SNOWMOBILE BLOG

The questions have been posed: Will this year be an early winter? Will we have abundant snow? Will there be record snow in the mountains?

            Although it’s somewhat difficult to prognosticate what the weather has in store for long term, there are a few indicators a person can look at to see what nature expects.

            There are several signs that anyone can look for during the course of the day to tell if winter is coming. Here is our list of things you can look for:

            Birds. Do they seem to  be lean and mean after exercising their wings during the summer, or are they fluffed up and huddled close together.

            Leafs. Are they clinging on the their brilliant summer green, or are they starting to shrivel into a dry, rustic color and fall from the trees.

            Squirrels. Are they still chasing each other around the trees and across power lines, or are the starting to stash acorns and pine cones in every possible void in a one-mile radius.

            Geese. Are they lounging around the rivers and golf courses acting as though they are annoyed by humans interrupting their social gatherings or are they forming those giant Victory formations and heading south.

            Caterpillars. Are you seeing the green clean-shaven kind, or do you see the ones with heavy fuzz

            So, have you seen any signs of winter?  Have you noticed it’s become darker when you’re driving to and from work? Has anyone actually checked to see if the calendar has been advanced from that nice photo of Miss July to the other one where Miss October is actually wearing a strategically placed shawl?

SJ

'Tis The Season

With the Colorado Snowmobile Show this weekend, the Washington show the next and the Utah show the weekend after that, it’s obvious the snowmobile industry is amidst that busy time of season.

I just spoke with a friend who was back at the Syracuse Show in New York. 'Tis the season. Dealers are receiving inventory and consumers are shopping for the best buys.

Actually, this is a fun time of year. Although we're all impatiently waiting for snow to start accumulating in the mountains, it's nice to have opportunities to rub shoulders with fellow snowmobile enthusiasts. These snow shows are a perfect place to renew friendships and get caught up on the latest innovations in the industry.

Shows allow you to visit with resort owners from across the West, making it easier to plan winter vacations. It's a time you can talk to manufacturer reps and get questions answered about products. It's a time you can relax, wear your sled colors and be totally surrounded by things you love.

It’s the time that on any day there’s a possibility to waking up with snow. It’s a good time.

View the Complete SnoWest Newsletter – October 11^th 2012

            It’s getting that time of year when at any given moment, snow could happen. That’s right. We can go to bed at night after a beautiful fall day, only to wake up to several inches of snow.

            That’s right, snow. And snow means you can legally put away the lawnmower. It also means you can fire up the old sled and run it around the house a couple of times, just to make sure it works. (This also informs the wife that she no longer has the right to schedule your weekends with honey-dos.)

If there’s a little snow around your home, there’s got to be a bunch more snow up in the mountains. And we all know that snow is a delicate commodity that can be eradicated by just one day of warm sunshine. So you need to act fast before Mother Nature can change her mind on winter.

Acting fast means that following the second loop around the house (to inform the wife) you need to drive your sled right up onto the trailer and make haste for the mountains.

For those who are organized, your snowmobile gear should be hanging in your closet with everything together and ready to pack. For those who are super-organized, your gear is already in your bag from your previous ride last spring. And other than a strong smell and some mildew, you’re good to go.

But what sometimes happens is that after that ride last spring, you may have removed something from the bag, be it your boots, gloves or even helmet, because at the time you thought it would be a good idea to allow some item to dry out. And now, when you’re pressed for time because of the chances of warm weather is still great, your haste causes you to leave behind something that could come in useful on a ride.

So before we fall into that predicament, let’s take time now to locate our riding gear, change batteries in our Av beacons, and get things lined out for the first ride. Who knows, maybe cleaning things out of the gear bag now will save us some real headaches down the road … and reduce the chances that we smell like a wet dog for the first half of the season.

And to set the record straight, you really don’t need that first inch of snow on the ground to make a couple of passes around your house on a snowmobile. It’s time to let our wives know that for us, summer is officially over.

SJ

Paying Attention

Last week there was a news story posted on SnoWest.com that looked at the EPA’s four-gallon minimum mandate at the gas stations. The intent of the mandate was to avoid a situation where someone pumping E10 fuel in a small container doesn’t get stuck with E15 fuel that is left in the gas hose.

There are a couple of issues that gets swept under the rug with this EPA proposal.

First, does the EPA have a right to mandate a minimum amount of fuel purchased? Could they mandate that you only fuel your vehicle with 10 gallons of fuel? Or 18 gallons? Maybe they can mandate a maximum amount you can purchase. Is it even any business of the EPA how much fuel you want to purchase?

Second, if E15 is harmful to small engines, why is the EPA pushing so hard to put more ethanol in the fuel? Why mandate a type of fuel that ruins certain engines? Why not just let the marketplace decide what types of fuel should be sold.

Perhaps the EPA is one of those federal agencies that over-step its power and authority in an effort to expand its bureaucracy.

Sometimes it’s these little stories that shed light on bad things that lay in store.  

           There’s about 40 days before we find out whether we’re going to get serious about getting out of a recession or whether we all prepare to go on welfare.

            I haven’t necessarily ruled out that welfare thing … but I’m a little concerned whether I can expect enough Obamabucks to buy a new snowmobile every year. I like the fact that I would be able to eat like a pig (until Michelle mandates that I only eat stuff you feed sheep) and that I wouldn’t have to work sounds attractive (giving more time to do important things like eat and snowmobile). But what happens if our President decides the only types of sleds we’re allowed are those hybrids that run on electric power … or worse, gravity.

