Sledboarding Colorado Mountains / Nine Year Flashback 2007 / Snowboarding the Backcountry

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Chasing the snow storms was how we rolled 9 years ago. We had been in the sledboard game for 3 years, with 10 years of snowboarding under our belts, we kept pushing the bounderies.

Back in 1999 we started to head to the mountains from the Midwest. By 2002 we had taken an avalanche course in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The backcountry was our drug, best served with storms and driving through blizzards that just added to the adventure. 

 The town that caught our attention early on was Steamboat, Colorado. This was a big resort town, but also the appeal was the main town which still felt like a cowboy town. Nothing beats a good snowstorm in Steamboat.

 The goal 9 years ago was to hit the early season storm as it was dropping fresh powder in the surrounding mountains.

We went all in with the sled part of the backcountry adventure, 2 long track mountain sleds, enclosed trailer and 3/4 ton pick-up. 3 years into this adventure, we had replaced one of the sleds with a new 2008 Polaris RMK with a 155 inch long track. We still had the original 800 Polaris RMK 159" track.

The system was to have both sleds, ride both down the mountain and park 1 sled. Then Weez would sit in front and hold onto the bars while I stand and drive back up the mountain. Unload the boards and the snowboard down the mountain together. arrive at the parked sled, load up and roar back up. Sometimes we would use a waterski rope and I would pull Weez back up the mountain behind the sled.     

 The White Room... look close and you can see Weez in the trees.

 Riding the Polaris Mountain Sleds... awesome terrain and scenery... fresh powder.

 Living the rock and snow life... Our own mountain for the day, nobody else out there... Yee Haa!!

 Backcountry mountain weapon, Polaris 700 RMK 155"/2.4" paddles.

 Took a break from the backcountry 1 day and hit the Steamboat Resort on the boards.

The trip was all part of the big Adventure...East of Omaha heading into Des Moines, Iowa. 

Brapppp On!!

Cooke City, Montana / Backcountry Sledboard 2015 / M8 Cat & RMK Pro 800 / Burton Fish Pow Boards

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Cooke City is a snowmobile town in the winter. Park out front and ride from your hotel to the trail out of town and into the mountains.

 Getting some snowmobile riding in before the boarding. Had a good snowmobile ride yesterday, getting a feel for the sleds and snow conditions. We were up near Daisy Pass, found some good drops for the snowboards, so game on...

 Weez dropping out of the trees and heading for the sled.

 We had to pose for the sledboard pictures after a very good day in the backcountry on the sleds and boards. The other sled was up top waiting for us.

Each run consisted of both of us riding our sleds down to the bottom, leaving one there. Then Weez would climb on the sled, sit down and hold onto the mountain strap on the handle bars, I would stand behind her. It was a wild ride, climbing back up the mountain on the sled. She really must trust me because I'm on the gas all the way. then we would board down and repeat the ride back up.

 The final drop down to the the sled was steep and powder.

 It was a blast to get back on the sleds and ride the mountains. The final day we rented an Arctic Cat M800 / 153 inch track and a Polaris PRO RMK 800 / 155 inch track. The sleds are about 160 horsepower...they rip!

 We finished the trip off with a ride up the trail, not ready to give up the riding and being in the mountains. Mountain cabin with Elk antlers and thick blanket of snow.

Main street Cooke City, Montana

Sledboard on!!

Mountain Cat in the Den

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The new sled in the trailer, a 2008 M8 162" Arctic Cat. It's a long story, but I'll keep it short.

I sold the 2008 700 RMK 155", it had about 400 miles. I kept the 2008 700 RMK Dragon 155". Ended the day with a 2008 800 Mountain Cat 162" track, the sled is in excellent condition with about 500 miles.

The Cat is going to be an awesome sled for sledboarding. With a 162" track it's going to hook up and climb anything I dare. The Cat is supposed to be the top deep powder boondocking sled in the mountains. The Polaris Dragon kicks out 140 horsepower, the Cat is putting out about 146 horsepower. For sure the 800 will have more grunt up the steep mountains pulling a snowboarder. This is going to be an excellent opportunity to ride two of the top ranked mountain sleds. The Polaris Dragon 700 and the M8 Arctic Cat. I didn't plan this scenario it just fell into place.

I have the Dragon set up completely for us. I raised the handle bars up to 5.25", put a left hand throttle, snowboard rack, ice scratchers, gas can rack, removed the windshield and mounted a set of hand guards. This sled rocks. The Cat will be my project over the next 4 weeks. To set up for my riding style, I'll need to put a riser block for the bars (90% of the riding in the mountains is standing up), hand guards, ice scratchers, and a new taller, shorter seat. Then mount a snowboard rack.

