How do you guys do it?

[Team Wild]

I just got done watching some of the teaser films and looking at some incredible pictures from the making of Boondockers 6. I can't believe how you guys overcome your fear to do that. I haven't been snowmobiling my whole life but I can't imagine climbing shoots and jumping like you do. I get 3 feet of air and I think I just did quite a thing. Tell me how do you let yourself go and enjoy the ride. I know I will never be able to do that but I would like to be more adventurous. I'm sure my trail riding with the occasional off trail excursion would bore most of you on here. Help me before my kids pass me up...(they are 8 years old)

Keep on raising the bar

 

[yz400ex]

I feel the exact same way as you do regarding this.. I watch the videos of others doing those big chutes and huge cornice drops and it gets me nervous just doing that.. The people I ride with have been riding a lot longer than I have and they climb crazy stuff that I can only look at.. Riding with them has made me progress much faster at riding than I normally would have, but the fear is still there..I have overcome my fear of a lot of it, but I know I will never be able to ride chutes or drop cornices like I see in the vids.. It just isnt going to happen.. I have too much to lose if I did get hurt doing something like that

 

[snowmobiler]

follow this old fart some day.youll either learn how to ride,smash your sled or go sit in the truck

 

[Kpg]

Everyone ix experiencing this. Some is better at hitting it than others. I do stuff that i really dont dare to do before i really decide not to go. Just be able to break the mental pin once and you will be able to do it again. Only doing the things you think you cant do you can improve.

 

[whittaker727]

For some (myself included) it's an adrenaline rush from doing something that others can't or won't do. I agree, your comfort level goes up with each ride and according to who you ride with.

 

[Snoboner]

follow this old fart some day.youll either learn how to ride,smash your sled or go sit in the truck

Ditto. Funny thing is though, I usually do more hair raising stuff when the camera is on someone else or we are getting to the film site.

 

[Ollie]

Yep the videos are really great.
What you don't see in the 2 hours of video is the 300 hours of crashes, smashes and serious stucks. lol

Ride to your comfort level.
As your skill gets better your comfort level will go up.
Always challenge yourself to be a little better. If something scares you, just think about what will happen if you crash. If it's not that bad (i.e. I'll break my sled) then go for it.

There is no way in $%^ I would follow some of those guys, but then again, I have had people say they wouldn't follow my little group.

It's just your comfort level.

 

[Bkinz]

follow this old fart some day.youll either learn how to ride,smash your sled or go sit in the truck

Lmao, that is how i learned to ride. the sitting in the truck part came into play more often then not lol.

 

[Cyle]

Yep just ride with good people! I have had to try and follow guys who have like 10 years on me, and own turbos. It makes you a better rider in a hurry. I think there is a point where some chutes are just to crazy for most people, no matter how long they've been riding, but the more you ride the better stuff you'll do. Honestly though, if money wasn't an object, I would try most hills, most of my worry is totaling my sled, really not worried about getting hurt.

 

[MtnMaster]

adrenaline is very addicting.... start small, and work your way up.
If its big for you, then thats awesome. If you get the same feeling from a 3 ft air that Burandt, Brown, Kyle or whoever get from a 100 ft air, then its rad!

 

[polaris dude]

Going in a group better than you is often times a good way to push your comfort zone.I ride with guys that have 10years or more on me, and when they do something i feel obliged to follow suit, and sometimes hilarity comes with it

 

[shortstop20]

It's just like anything else, you work your way up to it. After doing alot of the 3 ft. jumps they'll look small, then you'll move to 6 ft, 9 ft., 20 ft. etc.

Not that I'm an experienced jumper by any means.

 

[kevinscof]

Honestly though, if money wasn't an object, I would try most hills, most of my worry is totaling my sled, really not worried about getting hurt.

That is my main problem with doing crazy stuff. But I still do some but my fear dont come from what Im doing it comes from if I screw up my sled is toast and I cant afford to run out and buy a new sled tomorrow so I could continue riding every weekend.

 

[Jkinzer]

That is my main problem with doing crazy stuff. But I still do some but my fear dont come from what Im doing it comes from if I screw up my sled is toast and I cant afford to run out and buy a new sled tomorrow so I could continue riding every weekend.

get good insurance and it will solve that problem... its relatively cheap for what it covers... and gives a guy the freedom to try anything he can muster up the balls for. i had my insurance set up this year to where if i wrecked my sled i would make money off the deal and it was only $500 for the year. as far as getting over fears and becoming a more extreme rider, i'd say riding w/ better riders is the best and fastest way to learn, you'll incounter situations where you either go for it or make yourself look bad... i've been lucky enough to get to ride w/ some of the best riders in my area the last couple years and i still learn new things every day just wathcing guy's like John Heston when we ride... that guy puts on daily clinics when it comes to tree riding, technical side hills, tight chutes, and even jumping everytime he gets on a sled. and if your into tree riding and climbing get a turbo... having one this last year has made me twice the rider... once you get used to the power you do things that you never before thought were possible.

