OK me and my brother and another friend would like to make a trip to WY this year. i have been doing a little research, i was thinking about staying at the mountain meadow cabins in centennial its the closest place from us in se wi 53549. is this a good spot to stay? Do we need a guide to go out and have some fun in the deep snow or can we find are way around by are self fairly easy? I ride a 03 rmk 800 144 my brother rides a sks 700 144 and are friend has a 08 rmk 600 155, im guessing we will have to rejet for elevation and what about clutching? If anyone has made the trip before hows driving? gas/deisel? cost? just trying to find out as much as possible before we decide to go.
first time goin west help?
- Thread starter ttallin
- Start date
I have been going to Snowy Range for eight years now and have always had an awesome time! Every once and a while you might time it wrong that you get very windy days almost to the point of not being able to ride. We personally have always stayed at Albany Lodge. We have stayed there mostly due to the great service. Have had many sled troubles over the year and were able to run them right in their shop to work on them. It is quite a long trail ride though up to the hills esepcially with Snowy Mountain Lodge closed for gas. I would personally recommend hauling them up from Albany Lodge for anyone who stays there. Most people I know do stay in Centennial and are very happy with it.
As far as the drive goes. Just taking a quick look on google and it looks like you would be going down to interestate 80 and taking that over. We come out of Northwest Iowa down to Omaha and over on 80. It is a very nice and easy drive. We haul 5 Ski Doo 800s behind a 2010 Ford F-150. Doesn't pull too bad but definately uses the gas. About 8.5 MPG. I would recommend a diesel if you have one available otherwise a gas will work just fine!
I would definately reommend snowy range as you will love it!!!
If you are looking to ride from your door lodging - then yes Mtn Meadow or Albany Lodge would be the closest mileage wise. No fuel or food at Mtn Meadow, so be prepared to haul/pack that in to the cabins. There are other lodging options that you may want to check into as well for the Snowys - look at the lodging sticky thread for more info.
IMO you don't need a guide to have a good time, the trails are clearly marked and you can find your way around just fine. If you are lucky and time your trip around a big storm you will find good snow everywhere.
But if it hasn't snowed in a while and you want to find some fresh snow, have a GREAT time and not worry about where you are on the map, (whether or not you have enough gas to go hit that and get back, etc.) hire a guide and have all that worry taken away. The guide will find you the snow and make sure that the day is planned so you hit the good stuff and use up all of your fuel
If you are out for 4-5 days, maybe hire a guide for a few days and poke around on your own for the other days - a happy medium if you are on a $ budget.
Make sure you have the proper avalanche and survival gear packed too.
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This is the best part about the snowies for someone new to mountain riding. It is very easy to navigate and very easy to find great snow!
When are you thinking about going?
3
3C Guiding
Well-known member
ttallin mountain meadows is a good place to stay its bring all our own food and gas most the ppl that we have guided out of there have got there gas in Laramie in gas cans b4 going up for their stay. If this is your first trip to the range a guide is recommended from all the locals and search and recues. You also need probe shovel and beacon and no how to use them.
I offer discounts for snowest members as well.
Went there once last year in january and it hadn't snowed in about a week and we had a friend take us around that knew the mountain well, we were able to find good snow and had fun. The first day we went on our own and just stayed close to the trails, but seen a lot more country when we went with a friend. I would reccommend a guide too just to get familiar with the mountain and they will be able to get you to good snow then you can go on your own after a couple days.
Bring your avy gear!
Bring your avy gear!
The Snowys are a great spot to go. You can go 14miles from your cabin and be totally burried and ride allll day vs other places like the Big Horns where you'll put on some miles before you can get off the trail and play. We stayed at the Snowy Mountain Lodge back when it was open, convinent but its no longer open. Now we drive the extra 2hrs to go around to Ryan's Park and stay at Ten Mile Inn... We buy all our food in Laramie on our way through and cook in their kitchen. They have a small bar w/ a pool table, foosball table, shuffle board, and a TV to BS around when you get back in the evening. There is also gas & a bar/resturant across the road. The only bad thing about being on that side of the mountain is access to parts. I've had to drive back to laramie to buy an a-arm because they didn't have what I needed at the Polaris shop in Saratoga... so there was an extra 4hrs in the truck that day. So you gotta kinda weigh your options that way also. I also know a small group that stays in Laramie and just trailers up to ride every morning... So whatever you want to do really.
The drive is easy, conditions can change quickly tho and get real windy/icy and sometimes they'll shut down I-80. Drive a diesel if possible.
Yes you'll have to rejet & change your clutching for the altitude you'll be riding at. If you don't have a chart, your dealer should be able to print one off for you and help you get setup for what you need.
