2012/13 Big Horns North/South snow conditions
- Thread starter Himark
- Start date
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Smilyncor
Well-known member
Trail and powder update
Hi....went out with groomer and saw great spots and then there was meadiocre spots.
All groomed trails..FR14/sheep mtn road/ bucking mule falls were great trails and had about 6-10 inches packed on them. No dry or rock spots on roads on trails.
Many open meadows off groomed trails to go to. Some were completely covered... no rocks or sagebrush. Others had sage brush visible you had to go thru to get to the open untouched meadows.
Old logging roads along FR14/sheep mtn road were untouched till today (took my guests out boondocking after the ride with the groomer)
If you want 4-6 feet of groomed trails or meadows we just don't have it yet. If you are comfortable with 3-4 ft depths , crossing filled in creeks/ ravines or sagebrush to get to open untouched meadows come on up.
I spent 4 hours out with guests this afternoon and had a blast. It beats sitting at home. I'll never sugar coat the reports.
Corey
Wyoming High Country Lodge
307-529-0914
Hi....went out with groomer and saw great spots and then there was meadiocre spots.
All groomed trails..FR14/sheep mtn road/ bucking mule falls were great trails and had about 6-10 inches packed on them. No dry or rock spots on roads on trails.
Many open meadows off groomed trails to go to. Some were completely covered... no rocks or sagebrush. Others had sage brush visible you had to go thru to get to the open untouched meadows.
Old logging roads along FR14/sheep mtn road were untouched till today (took my guests out boondocking after the ride with the groomer)
If you want 4-6 feet of groomed trails or meadows we just don't have it yet. If you are comfortable with 3-4 ft depths , crossing filled in creeks/ ravines or sagebrush to get to open untouched meadows come on up.
I spent 4 hours out with guests this afternoon and had a blast. It beats sitting at home. I'll never sugar coat the reports.
Corey
Wyoming High Country Lodge
307-529-0914
To tmg better get a better GPS some of the pic are 12 to 14 miles west on 14 from bearlodge and 1.5 miles north. After this busy week up there with know new snow I could go and find untouched snow been riding there since 1991. Everyone opinion is different on good snow. After riding great snow it's hard to waste time on bad snow.
Ah, the wisdom from ND arises! I should silently slip out the back door now as I am obviously outclassed here
However, it does humor me greatly when you respond like this. We were no where near the area you just describe, I guess you are mistaken.
Also, my gps is a garmin rino 655t, which model would you recommend as better?
Because my gps is so cool, I could take you back to the exact coordinates that every picture was taken from.
I have absouletly nothing to gain by saying I was somewhere I was not.
I appreciate the current conditions that others have posted with pics and thought perhaps I would share mine.
But seriously, if want to try make me look like a fool, why don't you pm me to make sure it doesn't backfire?
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If this is bad snow, please share a picture or 2 of good snow so I will be able to tell the difference....
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skidoorulz
Well-known member
As I said there were small pockets of good riding to be had. The one thing about the Horns is the wind moves the snow around enough that you can ride on what looks like fresh powder. The fact is the Horns have not received any significant new snow in 2 weeks or more and the riding is anything but great. I could post up pictures of areas just like you did and say the riding was great, if I took the time out to take pictures which I rarely do. I'll keep my opinions of the snow to myself from now on because it is obvious one man's crap is another man's whip cream
How does this even happen?
Just trying to give people an idea of what can be found out there right now.
We had a blast, and thought others may as well if they can go ride in those conditions.
If I offended you, honestly, I'm sorry.
That was not my intention of posting what was current pictures.
Good Night and Merry Christmas to you and all your friends and family!
When I'm out there I will take pics of west face of hill with the two rock faces on them and post a GPS coordinate. Been to that park many times. Not far from warming hut. South and little east of it.
Not quite sure of the area you are talking about?
We only rode out of granite pass parking lot, and never got even 2.5 miles from the parking lot.
When are you going?
I may be there and perhaps we could ride together?
Merry Christmas!
M
mtsummitx
Well-known member
I guess it is all a matter of perception. If 2-3ft of total snow is good for you, then great. We did find a little of that. I consider good snow (for the northern Horns) to be 2-3ft of powder on 2-3ft of base. I would say that 90% of what we were in yesterday was 8-12in. Not for fear of "being off trail in the backcountry" either. But as stated earlier, a little limited by abilities with us yesterday. Here's a few pics of my 11yr old.
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That is awesome you've got your little riding partner with you! Something special about having your own child riding beside you.
The young man with the orange coat, white/blue helmet, on the grey REV in my pictures in my 12yr old son. This is his 3rd season riding his own sled in the mtns and he is really getting the hang of it. The first year I only did a spring ride with him when the snow was set up. Maybe the reason I enjoyed our ride so much was because it was the first ride my boy really started to figure out how to counter steer, do some powder turns, and a little side hilling. He is riding an 07 summit 600 sdi, 144" with 14,600 miles on it! He followed us over the wind lip, through the trees, up most the hills, down the valleys and only got stuck a handful of times. If there would have been 4' everywhere, I would have been pulling him out all day long and that's not my idea of fun.