 

[KFD070]

Thanks for posting this. I was beginning to think I was the only Pu$$y on a sled in British Columbia.
It freakin blows me away the big air and stunts guys are pulling off these days. Not just on sleds but quads and MX bikes as well. No doubt there is a great deal of athleticism involved, not to mention huge Kahoneys. I have great respect for guys who can pull off climbs and jumps that I can't even fathom. Mind you, I have to pay for my own repairs when I wreck or break something, no I'm not "Sponshured".(I do have a "Slednecks" sticker on my sled though) This past season a better sled has increased my confidence and I've attempted a few things I never would have before. I have a great career, wonderful family and I don't heal up near as fast as I used to. Two words metioned earlier,
"Comfort Level" make the sport something different for everyone. As far as sitting in the truck if I can't keep up............. bite me! I'm coming along to watch and photograph you Idiots trying and kill yourselves. I carry a big first aid kit

 

[mtnpull]

My issue isn't so much confidence and fear as it is financial and family related. In other words I specifically don't try some of the extremes due to the fact that I don't have the kind of money to throw at sleds that some do and I am not willing to put my family at risk by injuring myself and not being able to provide for them. That rules my decision making more than fear and confidence. Just buying insurance does not take out some of the financial stipulations with wrecking a sled IMO.

 

[phatty]

I just got done watching some of the teaser films and looking at some incredible pictures from the making of Boondockers 6. I can't believe how you guys overcome your fear to do that. I haven't been snowmobiling my whole life but I can't imagine climbing shoots and jumping like you do. I get 3 feet of air and I think I just did quite a thing. Tell me how do you let yourself go and enjoy the ride. I know I will never be able to do that but I would like to be more adventurous. I'm sure my trail riding with the occasional off trail excursion would bore most of you on here. Help me before my kids pass me up...(they are 8 years old)

Keep on raising the bar

As long as you are enjoying yourself then your doing it right!

I dont think you overcome fear... i have an intense fear of heights. When im scoping a huge drop i get sick to my stomach and I start shaking like a queer at a hot dog stand... i usually have to ride around for a minute to calm back down... once im in the air im just fine, my mental focus is sharp, and i am 100% confident in my abilities to handle the situation and any errors that might occur. I got there by lots of practice and lots of time hitting smaller drops. Work into it.

 

[adrenaline junkey]

My issue isn't so much confidence and fear as it is financial and family related. In other words I specifically don't try some of the extremes due to the fact that I don't have the kind of money to throw at sleds that some do and I am not willing to put my family at risk by injuring myself and not being able to provide for them. That rules my decision making more than fear and confidence. Just buying insurance does not take out some of the financial stipulations with wrecking a sled IMO.

That's just common sense. you cant risk anything you cant afford to loose. But on the other hand in order to progress you must ride outside your abilities and learn, you have to find your happy medium. Props to the guys who climb the steepest stuff the can find and dropping off cornices. I love watching you do it

 

[MPS]

My issue isn't so much confidence and fear as it is financial and family related. In other words I specifically don't try some of the extremes due to the fact that I don't have the kind of money to throw at sleds that some do and I am not willing to put my family at risk by injuring myself and not being able to provide for them. That rules my decision making more than fear and confidence. Just buying insurance does not take out some of the financial stipulations with wrecking a sled IMO.

That is exactly how I feel! However, I have never been much of a cornice jumper...I've had some bad experiences and am still a little gun shy. I still love taking a narly technical line....but I shy away from some because of what mtpull said. Like everyone said....ride at your comfort level, but keep pushing yourself a little more each ride. Damn I need to ride!

 

[Vertical_Escape]

The comments about riding with better, more experienced riders is certianly true with me. Those I rode with in the Horns this past season where all better, more experienced riders. My buddies back home in Western WY are the same. Though none of them actively push me, just riding with them makes me push myself.

I'm not into the big air jumps & seldom drop a cornice, unless I have no choice, which BTW was exactly how I dropped my 1st one. I'll climb or try a technical line thru the trees if I feel it's safe to do it. Sometimes it works out great, (the 1st drop looked ugly, but sled and me survived), sometimes it takes multiple tries until I get it.

Regardless, if you're enjoying what you're doing, that's all that matters.