SNOWMOBILE BLOG

Let’s be perfectly clear … sometimes people can be just shameless when it comes to promoting their product.

For example, when I write a blog, I do it out of love for the sport. However, if I were to do it for, let’s say, trying to increase web traffic, I would use certain words that would generate more interest on search engines. WARNING: Material of sexual nature.

Instead of writing about stock sleds and mountain riding, I would use code words. For example, a stock sled could be referred as a NUDE or even NAKED “love machine” which would capture a lot of search hits. Instead of project sleds, we say XXX “no one under 18 years of age allowed” stuff. “We’d call stuff SLEAZY and refer to ASIAN or HOT CANADIAN WOMEN when talking about our snowmobiles. Touring sleds could be described in French terms and cylinders could be called BIG JUGS. And I won’t even go where two strokes and big bores could take us.

But all of this would naturally cast a bigger net in attracting people to this blog.

So all you sexy snowmobilers who are lonely and want some company for some steamy action … aren’t you glad I don’t stoop that low?

SJ

            After attending the very first snowmobile event at the Winter X Games years ago it was obvious that we were witnessing the resurgence of Roman gladiators in the great ESPN coliseum. This was an event designed to offer sacrifices to the ratings gods of television.

            And after years of near misses, we have finally witnessed a prime time fatality. Caleb Moore died Thursday from the injuries received during the event. Caleb was 25. His brother basically shared an ambulance ride with him to the emergency room that fateful night, although Colten’s injuries only left him on crutches.

            Our hearts and prayers go out to the Moore family who will be ever altered by this tragedy. Meanwhile, at least for ESPN, the ratings go on.

            Throughout the years of the X Games, several contestants have been carried off in stretchers. The event is designed to put the participants at risk—big jumps, fast speeds, artificial lights—you name it, whatever could improve the ratings were part of the event.

            As for the participants, well, a week being treated like a rock star and a chance to capture an endorsement or sponsorship from an energy drink seemed to be all it took to not think through the consequences of the damage wreaked on their bodies.

            I realize these are professional athletes, whether they be snowmobilers, snowboarders or whatever. They are thrill seekers who live to do the daring and dangerous. But as I watched the X Games from my easy chair on my big screen television, I couldn’t help notice the near misses that kept occurring on the big jump that eventually claimed Caleb, and then his brother Colten.

            I don’t know if it was a bad execution of a trick or a poorly designed jump that led to the tragedy. But I do know that from the first time I saw a course designed for snowmobile competition at the X Games, I knew it wasn’t designed for rider safety; it was designed for big crashes and viewership.

            I admit there was something about snowmobiles featured in prime time on major television networks that intrigued me, much like it intrigued most snowmobilers. And for a young racer, doing well meant more sponsorships. But as a snowmobile community, we basically held our breath each year hoping that our top racers could survive the course.

            Now, as we bury one of our own, it’s going to be a little bit harder to justify exposure at the expense of a lack of safety. But I’m sure that before the Games begin next year, we will forget the price one of our racers paid and will be cheering on the next crop of gladiators.

            So I guess the question is: Who is to blame?

SJ

          I just received a postcard in the mail inviting me to three annual events in the Island Park area that have always provided a fun diversion during the season—the Women’s Rally on Jan. 26, Co-Ed Rally on Feb. 9, and Ol’ Man’s Rendezvous on Feb. 23.

            These are sort of  like organized trail rides where the speed restrictions on the groomed trails have been removed to allow the competitive juices to flow. Some folks call them races … but other than the 100 mph straightaways across the flats, for the most part they are just fun trail rides where longtime friends get together for some bragging rights.

            But this wasn’t what actually captured my attention. The postcard mentioned that longtime event director Bill Smith was retiring after this season. For those who don’t recognize the name Bill Smith, this is someone who has been involved in eastern Idaho racing for about five decades. He was the first announcer at the World Snowmobile Expo in West Yellowstone and has either announced, promoted or raced in events for as long as snowmobiles have been around.

            My friendship with Bill goes back about 30 years. Bill and I actually raced together as a two-man team in the now defunct Rocky Mountain Cross Country Racing Circuit … and we both still wear our first-place belt buckles that we captured for a full season of racing.

            Bill would admit that we really weren’t fast … but we were consistent and made a solid team week in and week out. Even now we have found memories of our days racing … as well as lingering back pains from riding the sleds of the 80s through four-foot moguls from race venues like Cooke City, Georgetown, Ashton, St. Anthony and Bellevue.

            Bill is one of those guys who always has been committed, devoted and loyal to the sport. He has been the perfect volunteer—always willing to work and assist, never seeking personal glory and as honest as the day is long. And after all these years of service, it’s about time he takes a well-deserved vacation.

            So if you’re in the Island Park area during these three race dates, be sure to stop in and shake his hand and tell him “good job.” He truly is one of the good guys.

