Why dont people just use a wakeboarding rope

[Alvaro]

I just started using a sled for skiing this season (after skitouring pretty much all my life). None of my friends own a sled and im pretty much the only one riding in this zone of chile so i just tried all the different methods to get people on top of lines. In the internet we usually see people using the "canadian" or "alaskan" style of riding doubles but i found that just using a wakeboarding rope is the least exhausting and easiest to sidehill/ ride technicall terrain with.
Is there a reason why this technique isn`t more widely used?

 

[stadams]

I've down both for more than 10 years now. The rope is too exhausting for the rider. There is much more friction than water and going up extreme hills just isn't possible. Our runs here in the PNW can take up to 5 minutes of hard climbing and cover 4000'. I'm not sure anyone I know could hold the rope while I flog a 4000' climb. We ride triple and it works well.

 

[Devilmanak]

I've down both for more than 10 years now. The rope is too exhausting for the rider. There is much more friction than water and going up extreme hills just isn't possible. Our runs here in the PNW can take up to 5 minutes of hard climbing and cover 4000'. I'm not sure anyone I know could hold the rope while I flog a 4000' climb. We ride triple and it works well.

Plus, timeframe. Wakeboard runs are super short compared to climbing mountains. My neighbor kid is a ripped little dude, but he is beat after a 5-10 minute wakeboard run. And that is just getting towed, no turning. He is 7. Legs be shakin when he is done!

 

[needpowder]

I just started using a sled for skiing this season (after skitouring pretty much all my life). None of my friends own a sled and im pretty much the only one riding in this zone of chile so i just tried all the different methods to get people on top of lines. In the internet we usually see people using the "canadian" or "alaskan" style of riding doubles but i found that just using a wakeboarding rope is the least exhausting and easiest to sidehill/ ride technicall terrain with.
Is there a reason why this technique isn`t more widely used?
View attachment 376859

Yes. There is a reason. While pulling with a rope might work on flat or low angle it is not effective/efficient in steep powder terrain. It sounds like you are new to sledding and your friends have zero experience on a sled. In that case. A rope might be your best bet. To effectively double you need two people who have years of experience riding mountain terrain on sleds (or at least 1!) When two people can ride as one, doubling is very effective. It is also much less tiring.
To effectively snowmobile ski, everyone needs their own machine to ride to the area then double the lines you are going to ski.
What I tell most newbie sledders who buy a sled to tour with is to use the sled to get closer to the terrain you want to ride then tour from there.

 

[tomx]

^^^^ This ^^^^

Really ineffective way to shred and that only works if you have nice hardpack road too. Up here in the PNW it's deep and filled with trees. We have to set a track a lot of times just to get sled into the zone. I like to run a crew of 4, two riders, two shuttle, always riding two-up on the shuttle up. The riders have buddy for safety sakes, shuttle drivers act as spotters from the bottom. It's very efficient to get the most laps and you are preparing yourself for the worst case scenario. I wouldn't want to be out deep in the BC with one sled and a rope. Someone gets hurt it's gonna be fawcked to get them out.

 

[stadams]

^^^^ This ^^^^

Really ineffective way to shred and that only works if you have nice hardpack road too. Up here in the PNW it's deep and filled with trees. We have to set a track a lot of times just to get sled into the zone. I like to run a crew of 4, two riders, two shuttle, always riding two-up on the shuttle up. The riders have buddy for safety sakes, shuttle drivers act as spotters from the bottom. It's very efficient to get the most laps and you are preparing yourself for the worst case scenario. I wouldn't want to be out deep in the BC with one sled and a rope. Someone gets hurt it's gonna be fawcked to get them out.

+1


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[kidwoo]

I use a ski rope frequently. It stays on my sled. It usually comes out while pulling 3 up (tandem plus rope if the route is mellow enough) but you're right, being able to genuinely sidehill easily while towing someone is kind of nice. We primarily just tandem but there's no reason to not have both as an option. Sometimes with newer guys that are better skiers than sledders, they prefer it so why not?






Post some pics of Chile man! Dying to see what kind of stuff you guys are riding there. That pic is just a tease!

 

[rhalloran]

What he ^^^ said. I generally hate towing, we rarely use it, but sometimes, it is a good answer - I have a permanently mounted rope on my primary "up" sled.

It only works in certain places/conditions, but once you've got a good road bashed in, or springtime stuff, sure, or yo-yoing laps on a small shot with short commute, great.

One guy I used to ski with preferred towing. He's a snowboarder & seemingly does not understand what "tired" means. He'd tow ALL DAMNED DAY, doing side hits on the way up, and being a general ruffian. It was pretty impressive. I stopped asking if I was going too fast, the answer was always "nope, pin it!" In cases where it works with people like this guy, it speeds things up a fair bit - he'd ride out onto the runout, grab rope, away we went. The biggest time killer I experienced with this whole game early on was the loading/unloading process - I barely have to stop to pick him up.

He's the exception, not the rule, though.

We've done the innertube thing, messed with stretchy crap, ehhhh keep it simple. I like wrapping the end of the rope around my waist, then a few loops over the rope itself, hold it all together with one hand.

 

[Alvaro]

I use a ski rope frequently. It stays on my sled. It usually comes out while pulling 3 up (tandem plus rope if the route is mellow enough) but you're right, being able to genuinely sidehill easily while towing someone is kind of nice. We primarily just tandem but there's no reason to not have both as an option. Sometimes with newer guys that are better skiers than sledders, they prefer it so why not?

View attachment 378121




Post some pics of Chile man! Dying to see what kind of stuff you guys are riding there. That pic is just a tease!

Sure, there is a ton of terrain up here and pretty much anyone could get to the top of most stuff in a sled, i have only been riding around the maule region tho.
Here are some spots from last winter