Climbing Basics?

[OuraySledder]

Looks like you may want to consider an equipment update when you can. In the vids it sure looks like your machine is lacking traction, what size track is on it?

If you are trenching while still pointed up, you need to start turning out much sooner. You need some forward MO and some track speed to execute the turn.

 

[polaris dude]

well, as i started mountain riding 2 years ago(14) i learned quite a bit, here are the big 2
1. Sit at the bottom, and pick a line up. Look for possible rocks or things which will slow you down(bumps which will make your entire sled to airborne, rocks, ect.) then find all possible turn-out points.


2. Always keep your head up, and look to see whats coming so you can shift your weight to compensate for the always changing terrain, and any small turns/adjustments that need to be made.

 

[rmk 700]

braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppppp

 

[JustinB]

Looks like you may want to consider an equipment update when you can. In the vids it sure looks like your machine is lacking traction, what size track is on it?

If you are trenching while still pointed up, you need to start turning out much sooner. You need some forward MO and some track speed to execute the turn.

Im running a 151 this was also before I found my top end was going!

 

[born2sled]

hill climbing is all about practice,experience and confidence a big emphasis on confidence in my opinion.

 

[Ryan-41]

If you want to learn how to ride..Buy the DVD Schooled... You will learn something I Promise!!!!

 

[polarblu]

This is me in 98 on my first mountain sled on my first day in the deep stuff learning the hard way. Best way to learn is to ride with people that are better than you and watch them. And leave the beer in the truck!!

Man those 136 tracks where a blast!!!!! Kinda miss the challenge, you never let off that throttle!

 

[Jkinzer]

climbing is all about momentum and weight transfer... hit the bottom of the hill as fast as you feel comfortable doing, when you come at a mogul lean back and blip the throttle into it allowing your suspension to eat the mogul and not force you off your line, when you start to power out lay it on its side and side hill as far as you can... you'll catch on the more you work at it. if you dont get stuck, your not trying hard enough

 

[steel town]

Watch a Randy Swensen video part, and do what he does.....
learn to counter steer your sled in the pow flats and take it from there, push your throttle all the way to the bar, hold it here and look way ahead, once you think your gonna get stuck, turn out quick and try again and again.... and again, the more you ride the better you'll get. FYI, the newer sleds make us all better riders

 

[portgrinder]

1. add turbo
2. ensure you have full coverage insurance with low deductable
3. point
4. shoot

this is the WORST advice ever. Sure fire way to get injured, wreck your sled or die.

You need to do the exact opposite of this. Buy a SMALLER sled and learn how to ride it well. 70% of the guys on the hill don't have enough seat time and buy too big of a sled. These type of guys rely on the gas to get out of situations. This will work, for awhile....

To many ego's on the hill end up in a guy buying too big of a sled and never learning how to ride it. You need to push the limits when you are learning to ride in the hills, and with too big of a sled, this leads to trouble.

I started on a tundra in the mtns when i was in my teens, and i am a much better rider for it.

First you get good, then you get fast.

 

[polarblu]

this is the WORST advice ever. Sure fire way to get injured, wreck your sled or die.

You need to do the exact opposite of this. Buy a SMALLER sled and learn how to ride it well. 70% of the guys on the hill don't have enough seat time and buy too big of a sled. These type of guys rely on the gas to get out of situations. This will work, for awhile....

To many ego's on the hill end up in a guy buying too big of a sled and never learning how to ride it. You need to push the limits when you are learning to ride in the hills, and with too big of a sled, this leads to trouble.

I started on a tundra in the mtns when i was in my teens, and i am a much better rider for it.

First you get good, then you get fast.

Lame, THE THROTTLE IS YOUR FRIEND, learn to use it, practice, push your limits! or you wont have riding friends. Or ride with tundras......need i say more?
Yes i do!!! If you are on a Tundra in the steep and deep make sure you have a 100 foot whip on it so you dont get your hippy *** run over!!! A tundra in the mountains is like a 90 year old doing 30 MPH on a 4 lane bridge in rush hour!!! You cause problems!!! you clog trails!!! you make people trench up normally good patches cause your stuck in the middle of the trail on a 20 percent slope!!!! At least ride a machine that has enough power and traction to get the hell outta the way!!!!
But im not bitter.
i just have an opinion!

 

[sledhauler07]

commitment

hey it looks like you're having fun and thats the biggest part... having said that heres a couple things to add to the other good advise.

- find a good mtn rider to hang with. ask questions and do what they do. this will help tons and make your learning curve shorter.

- study the body language, foot placement and riding techniques of some good DVDs... schooled is a great one because they actually talk about what they use... even though its very advanced you can get good stuff from it.

- BIG one: counter steer (turn the bars the oposite direction you want to turn) and commit with you right thumb and body. practice this on the flats at first. see how tight a turn you can make from a dead stop in a meadow of powder. then do it moving forward slowly... add speed the better/more comfortable you get. when you can do it within a sled length or two, you're set. this will teach you the balance point on your sled. play with foot placement and see how that affects the sled rolling up for you. you will tip over to the inside a million times... if you don't you aren't haven't found the limit of your sled. BTW full trigger will roll the sled over and back up... learn to modulate the gas to control the roll.