            And now with all of his spare time, I wonder if he’s about ready to get back into racing? I could use a new belt buckle.

SJ

            This past week a startling truth was presented that caused the entire foundation of my snowmobiling knowledge to become discombobulated. There are no tiny ponies powering my snowmobile; i.e. horsepower does not mean actual horses.

            That’s right, horsepower doesn’t literally mean the power of horses. It’s a mathematical formulation that consists of “work over time equals force times distance over time which equals 180 lbf and 2.4 times 2 pie symbol times 12 feet over one minute equals 32,572 feet/lbf/minute” … or something sort of scientific/mathematical like that.

            Okay, some maybe the original formula for horsepower was based on how much power is required to equal the pulling power of a horse. But at no time did these great minds figure out how to actually put a tiny horse inside a combustion engine to turn the power wheel. (They did figure out how to put hamsters in a cage to turn a wheel … but then the hamsters union got involved and required so many breaks per hour plus benefits and made this advancement in technology cost prohibitive.)

            So now, rather than little tiny horses causing our snowmobile to climb tall mountains, we actually have math geeks powering our sleds. This mere knowledge in itself has caused me to second-think the next time I look at a death-defying vertical climb. What would happen if I’m nearing the peak of the mountain only to have one of my math geeks lose his inhaler? This is definitely a formula for disaster.

            This has also caused me significant concern when I ponder the fact that those engineers who are designing snowmobile engine technology actually rely on this horsepower formulation to determine the power output of any given engine.

            Now it makes some sense why snowmobile manufacturers for years have tried to keep horsepower ratings out of print. They don’t want their customers cracking open a cylinder only to find that all their tiny ponies have escaped … when in reality those ponies were never actually there to begin with.

            So now, the next time you hear someone boasting about having a 300-horsepower turbo, you can simply smile and pat them on the head and say “that’s nice.” Likely, if they still believe this horsepower myth, they also believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy.

SJ

           I just can’t decide if Old Man Winter is just cranky or if Mother Nature just can’t make up her mind. Whatever the case, so far this season has been as inconsistent as any in recent years
.

            We’ve had rain. We’ve had cold. When the snow comes, it comes in short bursts and storms seem to fizzle out early.  When the temperatures rise, the rain knocks down whatever snow collected in the lower elevations and creates a crust on the snow in the higher elevations. When the temperatures drop, you freeze your butt off to get to the snow; then you almost need to strip naked to keep from steaming up the you get stuck in the crusty snow.

            The ideal conditions are when the temperatures are in the mid 20s consistently throughout the day. This is a great temperature to make that nice crunchy snow (perfect for making snowballs) that creates a good base for snowmobiling.

            But when temperatures are in the single digits … you pretty much freeze your single digit off.

            Although all of this sounds like my snowmobiling experiences have been miserable this season, that’s not the case. Once you leave the trailhead and climb in elevation, the temperatures tend to moderate and the riding has been outstanding—regardless the shortcomings in snow depth and quality.

            We have had good rides … even one or two outstanding rides. But we’re always hoping for those great rides—when the snow is deep, the sky is blue and there’s not a track in front of you (sounds like the makings of a country song).

            So hopefully, Old Man Winter and Mother Nature will work out their differences soon so we can get back to normal. It’s always nice when there’s peace in the family.

SJ

           There are two types of people—those who stay on the beaten path, and those who blaze their own path. Most people like the comfort of knowing where tracks will take them, while others relish the thought of an unknown course or destination.

            Thus it is with snowmobilers. Many ride trails, carry maps and embrace a certainty of a desired destination. They need the reassurance that the tracks they follow lead somewhere they want to go. And let’s face it, if there are tracks, it pretty much establishes that others have safely gone there before … and others will likely be going there sometime in the near future.

            Tracks represent a record or history of travel. The more tracks, the more confident the history. Even when following tracks that lead off a beaten trail, there is a level of confidence that whoever made those tracks most certainly know where they were going.

            So there is nothing wrong with following tracks or staying on a trail. In this there is safety, in this there is peace.

            However, there are a small segment of snowmobilers who gladly sacrifice a level of security for freedom and adventure; those who constantly stray from the trails and establish a new set of tracks. Often the course taken for those who set their own tracks are more difficult and challenging. But isn’t that part of the price of freedom—you give up easy and common for unique and difficult.

            Naturally, an activity like snowmobiling is something that should be respected for the challenge and element of danger that it holds. You are recreating during a time of season that can be cold, harsh and unpredictable. A bad decision can often lead to a life-threatening situation.

            Spending a night out in December through April is a lot different than spending a night out in May through September. And walking out of the backcountry during winter may not be an option.