As far as using a guide, you don't NEED one if you can read a map and know how to navigate yourself around. It would help you to get the most out of your experience tho for sure. You MUST get all the Avy gear (beacon, shovel, probe). We always do this, and I recommend that you do this also, on your way into town, stop at a dealership or someplace that you can get the lowdown on the avy situation. Pull out your trail map of the range and have whoever you're talking to (we talk to one of the search and rescue fellas) circle on the map the places to stay out of. The last thing you want to do is turn your trip into a survival story. I'd highly recommend going to www.avalanche1.com and get to one of those classes.
You should def make a trip out west. It'll change your perception of riding forever and ruin everything about riding in the midwest haha. It happened to me in 2000. lol even boondocking in the UP is boring now... Its so worth the time and $ to make a trip out there even if its only a few times a year.
Have any more questions? Keep 'em comin... this forum has alot of knowledgable people...
not sure when we are planing on going maybe January?? i think the only thing holding us back from going is the cost for fuel there and back anyone no about how much it costed if u have made the trip in the past ? Ive always dreamed about going west where there's big snow and hope that this year will be it! So you can rent beacons? about how much? i have a backpack with shovel, will need to get a probe. We will probably get a guide to take us to some good snow to get stuck, the maybe do some of are own exploring. SO do most people stay on trails or can u just go where ever the snow will take you? looking to play in the trees and powder. how much gas do you go threw in a day of riding? what time do people usually ride at sunrise to sunset? thanks for all of the feed back and info!
The trails can be used to get to the good stuff or if you know where you are going (or have a guide) you can cut cross country too (beware of drainages, rocks, cliffs, yada yada yada)
Fuel consumed by the sleds each day depends mainly on the snow conditions IMO - I would recommend strapping on extra fuel to your racks if you can. If you are staying on the mountain you can plan your days around your room too - ride in the morning, back for lunch and re-fuel or ride to one of the other lodges and eat/fuel there then ride back. Call and check before you go but there should be fuel on the trail at Albany, Medicine Bow Lodge, Rendezvous Lodge, and The Place.
tt - you will not have any trouble finding ways to get stuck. If the weather is good you can ride anywhere around the Medicine Bow Mtn and easily know where you are. If the weather is bad, stay very close to the trails.
You can easily go thru a full tank of fuel in a day. We usually carry 2.5g spare cans full of fuel.
Seems like most people ride 8:30 to 4, something like that.
Don't need a guide. Just carry some gps units, compass, maps.
Use caution for avvy prone slopes and you'll be fine. Easy to see them for the most part. No beacon or probe rentals that I recall.
Just don't drop into an area unless you are sure you can get out because there are usually tracks going into some nasty areas but they are most likely on really good machines and/or are very good riders.
You can easily go thru a full tank of fuel in a day. We usually carry 2.5g spare cans full of fuel.
Seems like most people ride 8:30 to 4, something like that.
Don't need a guide. Just carry some gps units, compass, maps.
Use caution for avvy prone slopes and you'll be fine. Easy to see them for the most part. No beacon or probe rentals that I recall.
Just don't drop into an area unless you are sure you can get out because there are usually tracks going into some nasty areas but they are most likely on really good machines and/or are very good riders.
Just checked from your zip code to centennial, round trip is a little over 2,050miles. If you take one truck with 3 sleds you will likely get around 8mpg average. guessing gas will average around 3.75 this winter, that will put the gass bill for the truck right at 1,000.00. 3-5 days of riding out there and lodging, sled gas, food/drink will add another 1000-1500.
Between 3 guys I would think 700-800 each would be a close guess. Hope that helps. Eric
Between 3 guys I would think 700-800 each would be a close guess. Hope that helps. Eric
I think this is one of the most important points for someone new to the snowies. My very first year out there we weren't sure exactly where to go and not being experienced we saw some large hills in the distance and followed some tracks down a great big hill. The next thing I know we are going straight down weaving between trees. I assumed there would be an easier way to get out than we went in. Four hours later we finally had all 5 sleds out. Avoid this mistake at all costs.
We haul our sleds out of Northwest Iowa to Albany which is about 1500 miles roughly and I usually figure about $500-600 for gas. All depends what you are pulling it with. We are pulling 5 sleds. Pulling three sleds should not be a problem for any decent half ton.
If you stay out of the avalanche areas you really do not need to have the avalanche gear. If you are going to be doing some climbing and back country riding I would recommend it. You just kind of need to use your head.