I did feel like a couple of times he was only stuck because he spun down to frozen ground, and his 80lbs just wasn't enough weight to make traction. A base would better for sure, be we had a blast with the conditions what they were.
Also, the comment about being afraid of getting off the trail stemmed from a ride I personally was once on. One in our group was constantly asking which way the parking lot was, and are we sure, and what happens if we can't find it, ect. That particular mindset can make it difficult to find good snow in the early season conditions that the horns are experiencing. It was not directed at anyone in particular here.
Merry Christmas!
M
mtsummitx
Well-known member
I thought the small one looked pretty young. He appears to have his weight shifting figured out. Mine has been riding a Mini Z since about 4yrs old, he's rode it in the Horns the last 2 winters. But this was his first trip on a full size, so he is having to learn the basics like weight shifting, and that momentum is your friend
Merry X-mas to you too!
Hey, I never said the snow everywhere is great.
But almost everywhere we rode it was!
There are lots of bare areas, lots of slopes with rocks and/or mesquite brush.
But also lots of areas as I pictured.
Look at the second picture I posted. On the opposite facing slope in background, you can see how thin the snow is. That is why we were riding on the opposite slope. It was like that all over the place. Good snow on this slope, look across a valley and bad snow level on that slope.
I tried to post pictures of what you can find IF you know how to look.
On the trail map provided at ElkView, we rode an area the size of my thumbnail! I hardly think we tracked up all availible snow that is like I pictured.
Definitely worth the 11 hr drive for us.
Now, if you want to ride trails, forget it.
If you want to mostly ride trails and play within 100yrds of the trail, maybe wait.
But if you have little or no snow at home, and you are itchen to ride really bad, and you can open your eyes and see where the snow is, and you are not afraid to get off the trail all day in the back country, then GO.
Your results may vary, but we never saw more than 1/4 mile of the trail to ride in snow as pictured all day!
If I stayed home because someone on SW said to wait, and then later found out from the guys that went they had the snow we did, I would be very dissappointed for staying home.
I took the 11hr trip based off of the pics that Wysteph posted.
I found conditions almost exactly as she posted.
I found her post on Current Snow Conditions in the Big Horns to be VERY accurate and helpful...
Sorry if my post and pics have offended to anyone, I thought at the time that I posted them they were fairly current snow conditions.......
Just curious where you were in relation to elkview lodge? It seemed to me that when we stayed there we typically rode quite a distance to find good snow. Maybe that is just us and we don't know where to look(only been out there once).
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Smilyncor
Well-known member
Snow around lodge
We only recieved about 1 inch of new snow last night. So much for 70-90% snow storm. That will help pack down groomed trails a little more. Have a great week. Stop in to say hi next time you are near us and let me put a face to the names.
Corey
Wyoming High Country Lodge
307-529-0914
We only recieved about 1 inch of new snow last night. So much for 70-90% snow storm. That will help pack down groomed trails a little more. Have a great week. Stop in to say hi next time you are near us and let me put a face to the names.
Corey
Wyoming High Country Lodge
307-529-0914
Has anyone rode in the southern horns in the last week? We are thinking about heading over there for a day this weekend just wandering if it would be worth it.
It's a ways south. Easier to trailer there. I'm not sure how far but ten minutes or so. There is a hill with a sign that says granite pass. down the hill is parking. Head across the road, through the trees, over the hill (wind lip) and t30mg has seen really awesome snow, he was just being difficult to the poor fellow who is being a pessimist on snow conditions. I'm leaving 27 to drive 10 hours to ride a day and a half to drive 10 hours home. I didnt buy a sled to look at it in my garage, I bought it to ride it(bend it). I've been out there once already and a bad day of riding is still better than a good day at work and I love my job. Nuff said
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Smilyncor
Well-known member
Trails between our lodge and Bear Lodge
Just got back from Bear Lodge. Used our freight sled to take our guests luggage back to their trailer parked at Bear Lodge. They snowmobiled over here to stay for the last 3 days. Groomed trails along 14a were ok in almost all areas. 2 spots on 14a where there was no snow or a single trail of snow to ride on. Just went off to the side in that instance. Looks like we have more snow on this side, but that isn't saying much since we are down to 14 inches packed stuff and then the deep drifts of powder. Didn't go on any of the trails on that side. Takes 1 hr to ride back along 14a.
Corey
Wyoming High Country Lodge
307-529-0914
Just got back from Bear Lodge. Used our freight sled to take our guests luggage back to their trailer parked at Bear Lodge. They snowmobiled over here to stay for the last 3 days. Groomed trails along 14a were ok in almost all areas. 2 spots on 14a where there was no snow or a single trail of snow to ride on. Just went off to the side in that instance. Looks like we have more snow on this side, but that isn't saying much since we are down to 14 inches packed stuff and then the deep drifts of powder. Didn't go on any of the trails on that side. Takes 1 hr to ride back along 14a.
Corey
Wyoming High Country Lodge
307-529-0914
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