I rode the Dragon on two of the 4 trips last year. The second trip with the wild bunch, we rode in epic conditions, 4 feet of fresh powder over 3 days. The first day in the backcountry it was about -12 degrees, with 35-40 MPH winds, it was super light powder. it was great on the ridge tops with the snow blowing across. The Dragon performed great in theses conditions. I will be looking for these conditions to run the Cat in and add more snowboarding to the adventures.

Two different sleds, it will be great to ride both different set-ups, first hand comparing. Two trips in December, coming up fast. The planning and gearing up for the adventures is a huge part of the whole experience. Both the gear and the body have to be in shape for the, GOOD TIMES!!

Many paddles to move the powder and climb the mountain.

Snowmobiles <> http://engineeringtv.com/blogs/etv/archive/2008/04/17/direct-fuel-injection-solution.aspx

2008 Polaris 700 RMK Dragon

2008 Polaris 700 RMK

http://engineeringtv.com/blogs/etv/archive/2008/04/17/direct-fuel-injection-solution.aspx

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This a clip that I found pertaining to the 2-stroke vs 4-stroke snowmobile emissions and mileage issue. Not thrilling but interesting.

Both of my snowmobiles are fuel-injected 2-strokes. I have a 2008 Polaris 700 RMK Dragon and a 2008 Polaris 700 RMK. They are both mountain snowmobiles that produce 140 horse power with the new fuel-injection technology. My 2-stroke snowmobiles are about 70 - 80 pounds lighter than comparable 4-stroke snowmobiles and they make more horsepower. What would you ride?

Both sleds have 155 inch long tracks with 2.4 inch paddles to float in the mountain powder snow.

Just strap on the snowboard and go.

Wyoming > January 09, the Story

Dang, I dig this powder!

The trip started out at 12:30AM Monday morning with an all night drive to Wyoming, 990 miles. Arrived Monday afternoon, got settled in.

Day 1. Fueling up Tuesday morning in town and ready for the 2 feet of fresh powder from the storm over the week-end. The morning started out with a refreshing temp of -20 degrees. Glad I brought my serious cold weather clothes. The sleds were a might stiff, but popped off after a few pulls. The sun was out and the snow was great. It was cold smoke powder, and deep.

The climbing Mountain Cat, M8.

The 900 RMK Beast.

An afternoon lunch fire,

The sun was out and the temp stayed cold all day.

The sleds ran great and we found good snow.

The gang after a good day in the mountains, ready for a burger fest.

Sometimes ya just gotta roll the critter to get unstuck.

Day 2, found temps about 35 degrees warmer, at about +15 degrees. With it came some fresh snow. Now it is shaping up to be some serious deep powder. We went into an area with some awesome powder and began descending through the trees. We entered several openings in the forest where we would explore the area and then regroup and move on to another untracked opening in the trees. The whole time it is snowing and making for an epic day and getting deeper.

Deep...

Yours Truly, riding the Dragon.

This is what mountain riding is all about, boonedocking and cold smoke powder.

Lunch fire while it kept on snowing.

Using a pine branch grate to get the grilling done.

Deep in the woods, the sleds were snow covered during our lunch. With snow all day, our tracks from the morning were pretty much covered and it made for a challenging ride up the mountain through the woods to the trail back to the trucks.

The winds had been blowing hard all day, 50-60 MPH, so it made for a true mountain experience. That is what draws me to the mountains, it is the rawness of the weather. It is interesting how the weather can be raging up in the mountains and 6 miles back to town it is a toned down weather experience.

Day 3, as we drove up toward the mountains the clouds were hanging over the peaks, giving us the clue that we would be in for even more snow. The mountains did not disappoint us, the winds were howling at over 40 mph and the snow was falling. As we rode up the trail, with the snow swirling we made our way to an area that we had ridden in on day 1. As we dropped into the valley it was apparent that we were experiencing incredible deep powder conditions.

This was truly an epic day to top off an epic 3 days of backcountry snowmobiling.

Yeah I found the powder and we had a great mountain experience. Everyone came home safe and we pushed our powder sleds to their limits. GOOD TIMES!!

It is riding with mountain snowmobile riders like I have had the experience to ride with on 2 trips in January that help make me a better rider and able to access some of the snowboard mountains I want to reach. Anybody who wants to use a snowmobile to access backcountry mountains to snowboard, needs to take the time to learn to ride through the trees and ride in the powder and climb with your sled. You will get stuck and you will wrestle your sled, you need to have the know how and skills to get moving again and to know the snowmobiles capabilities so you can have a good time and get back to the truck at the end of the day.

These snowmobile trips will lead to me returning with the snowboard and snowshoes to these areas this spring for some great backcountry boarding. This is the on-going ground work for future adventures.