We usually go through about 1 1/2 tanks of gas a day and take a 2 1/2 gallon can on each sled in case we get into trouble. Each day we start getting up a little later and quitting a little earlier as everyone gets more exhausted. Lucky to go through a full tank by the last day!
Other advice, make sure everyone is paying attention to the map and where you are on the trails so if you get split up no one is left without any idea of where they are. Did that my first year and lost one sled and he had no idea where we were on the map. I always recommend if you lose your group stop wherever the last place was that you saw them and just wait for a reasonable time. Once they realize you are not behind them they should backtrack to that position. If you start heading down trails looking for them there is a good chance you will just get further away. Last case scenario head back towards the cabin and stay on the trails so you dont get stuck by yourself! They aren't fun to dig out by yourself!
So i think we are going to look in to staying at the mountain meadow lodge seems nice and fairly cheap. SO are we going to have to buy beacons? how much do they go for not looking to buy new. I think we will be taking a diesel out there to cut cost on gas a little bit. What elevation will i need to jet and clutch are sleds for?? i honestly want to move west, there's mountain roads to get nasty on in the summer with a 240sx and i could ride snowmobiles almost everyday out of the winter months im jealous of all of you that live out there lol. My one friend has a gps we will bring along just so we know exactly where we are. im really hoping to have an amazing time out there when we go and meet some new people. Everyone on this fourm seems to be real friendly and i like that! thanks for all of the tips and information from everyone on here!
My advice would be to stay in Centennial and ride out of Greenrock parking area. As nice as Albany lodge is it gets to be a pita as you will most likely end up riding to the "top" side to play anyway. It is a 20 mile ride to get there from Albany and after a full day of playing that 20 back just plain sucks IMHO. You can fill up at the friendly in centennial and ride all day on one tank. Save yourself the gas and trail ride time and start out up top near the good stuff! A beacon, shovel,probe and the knowledge to use them if needed should be without question in the years we have been going there we have seen things slide that we never thought would have. Trails U,N,O, and NO create a box if you look at them on the trail map. If you stay inside this box when you are out there the first few days to play and get lost you know can't get out of it without crossing one of those 4 trails. Take a GPS with 2 sets of spare batteries and know how to use it so you will be able to backtrack if needed. Mark all trail heads, warming huts, and landmarks so you will have points of reference to help yourself. Google earth is a great way to get familiar with the area. Understand they nicknamed the blowies for a reason and whiteouts are a common thing out there so be prepared for low vis days and ride smart. If you happen to come upon a guy on a green Pro RMK walking around looking at his GPS stop and let me know how to get back to my truck!
Cool man. You'll have a blast. I would still recommend beacons & probe. Maybe you can find a local ski shop or something that would rent them out for the week, or maybe someone on here that lives in Laramie would be willing to let you rent one for your trip. Or call up some dealerships in Laramie and ask them. Frontier Cycle is the Polaris shop in town... And use part of the 1st day you're there to figure out how they work and how to use them at least so you have a general idea. I'd still try to get to one of those avy classes w/ Mike Duffy. Simply cuz you never know, and can YOU really tell the difference between an avy prone slope and one that's not?
Y
yam_apex91469
Member
We come out of Rockford IL. Been riding from the Centenial side since 06'. We usually stay at Winter Creek Condos (Brent, Myra & the boys are top-notch hosts) They now are involved in the Old Coral. We've stayed there in the past. We trailer up to Geenrock each day - not a big deal to escape the long ride from Albany to get to the steeper stuff. Carry the extra gas - we burn a tank and our jerry cans nearly each day. Centennial is a neat little town - food at the Bear Tree is awesome & you can fuel up each day at the Freindly Store. We clock the drive at a little over 1,000 miles from Rockford to Laramie and another 45 minutes or so to Centennial. Plan on around 16-17hrs with gas/food stops to make the trip. You have to try it - wish we would have started going earlier. It makes a guy forget about riding the Northwoods of Wisconsin. We also hit Cooke City in '08 - way longer drive and smaller area to ride but you can find more technical areas. Like everyone else said - make sure to have your avy gear but more importantly know how to use it. We have taken Mike Duffy's avy classes and suggest anyone riding in these areas do the same. Remember, they call them accidents for a reason - avy's can happen wherer you least expect. Be prepared & have fun - good luck!!
R
Rev Kev
Well-known member
if your looking to head west,and leave the driving to someone else, look into booking through http://www.momsmotorsports.com they haul you, and your sleds, and gear, Pick ups along the way, Michigan,Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Points West. At $835 per person, transportation, meals and lodging, it's hard to beat. Several trips planned for the Snowys (Ten Mile Inn) This season'
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