            So before you wander off a beaten path or trail, you better have a pretty good level of confidence that you know where you are at and what to expect. Each winter various search and rescue groups perform multiple rescues of stranded snowmobilers who found themselves in situations that provided greater challenges then they were capable of overcoming. Seldom if ever do search and rescue groups save snowmobilers on groomed trails.

SJ

 Tis The Season (Part 2)

            It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … or in other words, winter has finally settled in and the cold weather caught up with the moisture, turning what has been a wet fall into a white winter.

            According to the National  Weather Service, the Northern Rockies is now experiencing a 99.9 percent snow coverage (I’d be pretty hot if I were in that .1 percent area … pun intended). The Central Rockies is at 99.6 percent coverage and The Intermountains are at 97.4 percent (not bad considering all the lower elevations included).

            Although the snow depth charts aren’t overly impressive except in the elevations over 8,000 feet in the northern portion of the West, the good news is the snow is starting to stack up.

            Even the Midwest got slammed with a snowy Christmas storm that perhaps delivered a little more punch with some high winds. But hey, as long as the white stuff sticks, we can deal with a few drifts.

            This past year has offered a lot of disappointments and heartbreaks. It has been a tough year for many, both financially and mentally … lots of stress. And for some, these harsh winter storms don’t offer any relief. But for those of us who are fortunate to enjoy the sport of snowmobiling, perhaps these storms will provide the foundation for some better times this winter.

            We can only pray for those who are less fortunate … and do our parts whenever possible, to offer a little relief to the stress of life. Who knows, maybe this winter we can introduce someone to the joys of snowmobiling and help them find some relief and diversion from the troubles of life.

SJ

The Fight For Jefferson

            It’s called the “Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.” It’s a piece of Wilderness legislation introduced by Montana Senator Jon Tester which is basically destined to reduce jobs and restrict recreation (I wonder if this is how he came up with the name.)

            Well, technically, this legislation is dealing with a lot of forest service land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. But what has the ire of Idaho snowmobilers is how this piece of legislation sucks in less than 5,000 acres of land tucked into the Hellroaring drainage with Idaho wrapped on three sides.

            This small parcel of land can’t stand on its own for Wilderness designation due to its size. It can’t provide the “true” wilderness experience due to its location tucked in the Targhee National Forest which is actually “open” for public use.

            Environmental arguments for Wilderness designation are even conflicting—on one hand they complain about the excessive use by snowmobilers, while on the other hand they claim the area is rich in wildlife. (Apparently the only animal known to man that has a conflict with snowmobiles is the environmentalist … a modern species that commonly dwells in big cities and tends to roam on the National Geographic channel.)

            Environmentalists use fancy “feel-good” language like this area is the “fountain of the Missouri River.” And yet, even though snowmobilers have been recreating in this area for nearly a half century, without the federal government coming in to protect the area environmentalists fear the fountain will surely go dry.

            The basic environment argument is this: Snowmobilers should not be so greedy and stick to the groomed trails in the Targhee (they actually called them “taxpayer funded trails … but that’s for a different rant.) Yet environmentalists believe they are not only entitled to of the entire world, but they should be able to control everyone’s access. Some of us would like to provide them access to hell … but they would likely demand control of that place too.

            The BlueRibbon Coalition is doing a good job leading the fight and providing information to the progress of the bill. It’s worth your time to stay informed in this one. We would all hate to lose our access to Jefferson.

SJ

           If you did indeed try to reach me at word during these last few days, you most likely got my answering machine. And to be totally honest, I really wasn’t that sorry to miss your call. I was riding.

            I’ve managed to be on the snow four times in the last seven days (soon to be six times in 10 days). So I’m doing my best to get back in riding condition. (Getting out of bed has certainly gotten a lot more difficult in the morning.)

            The first day I only went over the handle bars once. Day two saw me going over the bars twice. Day three I went over three times. Talk about your crash course in getting into riding shape.

On the fourth day I decided to spend some quality “seat” time.  We kept the ride confined to some trail miles to check on snow conditions in a lower elevation area. (I’m getting too old and too bruised to keep up the pace of the first three days.)

SJ

           Over the past six weeks I’ve been buried at work with the three snow shows that SnoWest Magazine sponsors. And during that time most of the staff has been on the dead run putting out fires and tending to deadlines.

            I have to admit, for many who have tried to reach me in the office, all they have gotten was a voice message on the phone saying “sorry I missed your call ….”

            But now the shows are over, most of the deadlines have passed and my calendar is looking pretty open. So for any of you who feel it’s necessary to contact me can feel free to call. However, you will likely receive a voice message on the phone saying “sorry I missed your call … .”

            If you’re wondering what’s the deal with the answering machine … then apparently you haven’t paid attention to what I just wrote. The shows are over, the deadlines past and my calendar is pretty clear.

            Translation—I’m going snowmobiling. Catch me back in the office sometime in June.

SJ