminded me just why snowmobiling is such a fun sport.

-RH