I've been posting here for some time, trying to get a sense of how to equip my wife for a backcountry ride and we finally got a chance to get away and test out everyone's theories.
A little background.... my wife has been a trail rider most of her life and hasn't been on a sled in a few years. She was concerned she would hate a long sled, so we picked up a 146 Freeride for her. My wife is small and not an aggressive rider at all. I read as many posts here and on FB groups as I could about how to make things easier for a new/female rider and tried to keep my head about me when things went sideways.
Once she focuses on looking past her ski tips, I think she'll have more fun. She had a number of dismounts and hilarious stucks that we both laughed our heads off about. A couple that required "excavations" as opposed to "digs".
We decided to spend a week in BC exploring areas neither of us had ever been. Somewhere along the line, a tree magnet found it's way into her sled though..... as you can see, I did a bit of shoveling.
Unfortunately she came down with a bad cold on day 3 and just didn't have the energy to keep riding. The snow was the best I've seen in the 11 years I've been riding.
Here are a few of the tips that helped me stay married after this adventure.
1. Be patient!
2. Don't razz her like you would a buddy, keep your comments to yourself.
3. Have a GOOD shovel! My BCA Dozer got a workout!
4. Make absolutely sure you have a Snowbunje if it's just the two of you!
5. You do as much of the getting un-stuck work as you can to keep her from getting exhausted. If she's tired, she will NOT enjoy herself.
6. Offer short but detailed, meaningful instruction from time to time. No lectures!
Overall, we had a great time and she's already talking about our next trip.
A little background.... my wife has been a trail rider most of her life and hasn't been on a sled in a few years. She was concerned she would hate a long sled, so we picked up a 146 Freeride for her. My wife is small and not an aggressive rider at all. I read as many posts here and on FB groups as I could about how to make things easier for a new/female rider and tried to keep my head about me when things went sideways.
Once she focuses on looking past her ski tips, I think she'll have more fun. She had a number of dismounts and hilarious stucks that we both laughed our heads off about. A couple that required "excavations" as opposed to "digs".
We decided to spend a week in BC exploring areas neither of us had ever been. Somewhere along the line, a tree magnet found it's way into her sled though..... as you can see, I did a bit of shoveling.
Unfortunately she came down with a bad cold on day 3 and just didn't have the energy to keep riding. The snow was the best I've seen in the 11 years I've been riding.
Here are a few of the tips that helped me stay married after this adventure.
1. Be patient!
2. Don't razz her like you would a buddy, keep your comments to yourself.
3. Have a GOOD shovel! My BCA Dozer got a workout!
4. Make absolutely sure you have a Snowbunje if it's just the two of you!
5. You do as much of the getting un-stuck work as you can to keep her from getting exhausted. If she's tired, she will NOT enjoy herself.
6. Offer short but detailed, meaningful instruction from time to time. No lectures!
Overall, we had a great time and she's already talking about our next trip.
