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Best way to introduce the girlfriend to snowmoniling??

yosh30

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So my girlfriend and I are moving to montana for the winter. We'll be staying in bozeman and are really excited about the whole move. Ive been traveling to cooke for yea3rd and know my way around pretty well and even more so I am aware of the dangers.

My question is what is the best way to introduce her to snowmobiling. She has never rode one, is there any specific tips from the girls on here that will make it a little less stressful on her

Elliot
 

turbolover

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I'm not one of the girls but here is my $1.380

Don't try to hit the steep and deep on her first time out. It won't be any fun if she is stuck and worn out all day long. or gets hurt.

Don't plan on an all day ride. Make it a shorter one or at least have some rest stops to let her recharge and talk to her about how she is doing with the whole thing.

LISTEN TO HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If she is having fun go for it but keep her wanting more. Don't ride til she is worn completely out and can't turn the thing.
Go where she wants to go and be there to get her unstuck, turned around, sled started, etc, etc, etc.
Do it with a smile and encouraging words for her each time, EVERYTIME!
Do it like you actually enjoy it and it is a pleasure being there with her.
Don't get frustrated and yell at her for getting stuck/rolled over or whatever for the 3rd, 13th or 30th time.

If you spend the time to make sure she has a good time then you can bet she will want to go with you again.

When I take my daughter for a ride I spend a lot of time keeping an eye on her so that I can be there to help her and make it enjoyable for her.
She is only 15 but told me that she likes sledding and it was more fun than our trip to Disneyland. I also made her make the choice between ski school and sledding. It took her all of about 2 seconds to say sledding.


Good luck and have fun.
 

Dirty Steve

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Send her to Backcountry Basics and let Amber teach her the basics. She does classes just for the ladies.

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sledheader

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I'm not one of the girls but here is my $1.380

Don't try to hit the steep and deep on her first time out. It won't be any fun if she is stuck and worn out all day long. or gets hurt.

Don't plan on an all day ride. Make it a shorter one or at least have some rest stops to let her recharge and talk to her about how she is doing with the whole thing.

LISTEN TO HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If she is having fun go for it but keep her wanting more. Don't ride til she is worn completely out and can't turn the thing.
Go where she wants to go and be there to get her unstuck, turned around, sled started, etc, etc, etc.
Do it with a smile and encouraging words for her each time, EVERYTIME!
Do it like you actually enjoy it and it is a pleasure being there with her.
Don't get frustrated and yell at her for getting stuck/rolled over or whatever for the 3rd, 13th or 30th time.

If you spend the time to make sure she has a good time then you can bet she will want to go with you again.

When I take my daughter for a ride I spend a lot of time keeping an eye on her so that I can be there to help her and make it enjoyable for her.
She is only 15 but told me that she likes sledding and it was more fun than our trip to Disneyland. I also made her make the choice between ski school and sledding. It took her all of about 2 seconds to say sledding.


Good luck and have fun.

This guy hit the nail on the head. Don't get frustrated with her and just plan on spending time getting her unstuck. I introduced mine last year and there was a lot of digging, but I just ordered her her very own helmet as a christmas gift this year...on her request :hippie:
 

Missy

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Coming from one of the girls...

On my first time out, my friends made sure I was completely geared up properly. This is KEY! If she gets cold she will HATE it. :face-icon-small-sho

Go through the basics with her about throttle, brakes, sitting, standing etc before you get there to ride. Turbolover is right on everything he stated as well.

Keep her in your site. Nothing worse than feeling left behind on your very first ride. There are plenty of other things to worry about. Go somewhere where you can stop for a good lunch, a warm up spot. Trails are your friend on the first ride. She will venture off and learn when she is comfortable. No need to push anything on the first time.

Good luck! Have her get on here so we can get her excited! :face-icon-small-win
 

kanedog

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Take her on a warm, blue sky sunny day.
If u take her on a low vis, snowy blowy day she gonna wonder why anyone would go snowmobiling.
 

sledheader

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I also recommend finding a large flat open place for her to get the feel of the sled. Nobody wants to wrap a sled around a tree on the first ride. She would feel bad and I would venture to guess that you would struggle keeping your cool on that one ;)
 

TJ427

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Brett Rasmussen does a great job teaching also. He has helped both myself and my wife. My wife talks about riding with him every year. Whether it's Brett, Amber, or another instructor it's great to hear it from an expert.
 

yosh30

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Thanks for all the good information, I'm hoping she picks up on it and enjoys the hell out of it. Only a few more months:face-icon-small-coo
 

Bocephus

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dont take her to cooke right off the bat (take her somewhere to get used to her sled)
go with other couples (mine seems to like it better when other women are around)
keep her warm


my wife loves to come along when we go as a "couples" group, but she has no want to ride in the trees, climb steep hills, or even get stuck (not that anyone wants to be stuck, but you know what i mean....sometimes its the nature of the beast.) she is quite content just sitting on her *** and driving from point A to point B. if we find some nice snow on an average slope, i will try and get her to side hill, but as soon as she's stuck, she wants to quit (because it isnt fun for her anymore). sometimes i would say "follow me, it will be easy)....and she'd make it 50 feet and be stuck (and frustrated, and pissed off haha). in the worst way, i wanted her to become a good rider and follow "the guys" around....but in reality, it will never happen. and when i accepted that fact, it was better for both of us. i quit pressuring her, and that made her more comfortable. all in all, she just likes to get out, see the mountains, and watch what us guys do. i always made her watch our videos and look at our pictures, so she enjoys actually seeing the mountains 1st hand. the night life is always fun in those "mountain ghost towns" as well. one of the things i always enjoyed about sledding was getting away from all the BS of my normal life at home. when me and the wife could enjoy that together, it made it that much more fun. BUT THAT BEING SAID, i made it quite clear to her that if it is a "guys trip only", i better not hear her complain about not coming along.....and she gracefully accepted that.
 

