Monkey

I went snowmobiling with Tom (“xteam” from snowboardseattle.com) out near Gold Creek on Wednesday. This was my first time riding a snowmobile off trail, and it was a whole lot of fun. Tom took it easy on me and we stuck to what were, I’d imagine, the “green runs” of snowmobiling. Nevertheless, by the end of the day I was dog tired from riding, getting stuck, digging out, and taking a pretty good spill at one point. We went out to Monster Bowl, the radio tower, and Wilder Side (think I got the names right), and he pointed out many other riding areas along the way. Monster bowl was pretty untracked when we got there and this is where I got my first climbs in. Climbing was a whole lot of fun, especially with few trees or other hazards around. After the first session, though, I realized what a work out snowmobiling is. Weight transfer is key to riding these things well, and it’s gonna take me a while to get the hang of it for sure. The snow was pretty nice, too. A bit of a crust with a lot of soft underneath. It got nice and mushy by the end of the day.

We went over to Wilder Side where there were a few more trees and rode around there a bit before taking a break for lunch. Then we snowboarded a bit. The run was pretty short, but still a bunch of fun, and great to snowboard with no one else around. On my way down to pickup Tom after his last run I ended up in a “predicament”. I came down to the road above a short drop in to a ditch by the side of the road that I couldn’t steer the sled around in time. I ended up flying off of it and impaling the sled into the opposing bank, throwing me over the handlebars off to the side. That hurt a lot… a whole lot. I laid there for a bit, and once he realized I’d be okay Tom got some excellent pics, then we dug out. Actually, digging it out of this one wasn’t too bad… about 15 min or so. I still can’t believe how deep the sled went down, and how durable those things are. Only minor damage to a few vent grills… nothing that can’t be bent back into place. But after that I was completely spent.

On the way back to the lot there was a nice open face where you could climb up and cut off a turn in the road. We decided to go up it, but I should have realized I was at my limit and just taken the road. Tom made it no problem, but I got off course right near the top and ended up side hilling to the left about 10′ below the road. I was over-focused on trying to get the sled back on course to the road and failed to notice the two small trees I was headed for. I should have turned out right away and gone back to the road. I rode right over one of them and banged smack into the second, not too fast though. The sled hung up on the tree and was stuck again, though that was good because it would have rolled down hill into a gully otherwise. We got it unstuck without digging and pointed a bit downhill and Tom was kind enough to ride it down then show me how it was done. He powered that thing right up the hill, perfectly straight, and practically gapped the road on his way up the next stretch! Damn fine riding… I’ve got a lot to learn!

The rest of the trip was uneventful after that. Mucho, mucho gracias to Tom for being an excellent guide!! Seriously, a perfect introduction to the area and to the skills I’ll need to learn to snowmoboard effectively. And damn nice of him to snow a newbie around on a nice sunny day with such excellent snow conditions. I know it’s gonna take me quite a while to get good riding this thing, but I’m looking forward to it!

Well, I took the plunge and have bought a snowmobile. The ultimate goal is snowmoboarding (using the snowmobile to access backcountry snowboarding terrain.) Let’s face it, at my core I’m lazy, and this is way easier than hiking for it! So today I picked up an Arctic Cat 2009 M8 153, which from my research appears to be a pretty darn nice mountain sled that ought to get me out and up there when the snow is deep. We know we’re going to get a sled for Helen, too, so I also got a sled deck for the truck that is capable of carrying two sleds. (The sides slide out to accommodate two… in the pictures the sides are in.)

They put the sled on the truck with a fork lift at the dealer, so I had the fun of learning to load and unload it in the privacy of my own driveway. It’s not bad to back it off the deck, but running it up the ramp and getting it in position without breaking the back window of the truck is a real challenge. I did it successfully the first try, and backed it down again just fine, but it was close! This will take some practice, and I think I’m gonna carry a tarp and some duct tape for a temporary back window replacement, just in case…

Lot of 2-stroke smoke in these pics… the first tank of gas has extra oil in it for the break-in period, but what can I say but “Yup, I bought a 2-stroke.” They smoke less once they’re warmed up.