- you have the foot hanging out, but your sled seems flat. that means you aren't using your weight and throtle to your advantage. think about it, you can probably pull the sled on its side in the parking lot right? with power it is easier so why are you struggling with holding the edge?? counter steer sets the outside edge of the ski and that will bring the sled to you. the same thing you experience when a guys trys to turn slow in the powder by turning the bars instead of leaning...

- last is momentum. you need it. you have to transition to the high side quickly. in the vid you were trying to get by that tree, you were kicking (which can work sometimes) but you were on the down hill side... if you had transitioned to the top and rolled the sled up into the sidehill it would likely have made it without even kicking. easy to say but tough to do, i know.

like i said at first as long as you're having fun thats all that matters.

good luck man


Hauler

 

[1wpdn1]

fact v. fiction

Wow you got a big divergence of opinion on how to hill climb didn't you!!! You have recieved some great advice on this post , and as usual you recieved some idiotic suggestions...I agree that the throttle is always your friend...But come on guys advising him to buy a turbo, pin it and hope for the best???????

As long as [/B]you are not on an avalanche bowl that might hurt others.... just go trial and error...You get stuck enough times you will eventually learn that sweet spot between a good sidehill move before you turn out after a climb....and waiting too long catching hardpack and "yardsale"-ing it down the hill. ( I believe that timing and momentum are just as important as rider technique)

Just like anything else in life there is a big difference between reading about it ( or watching it in a DVD) and actually doing it. Seat time, Seat time , Seat time!!!!.....Pray for Powder Boyz!

 

[sledhauler07]

check this out

take a look at this vid ... the others are good too. cool site

http://www.youtube.com/user/sledshot#p/u/17/olMJPAJllZI

H

 

[knee deep in it]

one thing I see all the time and it drives me crazy...

in order to get the high mark, some guys think you must shed all available weight. Often, the first thing some ineperienced guys will shed is their back pack. They go up and mess up. Now they are stuck on the hill with no shovel.

we had a newish guy do that last weekend. I left him up on the hill for 45 minutes trying to kick the snow away before finally going up to help him.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

its good to get a nice open smaller hill with good run in and out to practice and play on..

dont hang off the back, it just tries to flip your sled over
when coming up on a bump lean back a little right before it so you sort of roll over it and not just smack it and lose your momentum
if its a narrow type hill, make your climb on one side so you have room to turn out
turn out a well before you start to really trench in, the sled likes to go straight then
try to have even a tiny bit of arc to your climb if room allows, makes turning out 10x easier.
get a little run at the hill, it really helps to carry some momentum in
if your trying to shoot a gap at the top, go as fast as you can but stay in control... watch the video, I was trying to go as fast as i could and jump off the top but was moving to fast and ran into the trees.. DUH!! its kinda hard to see, but I am trying to pump my legs to keep the sled pushing on the ground after I hit small humps.. not the greatest explanation vid, but i think it gives some of an idea. working your weight on the sled is very beneficial!!

and last but not least.. horsepower!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCGr3kUPaXo&feature=related

 

[JSCC]

If I understand what you are getting at, is that you want to get higher on the hill with the same sled in the same conditions.
If that is the case, one important thing to do on any sled once the sled starts to slow, is to pitch it back and forth. It cleans the snow out of the track and pushes you towards the top of the snow. It will also turn your sled so in case you are about to stick it, you are already pitched in one direction, a hard yank and she is headed back down hill.
Setup on the sled is critical, and can help you a ton. However a good climbing setup typically is a poor boondocking setup.
Hope that helps a little.

 

[jokerman]

TRU DAT!!!!

 

[Clarke673]

Simple advice....Lean forward, keep the skis on the ground. OR about 4" off the snow....


seen WAY to many guys who transfer to much weight.

 

[IDAHO HOT SHOT]

Lame, THE THROTTLE IS YOUR FRIEND, learn to use it, practice, push your limits! or you wont have riding friends. Or ride with tundras......need i say more?
Yes i do!!! If you are on a Tundra in the steep and deep make sure you have a 100 foot whip on it so you dont get your hippy *** run over!!! A tundra in the mountains is like a 90 year old doing 30 MPH on a 4 lane bridge in rush hour!!! You cause problems!!! you clog trails!!! you make people trench up normally good patches cause your stuck in the middle of the trail on a 20 percent slope!!!! At least ride a machine that has enough power and traction to get the hell outta the way!!!!
But im not bitter.
i just have an opinion!

C'mon man, take it easy on this guy. Most of us(who didnt have dad's previous mod sled) started out on $hit sleds. My first sled was a John Deere Spitfire. I can remember when I landed so hard off a jump that I mashed the front end up into the clutch, killing the sled. The little monster topped out at 50 mph on an ice packed road. I got an Indy 500 SKS when I was 13. I started riding with my dads friends who were on Powder specials and XLT's. For years after that, I was always on a 100 cc less sled than them. They scared the living Jesus out of me every weekend for 6 years. Then one day a newby came along. It was then that I realized " hey I'm kindof a Bad a$$." Now, I can put my Poo 800 155 anywhere I want to. My point is that we all have to start somewhere. You have an opinion, and that you should, but I think it is a very narrow minded one.