SASKTOOLMAN

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I took mine to Deadwood with a huge group. She got 3 days of riding the trails and we played in the hills. She loved it and was instantly hooked. We did another trip to Deadwood with the kids and and a bunch of riding around home(ditch banging). The guys I ride with spend more time digging her out than I did, not intentionally thats just the way it was. The next year we went to cooke and it was the most snow I had ever seen there. Avalanche threat was high and she was scared $!&?less! Which was good, it made her pay attention and always ask questions. My buddy brought his wife along they would hang out and BS while we thrashed POW. We did a beacon search with the girls, made them find it. It was a good trip.
You have to judge them all different. Warmth and comfort is the main thing, and there comfort level. My wife is have crazy so she enjoys the adrenaline rush.
We had a lil mistake last summer, whoops, slipped one past the goaltender, so last winter she didnt get to ride at all. Now we have 3 kids...... 12yrs apart from oldest to youngest, but she still let me go ride all the time, 2 weeks after my lil guy was born I was in the truck on the way to Revy! She loves sledding now as much as I do, she watches the schooled videos with me, and lots with out me, all summer shes been talking about riding and where we will head this year. The other day I came home and she had all her gear set out in the garage and was doing inventory on it to make sure it was all there and even tries a bunch of stuff on to make sure it still fit! I told her we are going to go climb everest next year and she looked at me and said "you better start working out, cause I am not dragging your a$$ to the top".


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rocks rev

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Make sure her sled fits her, just because you or other girls ride a certain sled doesn't mean it will fit her. I had ridden a Rev since 05 and she rode it a few times, we found a deal on an 05 M-7 153 and an 06 Rev 800 151 X a few years back so we got them because some of her girl friends rode M-7s and were happy. She hated the M-7 and liked my Rev better, so when she would go she would ride it. In the fall of 14 we sold the M-7 and I got a 13 XM 154 and she really liked it so when she went rideing I rode the 06 Rev. I have a 16 163 T-3 for this season and she will proab. make me ride the 13 when she goes :face-icon-small-ton I would say the most important of all things tho is be very very patient and take her on warmer sunny days. My wife really enjoys seeing where I do all my crazy rideing and watching in person.
 

WingNutRacing

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Ok

PATIENCE grasshoppa!!! And That's where you START...
Keep a GOOD ATTITUDE... If she sees you frustrated, well, ,,how do you feel when people around you are frustrated.... You need to show her that, no matter how terrible she is, YOU ARE HAPPY SHE IS TRYING!
GOOD GEAR, yep,,,... I don't know any girls who enjoy being cold... Mine's from Wisconsin, so I got an easy one..
SIMPLE TERRAIN + SIMPLE INSTRUCTION. Don't fill her head with even any moderate techniques just yet, let's just see how she does, evaluate her base skills so to say..
PRAISE.... If she does good, or even surprises you, LET HER KNOW... Everyone likes to hear that..
Let her know, there are NO DUMB QUESTIONS... And don't over complicate things, remember, we're building here...

She's a beginner, you need to make it FUN FIRST, then move on to bigger a better things. You will notice her confidence rise, then it's on to the next step..

One thing I will note... My wife said she has a hard time watching me, if we're just riding, and learning. She says it just looks too easy and natural. She learns best observing and riding with others closer to her own skill set. Watching what they do on the sled and trying to refine her own techniques using what I've taught her.

One other note, ,,,which goes against all my years of training knowledge and advice.....and, I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!!
This is SUPER ADVANCED TRAINING, DO NOT ATTEMPT
She rides best when she's pissed at me..... :face-icon-small-sho

So, remember, it needs to be FUN FIRST!
 

boondocker97

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From what I've read, these guys and gals have it covered. Just wanted to add that from Bozeman the best place to take her out first might be Taylors Fork. The trail doesn't seem to get as beaten up as Cooke or Buck and goes through quite a few wide open meadows in the first few miles so that she can see you without getting that "alone" feeling. The first 8 miles or so is lower elevation so the snow might not be great there for off trail in the early season. Then you hit a point where the trail goes through the trees for a bit and it's like a light switch for snow depth. More open area once you get up there.

I really like riding Buck too, but the first 10 miles of trail there can get pretty rough. Might not be the most fun "first impression." Both Buck and Taylors Fork are down the canyon south of Big Sky if you aren't familiar with that area. 30-45min drive to Buck depending on road conditions and Taylors fork is just a few miles down the highway past that before you get to the park boundary.

Oh and an enclosed trailer with a heater will score you points to get dressed/undressed in!
 

GreenState

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Send her to Backcountry Basics and let Amber teach her the basics. She does classes just for the ladies.

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My wife would not be riding if she hadn't ridden with Amber. Now she lives for sled season.

Amber is the BEST with new riders.
 

WingNutRacing

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Classes

I would love for her to hit some of these classes,,,,, but,,,, as soon as I tell her the prices, she says, "AHH, HELL NO!"

Maybe I can talk her into it this year...
 
C

CoyoteGirl

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So my girlfriend and I are moving to montana for the winter. We'll be staying in bozeman and are really excited about the whole move. Ive been traveling to cooke for yea3rd and know my way around pretty well and even more so I am aware of the dangers.

My question is what is the best way to introduce her to snowmobiling. She has never rode one, is there any specific tips from the girls on here that will make it a little less stressful on her

Elliot

I would want to know a bit about HER. We are all different.... so this isn't a one size fits all question!

Is she a motor head? Athletic? Showing interest in this? OR is she a book worm, never worked out in her life, doing this just for you?

Two extremes.. but those two warrant 2 different approaches IMO.
 
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