Climbing Basics?

[snowhawkaddict]

Ok so I have never got into climbing till these past couple of years and I hate not making it. So what Climbing skill do you guys have for a learning sledder?

Watch out for the glass ceiling!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yVz9uGQpgQ

 

[Clarke673]

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.

X2. There is no reason to attack him cause he is a newbie. I know there are people on here that could ride with you and make you look like a little kid.



I started on a 72 eland.... That we spray painted teal and purple because they were my favorite colors. the sled was 30 years old when i was like 9. IT don't matter what you drive, what you ride, where ya from, or how you ride. Just the fact that you ride makes you cool...

Unless of course your a democrat....

 

[fordpickupman]

lol

IT don't matter what you drive, what you ride, where ya from, or how you ride. Just the fact that you ride makes you cool...

Unless of course your a democrat....

exactly......they don't ride, too busy crunchin' granola and watching the icecaps melt and tryin' to give somebody else's stuff away....

Oops off topic, I digress..

 

[MtnMaxMod]

not sure if this is on here already or not..but one very important thing to me when climbing is to look where you want to go, don't look at the trees or anything in your way..because you will run right into them, always try to read your line as far in advance as you can..and while doing that keep looking for an escape route incase you have to turn out or something, these may seem like little things, but trust me it goes a long way! hope this helped.

 

[MTdream]

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

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

H

Here is another in that same segment...this is on the turn out...


http://www.youtube.com/user/sledshot#p/u/35/z2u_PuUS4SI


And downhill turning tips...

http://www.youtube.com/user/sledshot#p/u/63/OlrhzyAUPsM

 

[TreewellDweller]

steep and deep tips

You have gotten some great info to help you master the steep and deep. The best is practice, practice, & more practice. Once you have tore up a small hillside, tear it up some more and it will give you some experience hitting trenches or holes going up or down. This is what you could/would experience on any open hillside with hidden stumps, rocks, old roadbeds, etc .
Definately raise your handlebars. Standing, with your snowmobile boots on, you should be flatfooted on the running boards standing straight up and your elbows slightly bent while gripping the handlebars. That way you can leverage the sled while shifting body weight and never lift a foot, unless sidehilling. Also,some folks will disagree, but loosen your front limiter strap to let you get the skis to raise a bit while going through the powder while going up the hill under acceleration. Soften your rear spring a bit, too. With all of this, the other thing that I do is keep my weight relatively forward, don't lean back.
Have fun and practice some more.

 

[trailtoy1993]

I have the basics down I have been riding for 15 + years really got into backcountry a few years ago. I have bee practicing turn outs and I love side hilling. But it seems everytime I head up a big hill I end up in a giant rut trying to pull my ski's down hill. I watch these guys go and right where I end up stuck they do something to get the sled to float up it instead of sinking. What about weight distribution back forward centered?
here is some clips I got of me on a small hill. There a little dumb but hey I trying to figure it out!

One thing as you are climbing is if you feel the back end of the sled trenching in too bad, as you just start to loose speed you can let off throttle just briefly, and as long as you still have forward momentum the track will climb back up on the snow. It is a very tricky thing to time just right but it will get back up on top of the snow and sometimes make the difference between making it and being trenched in before you can turn out.

 

[revtech100]

Learn to throw your sled around down low first. Practice powder turns in the meadows. Go both directions then transition to figure 8's.

Ride in the trees.

Start on gradual hills and learn to sidehill in both directions then practice switchbacking up those same gradual hills.

Then move to some steeper stuff with room to turn out and practice turning out. Nice wide inverted U's at first, then getting narrower and narrower until you run straight up, pull a nice 180 degree buttonhook turnout and return on your same track.

At some point you will get on a hill that's long and steep enough where your sled runs out of grunt and you will need to transition into a sidehill to gain some smash before turning back uphill, or it's got an obstacle that you need those tree skills to avoid, or you commit to a narrow place where big arching lazy U turnout are just not an option and you either stand it on it's a$$ and 180 out, stick it and dig out, or lose it watch your baby yard-sale down the mountain.

X2.....

 

[RMKrick]

One thing as you are climbing is if you feel the back end of the sled trenching in too bad, as you just start to loose speed you can let off throttle just briefly, and as long as you still have forward momentum the track will climb back up on the snow. It is a very tricky thing to time just right but it will get back up on top of the snow and sometimes make the difference between making it and being trenched in before you can turn out.

X2.

 

[JustinB]

Thanks guys now that my sled is up and running I will take allot of these tips go find the biggest chute and bomb it Nah but in all seriousness thanks allot I got allot out of this thread and now I'll see if I can apply it. I found having a camera there to shoot you can really pick out what you are doing wrong.

 

[maddog21]

dont forget about the bumps on the way down, got to be carefull cuz one time i almost fell off cuz of that bump, but gained the control of it. whew.
the bump is from somebody that got stuck on it and dig it out which it make like polehole something

 

[X2Freeride]

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.

Great advice right here. You gotta learn to crawl before you walk. You become good at riding because of YEARS of experience, being in many different situations, knowing what the sled is going to do in those situations, and learning what works at what doesn't. All the power in the world doesnt mean you can ride.Another thing I always tell new riders is learn how to RIDE your sled before you try to go too crazy trying to out do everyone.

 

[fordpickupman]

yes sir...

besides it is fun to run with the big dogs when you are the underdog, makes you a better rider, burn less gas, and fun to see their faces when you can go where they can on their "cool-guy" machines. It doesn't matter how much power you have, it is whether you can wield it efficiently......

 

[Scott]

Lots of good advice.

Too much weight transfer (wheelie) does not make for efficient climbing.
Skis should just be dragging above the snow.

Get up over your bars. And get your elbows up in the air. Don't pin them at your hip.

 

[fordpickupman]

Get up over your bars. And get your elbows up in the air. Don't pin them at your hip.

I agree, have an alert stance, ready for anything to blindside you at any moment. Be ready for drifts and holes and rocks and anything else that could toss you. Pretend you are playing defense and that you could be tackled at any moment.

 

[Scott]

Look at your line and not the obstacles.

 

[dslayer]

Avoid the large obstacles

 

[Snappy Sledder]

If something starts to go wrong dont start panicing. Just stay calm. Figured this out last year after i turned out and was headed straight for a tree.

 

[Ten-Zing]

Mass x Velocity = Momentum.

Gravity works at a constant 9.81 meters per second squared, or 32.2 ft per second squared.

PMA = Positive Mental Attitude.

Only two vehicles can do true vertical climbs away from planet earth. The space shuttle and an F-15.