Feb 20th with the Brother up on Red and White

Day after the big ride up on the Flat tops, the Brother myself and Sarah went up on Red and White. No big powder but we had some fun. The trails had been groomed quite well so we put on a few miles for sure. Went out to the over look above Edwards.

Benjie stops moving on a hill, (click for full size)

Someone is tired and needs a nap

Sarah and Benjie checking out the view

New Castle Flat Tops Feb 19

We all made it. Long day
Sludge, Benjie, Chard, Peaches, Conville, Baker, Moyer, Ratz and Sarah
[a.k.a. Tsunamy and the Sledneck Gang... for her Minnesooota fans!]

Crazy day. Long Day. 9 people up to the Flat tops via New Castle. Good trail going out, then a bit of boondocking, but then some rough trails to get further out. Tough to find some decent play areas. Just some big, big meadows. No injuries. But Moyer's sled broke some steering mechanism thingy about 30 miles out. Rough ride for him getting the sled all the way back. Good snow when we were WAY out. Some jumps here and there. Long drive. We would only doo it again if we had some fresh, but still a fun day.

Moyer before breaking his stearing (click for full size)

Some Good blue skies (yep, click it for full size)

Adam Baker checks his suspension (oh yes, better click it)

Some of the group taking a break

Oops

Sarah Joins in on the fun

Hmmm, is it soft?

Benjie on Vacation

This guy is named "Peaches"

Lounging around

A Short video of Sarah

"Sugar Snow" Todd Moyer

Conville wheelie

Benjie gets some powder

Yikes!

Feb 12-13 Maintenance weekend

Went out with a big crew on Tuesday. 6-7 guys and then Sarah. But she held her own very well. She was one of the few of us to never get stuck or roll her sled. I was almost as proud of her as she was of herself. 40 miles on my machine. Then on Wednesday we did tons of maintenance on the sleds and snowmobile trailer. But everything should be ready to go for next week Feb 18 - 21 when the brother comes in.

Heat vents on Sarah's sled, ice scratchers on Sarah's, repair suspension booties, Glue windshield on mine, glue velcro on my boss seat, trim boss seat, lock-tight recoil, put in vent in airbox, seal airbox, seal up around headlights, put on new windshield knobs, etc. Put salt shield on tilt trailer.

Tommy Conville rolls his sled. Funny watching it roll
after him and him trying to get out of the way.

Early Feb Snowmobile update

Not many pics or movies on this one. It was just too deep (and a little cold) to take many pics or movies. We went up to the Flat tops North of Rifle. Stayed at Coulter Lake Lodge. Wonderful hospitality. The hosts Joe and Patty came down to our truck to meet us and haul our luggage (and lots of fuel) up the trail to the Ranch. Tuesday was about 42 miles (we had a late start). Sunny sky and deep snow. However, my M7 Arctic Cat was running pretty bad. Had a ton of water in the airbox after the intake came off. Sled ran better on Wed. but then Wed. it was snowing too hard for us to take our gloves off. We had a couple of major stucks....Me, Sludge and Sarah. 53 miles or so and the treasure was getting a freshly groomed trail on the way back.

We will be back there for sure.

Sarah pulls it around
Click for full size
Canyon drive to the parking lot
Ice climbers on our drive up to the parking...
Here you can get a sense of how big these canyon walls are
Click on the photo..... the ice climbers are in the upper right

Hauling the luggage and fuel

short video clip




the cabin

Late January Snowmobile update

click on photos for full size

1/23/2008 Great day but not many miles, but with snow like this, who cares. Deep and sunny skies. We were wiped out after just a few hours. Not too many stucks except one big one by "the wife" today. She put the sled into a creek and it took a good 1/2 hour and 3 guys to dig it out. But hey, Sarah is doing great! Videos are posted towards the end with a silly comment from Sarah regarding the end of my love life.

In a hole

Now what do we do?

Tommy stuck in a tree, Sludge helping on the stuck

Sarah having fun

Just the guys

Longer movie click (youtube) too big for here

Another youtube... of Sludge and then Sarah falling off

Shorter movie

Snowmobile updates 07-08

1/16/2008 We went up on the Flat tops, cold day. Sludge, Sarah, Simone and Ratz. We were expecting cold weather, but we couldn't change plans due to Simone (the other Italian) having that Wed. off from work. 60-65 miles. It was a rough trail going up but still manageable. Had to fight keeping the hands and feet warm the whole day. On the pics below we had our helmets on because it was too cold to take them off. Sarah found her first tree. Had to get the saws out to free the snowmobile. Great snow in places but my neck sure hurt after the days ride from all the bouncing.

Click on photos for full size
Sludge finally gets stuck

Simone gets stuck (click for larger) Is that sled smoking?

Sarah finds a tree, poor tree

Reminds me of riding with Todd Moyer..."get out the saws!"
Sludge supervises the sawing.

Yeah, you. Lucky nothing busted (on the sled, that is)

01/08-09/2008 Went up to Steamboat lake. 38 miles first day and 60 miles the second day. Good snow but a bit rough trails when trying to get out. The roads to Wyoming were smooth and deep. Dutch Creek lodging was wonderful. Would love to stay there again except riding along the road to get to the trails.

01/02/08 We've gone snowmobiling more than this blog has listed this season but today is the first day in awhile that we took a decent amount of pictures/movies. And what a day it was. 60 miles up in the Flat Tops. Great snow and they groomed the night before. Did tons of carving in the powder. Sarah really got the carving down after awhile. Sleds performed great. Our backs and arms will sure hurt tomorrow.

Click on photos for larger size


Click on photos for larger size

12/25/07 White Xmas for sure. Powder day and Sarah and I got out for an hour or two. Deep powder. Sarah worked on her carving but had some difficulty. One good stuck on a hill. Base is really getting there. Can start riding anywhere almost.





12/18/07 Great day with Sludge and the ball and chain. Testing out the new sled a bit. Red and White area. Nice snow in some valleys.



12/05/07 Finally got out (below, click on photo for larger size), just under 30 miles. Took forever to get the Ski-doo started. M7 ran good all day. Trails were nice and smooth, but we need snow before we can get off trail. We still did a bit and Sarah put it in a creek. Latest start to the sledding season that I've ever had. Last year we were out at the end of Oct.
But snow predicted through this weekend at least. The 800 Doo isn't holding RPMs in the deep snow. Starts at about 7500 and then drops to almost 6000. I think it is the clutch springs. We dropped it off at Marshals for new springs in both clutches, coolant hose, and a hole shot cover for the busted belly pan. Still a fun day. Hoping for more snow. Sarah was ordering all sorts of new items. Marshall loves her.


12/3/2007 Still haven't been out due to lack of snow. However, we might be going this coming Tues or Wed for a little road ride.