New to site ! Planing a trip Colorado for snowmobiling!

[Codyjamesuno]

Hello everybody, my name is Cody, I live in Valley NE. I purchased my first snowmobile last year, I picked up a 1999 Vmax I believe, yeah could be 1996 I can’t remember. I was only able to drive it only a few times last winter around the country here, and I fell in love. Of course it hardly snows here anymore so I decided to pick up another sled this fall to ride. This one is a 2007 Yamaha phazer with a mtx turbo kit. Got the sled for a good price and it only has 920 miles on it. So now my brother and law and I are taking the two sleds up to Breckinridge in February for 3 days . Any advise to rather new mountain ridiing guys ? We both grew up on atvs , jet skis , motorcycles ext, so we’re not new to the mountains but we are new to sleds. Any advice would be awesome guys !!! What to do what not to do, what to bring and where to ride ? Thanks guys look forward to hearing from you!

 

[neverenoughsnow]

riding

A lot of Omaha and Lincoln guys to hook up with to travel and ride with. Most ride the Snowies around Centennial Wyoming and some Steamboat. Is there good riding around Breck? never ridden there. should be some down by Buena Vista, but haven't ridden there yet either.
If your really green we should talk about gear and such for the mountains. Have had lots of friends spend the night out in the wilderness.

 

[Elkaholic4life]

I'd recommend reading up about avalanche safety and the gear

This is a great place to start
https://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=360730

Welcome to Snowest also

 

[Qreiff]

For at least your first time out I would recommend going to an area with an established trail system. Available maps etc. With that said, I'd suggest you go to Grand Lake for your visit. Hotels, restaurants, good trail system with maps. Also, a couple different snowmobile shops around if you bend something up and need parts.

If snow is good, you can ride from town up to the trail system and beyond.

Essentials: Good quality warm gear, AVY gear and please take a class and become fluid with the transceiver, probes etc.

Find a class that Mike Duffy (Avalanche1.com) is teaching and GO!!

I'm also a believer that an AVY bag (BCA vest or Snowpulse for example) are no longer luxuries but, necessities!

FFT

Quinton

 

[Red Mtn]

Those are going to be pretty marginal machines in deep snow. Plan to go somewhere that has lots of trails, Grand Lake and Grand Mesa are both great places to get your feet wet. Both places offer real mtn sled rentals if you want to try out the latest equipment.


The best safety equipment I can think of is a decent guide if you plan to explore beyond the trails. All the avy gear in the world wont save you if you ride into dangerous terrain on the wrong day. I doubt the sleds you are bringing can get you into a whole lot of trouble. If you are bent on sick hi marks, get some avy gear AND training BEFORE you come. Find someone who knows the area, pay them to baby sit you if necessary. The mountains are a little different on the winter. Avalanches take lives every year.


From Breckenridge, which is a bit sled unfriendly, Vail Pass is pretty close and has trails and safe play areas.


Good Luck, Have Fun

 

[grandadventures]

Snowmobile

Hello everybody, my name is Cody, I live in Valley NE. I purchased my first snowmobile last year, I picked up a 1999 Vmax I believe, yeah could be 1996 I can’t remember. I was only able to drive it only a few times last winter around the country here, and I fell in love. Of course it hardly snows here anymore so I decided to pick up another sled this fall to ride. This one is a 2007 Yamaha phazer with a mtx turbo kit. Got the sled for a good price and it only has 920 miles on it. So now my brother and law and I are taking the two sleds up to Breckinridge in February for 3 days . Any advise to rather new mountain ridiing guys ? We both grew up on atvs , jet skis , motorcycles ext, so we’re not new to the mountains but we are new to sleds. Any advice would be awesome guys !!! What to do what not to do, what to bring and where to ride ? Thanks guys look forward to hearing from you!

Visit Grand Adventures, Explore the best Colorado Snowmobile tour
ever. check out the link : https://www.grandadventures.com/

 

[DDECKER]

https://coloradosledrentals.com/


Let me know when you guys come out id gladly show you guys around the steamboat area

 

[Jshlee3]

They do snowmobile tours off of tiger run road in Brec. I don't think they do any sort of trail grooming. Vail pass your be your next closest option and probably the best for the area, it has lots of groomed trails and you can ride to camp hale, or redcliff to have lunch. Avalanche danger is real but if you stay in the flat areas and on the trail it will be pretty low risk. If you need someone to show you around the area let me know I would be more than happy to help out if I'm in town.

The links below are maps of summit county and vail pass

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd491314.pdf

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5187824.pdf

 

[Elkaholic4life]

https://coloradosledrentals.com/


Let me know when you guys come out id gladly show you guys around the steamboat area

I've personally ridden with DDECKER. he's a good dude and will be the first one to help you get unstuck and get you stuck

 

[sleddin pete]

Vail pass is about 1/2 hour away $6 a day per person(only fee area in Colorado) Bring exact payment, booth may or may not be staffed.

Grand Lake Rabbit Ears or Cottonwood Pass in Buena Vista are all about 1h30m away from Breck on dry roads.

Grand Lake has excellent grooming and lots of trail riding as well as backcountry riding.

Rabbit Ears doesn't have as much daily grooming as G/L but has much better backcountry riding IMO.

Cottonwood is the lowest used of the 3, it can be hit or miss. I've had great days there but also days where you couldn't make it over pass due to whiteouts.

With your experience level I would recommend V/P or G/L. More popular means more people to help you if you get in a sticky/stuck situation.Cottonwood Pass in Buena Vista on a sunny day.

If you send me a p/m with your name/address I'll send you a Vail Pass and Grand Lake trail map. I know I have 1 or 2 laying around in my gear bag. If I'm off I'll also show you around.

Avy danger is real at any of these areas, play it safe.

Also get an out of state permit so you don't get a ticket http://cpw.state.co.us/buyapply/Pages/SnowmobileRegistrations.aspx
Pete

 

[glmtnapex]

Grand Lake is your best bet, without a doubt.

Trails are (normally) well groomed, you can ride from town (usaully) and there are plenty of wide-open 'parks' for you to play in without too much danger. And, as mentioned above, we have a good amount of traffic here, as long as you stay within view of the trail, that can help you if you get in trouble. There's also cell service (Verizon) that covers about 60% of the trail system.

Good luck!

 

[skicopper]

Hello everybody, my name is Cody, I live in Valley NE. I purchased my first snowmobile last year, I picked up a 1999 Vmax I believe, yeah could be 1996 I can’t remember. I was only able to drive it only a few times last winter around the country here, and I fell in love. Of course it hardly snows here anymore so I decided to pick up another sled this fall to ride. This one is a 2007 Yamaha phazer with a mtx turbo kit. Got the sled for a good price and it only has 920 miles on it. So now my brother and law and I are taking the two sleds up to Breckinridge in February for 3 days . Any advise to rather new mountain ridiing guys ? We both grew up on atvs , jet skis , motorcycles ext, so we’re not new to the mountains but we are new to sleds. Any advice would be awesome guys !!! What to do what not to do, what to bring and where to ride ? Thanks guys look forward to hearing from you!

I live in Omaha. There’s okay riding up on tiger road near breck but honestly we live so far away that we can drive a shorter distance and be in the snowies. A little farther and you can get to rabbit ears/buff pass, which is much better riding than we can find in summit county.


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