            In 40 days we’re going to see if global warming is indeed going to eliminate winter altogether or if we’re going to accept the fact that Mother Nature determines whether it’s going to snow.

            This is going to be an important election. It will determine whether government works for us or whether we work for government. Or worse, whether only those who work actually do work for government—work for government … isn’t that an oxymoron? And if our tax base is made up of only those who work for government, wouldn’t it just make sense not to pay those guys and eliminate the middle man (the tax man)?

            Could it be that we’re about ready to re-introduce slavery—especially if we all becomes slaves to government.

            Anyway, we only have 40 days until we vote. I sure hope it doesn’t snow on Nov. 6. I’d hate to have my first ride be my last due to election results.

SJ

Making Tracks (Part 2)

There has been a longstanding argument between which track length is the best. For some (like Ted George in Jackson who has built a 201-inch track), longer is always better. For others, it’s not the length but how you use it.

Even within the offices at SnoWest we have mixed opinions on track lengths. The politically correct (and manly) answer is to say longer tracks are always better. But the reality is that our staff tends to take out the 153-155 length sleds more often than the longer ones. (Maybe track speed has its merits.)

Although nobody has every figured out whether you get stuck more often on the 153-155 sleds, there’s always that lingering thought that when you do get stuck, maybe the longer tracks would not have. Yet, there’s never that thought when you get stuck on a longer track that the shorter tracks would have make it past that particular spot.

So is longer better?

The beauty of living in a free society is twofold: first, you can participate in an exciting pastime like snowmobiling; second, you can buy whatever track length you desire. Throw in the bonus of free speech and you can argue with anyone you want about the merits of a longer track.

Good riders on shorter tracks can do some very impressive things. Good riders on long tracks can do some very impressive things. Conclusion: Good riders are good riders regardless of what they ride. Chances are bad riders are bad riders regardless of what they ride. Perhaps what’s most important is that we spend more time on the snow practicing so we can all become better riders.

Anyone wants to join me?

           Fall is a great time of year for outdoor enthusiasts. The weather is outstanding (especially in eastern Idaho where fall weather is unquestionably the most pleasant time of the year). The kids are back in school so everyone’s schedule becomes much more predictable.

            It’s hunting time. The end of yard work is approaching. Some of the world’s best fishing is happening. And the snowmobile season is just around the corner.

            Although it’s not officially “riding” season … it’s close enough to winter that we can start polishing up the sled and making any modifications for this year.

            Fall is the time of year when men traditionally do men things—watching football, killing elk, and letting the grass grow. It’s harvest time. It’s when men proclaim the work is done and play begins.

            It’s the season for snowmobile shows—whether it be in Washington, Colorado, Utah, Idaho or a number of other locations across the snowbelt; where we can spend a day or two looking at what’s new and rubbing shoulders with other enthusiasts.

           It’s a time when the days get shorter, the football flies farther and the nights get colder. Life slows down a bit, allowing us to reflect on the past, and anticipate the future.

            It’s fall. Do you know where your snowmobile is?

SJ

On my last blog I mentioned the need to start getting in shape—this coming from a guy who has a buffet table next to his recliner so he doesn’t have to get out of a chair during the televised football games.

            But aside from that, I do my part to stay in riding shape. I always walk and carry my clubs on a golf course. I walk two miles a day with my wife while she vents (it’s always better to allow your wife to vent while walking in a public place daily than to allow her to build up the pressure and explode while you’re trying to watch a good football game on TV). I even occasionally take the stairs up to my fourth floor office at work. But then, I usually take the elevator back up to my office after slipping out at morning break to get a cookie from Great Harvest.

            Taking all this in consideration, I guess I’m not the best one to offer tips for getting in shape for the snow season. But the bottom line is that I believe I’m in better shape than Lane (who’s only exercise program is lifting a 44-ounce soft drink twice a day) and Ryan (who frequents Burger King so often that they once called the office to see if Ryan was sick because he hadn’t picked up his breakfast burrito that morning).

            Perhaps the reason we harp so much about lightweight sleds is because we need the snowmobile manufacturers to off-set the extra pounds we tend to collect around our waists during the off season.

            So when it comes to getting a little more serious about getting in shape, I guess I’m going to have to just bite the bullet and lay off the cookies. But I do hope that it’s a chocolate-covered bullet with a caramel filling.

SJ

Hay Days—The Start of Winter

           If you need an excuse to dust off your snowmobile and get excited for winter, nothing beats Hay Days. Thousands go there. Even more thousands claim that they want to go there if they could only get off work … or a hundred other excuses.

But the bottom line is it is the unofficial start of winter.

             Although there isn’t one thing that makes Hay Days such a big event, there are lots of little things the attract snowmobilers—grass drags, swap meets, aftermarket displayers, new snowmobile intros, enthusiasts—just collecting as a crowd of like-minded people have made it an event.

So now that winter is here, or at least close enough that we can smell the fragrance of two-cycle oil, its time to pull the sled out of storage and put fresh fuel in the tank.

            It may not have snowed yet, but who wants to be caught unprepared. Let’s ride.

View the Complete SnoWest Newsletter – Sept. 14th 2012