Getting started in the PNW?

[mike.]

Hey all,

Let's say I have a sled, my AIARE level 1, and all of the avy gear. I'm a solid snowboarder, but a beginner snowmobiler (not a total noob, but not experienced in deep snow).

How do I get started with sled-accessed riding in the Seattle area? Are there clubs doing this sort of thing? Are there areas nearby that are easy to get started at?

Thanks for any pointers in the right direction.
mike.

 

[scoboe]

I live in Wyoming, not sure about the PNW, but around here, in terms of getting started, the easiest way is to get in with some sleders. Learn how to ride a sled in the back country first. It will be a lot easier to find riding buddies then sled access skiing buddies. I ski mostly with my wife so I have a built in partner, but I've also picked up some sled access skiing buddies in the parking lot while gearing up with skis. I've found finding a crew is the hardest part.

 

[mike.]

Thanks scoboe! That makes sense - I was looking at it from the wrong direction. There's definitely a large snowmobile contingent around here; I'll start looking into clubs/groups/etc.

 

[Publiconion]

What you'll figure out pretty quick is that the places where you'll likely want to board/ski will take some mountain/powder sled skills to get to. Wicked sport once it starts to come together for you, and adding touring means on pretty much any day there's an option for something to ride.
If you make it up to Squamish/Whistler area this year, shoot me a PM. Always looking for people to ride with.

 

[mike.]

What you'll figure out pretty quick is that the places where you'll likely want to board/ski will take some mountain/powder sled skills to get to. Wicked sport once it starts to come together for you, and adding touring means on pretty much any day there's an option for something to ride.
If you make it up to Squamish/Whistler area this year, shoot me a PM. Always looking for people to ride with.

Thanks!! I was definitely coming into this thinking that the actual sledding would be the easy part; I'm learning that isn't so Looking forward to building my sledding skills this winter, and I hope it all comes together. Even if I just get to ride the snowmobile more, I'll be stoked. Thanks very much for the invitation to ride in BC!

 

[tomx]

Your probably not going to come up with much from local snowmobile groups, there's quite a divide between sled shredders and snowmobilers. My best advice is to get out there and start getting that sled stuck, nothing worth riding in the PNW is easy to get to. There's two major snowparks up in Snoqualmie Pass closest to Seattle, Stampede Pass and Gold Creek. Both have some good sled shredding if you can get to it. Some of our spots took years to find the routes and a good PNW storm will c_ock block you every time. Check out my link to channel on youtube in my sig, lots of PNW backcountry sled shredding vids.