So you think you can ride?

[JHG]

My 2 cents:

My d!ck is bigger than your d!ck.

But my dad can beat up your dad

 

[FEZ]

A little rude huh? sorry, I agree a good rider can do a lot but the real deal is the fact that on most normal real winters here in MT , I can drop you in and you wont come back out on a shorty, the trees are tight meaning no room for a lot of throttle, the snow sometimes 6-8 ft of pure sugar with no bottom and the way out so steep that a shorty will not do it without waiting for other tracks to set up to get out. been there done that and Ill take my 163 any day over any of the short tracks Ive learned on in the last thirty some years. Ill take you riding any day and show you some Montana play spots and you better hope I like you or you might not get out for a couple days until the snow hardens up. just my 2 cents , soory if I offended you.,

No worries, it kind of rubs me when Geography is brought into it. I have ridden with many, many "locals" that are no better than the average "flatlander". Mind you, not all of them, but many are mountain "trail followers". Like you, I have been doing this for 25+ years as well and learned how to ride on Ski-Doo TNT's, Everests, Yamaha Exciter 440's and Phazers and then into the Polaris's. Being the youngest of 4 and my old mans best friend had 5 I had a steep learning curve back in 1984. As a group we have been mountain riding since the mid 70's.


We would spend hours going over topo maps so we knew, kind of, where we could drop out if we went down. Wasn't always pretty cuz on the sleds back then you sure weren't going back out the top! And Yes, the big tracks work better in the deep, but a good rider, especially one that knows the area, can do plenty on a smaller track.

The point is, this is not black and white. There are MANY variables and for any person to say otherwise is an idiot or an egomaniac.

I will put my $$ on Burandt HIMARK, how about you? Your EGO still in the way?

 

[EagleRiverDee]

LOL. Sheesh, I don't know what's worse. When two guys get in a pi**ing contest or when I don't even know what the heck their talking about any more.

 

[Montana powderhound]

The point is some riders can do more with less than other riders.

Take HIMARK for example. His Ego will not allow him to acknowledge that there are riders out there with the skill to out-ride him on an inferior machine.

His clear dis-regard for the "skills" I referred to only re-enforces my point.

MY bad , I missed this post on riders ,when I read your post on 159 vs 144, that is what got my blood pressure up. AS I stated before ,Where we ride , on most good powder days, a short track Meaning 144 and less will not go in and out of a sh##t hole. no matter who is on it. as I dont know Burant or himark I cant comment on their ability nor do I care. My point was simple, a short track sled is not as good. No ego intended as there are a lot of people better than I. P.s. I never leave anyone behind even if I dont like them.

 

[Escmanaze]

Short track convert

I'm not going to argue that a shorter track will outclimb a longer track, but events of the last couple years do have me convince that I won't ever buy a 163. For me it's about fun and fun isn't only about who can get to the top of X mountain. Some people just like a sled that's more nimble (me) and don't care as much that they can't get up a straight up hill on a 3 foot powder day (that I probably shouldn't be climbing anyway because I'm about to find an avalanche.) To the point of the poster above, I haven't even turboed a 153 yet, and I'm sure that once I do, I can promise you that I really just don't want to go anywhere a turbo 153 won't take me. But that's just completely my personal preference and you're allowed to have one of those of your own as well.

 

[Montana powderhound]

I'm not going to argue that a shorter track will outclimb a longer track, but events of the last couple years do have me convince that I won't ever buy a 163. For me it's about fun and fun isn't only about who can get to the top of X mountain. Some people just like a sled that's more nimble (me) and don't care as much that they can't get up a straight up hill on a 3 foot powder day (that I probably shouldn't be climbing anyway because I'm about to find an avalanche.) To the point of the poster above, I haven't even turboed a 153 yet, and I'm sure that once I do, I can promise you that I really just don't want to go anywhere a turbo 153 won't take me. But that's just completely my personal preference and you're allowed to have one of those of your own as well.

I see and understand your point completely. and I agree 90 percent of the time all we need here is a 155 but our biggest problem here in MT is the terrain. Im 46 and believe me I do not get off hillclimbing but we drop into areas untraveled by most and those 15 days a year when the snow is bottomless and the trees in and out are tight so there is a lot of stop and go believe me if you dont have something under you , we might spend the night or best case a few hours waiting for the snow to set. Its the type of riding we do and the desire for untracked snow. that drives us to ride long sleds in our uniqe area. we do have several people on 155s and a gal on a 151 but the long ones always break trail on those days and even with that we end up working way to hard digging sleds out but its all in a days fun. Just for the record the people I ride with are all in their 40s and can throw around a 163 just as good as the 151 including my buds wife, she loves my new pro 163 and thinks it handles better than her rev 151 , go figure. Hope this sheds some light on how we ride we are not just a bunch of crazy kids hillclimbing . thanks for the comment tho.

 

[treehunter]

Cracks me up all the short track talk people come to wyoming and complain that the snow is not good and that their 141 track could go anywhere. Problem is they don't know where they are going and can't find the good snow. I agree with powder hound you can come ride and we will pack you out when your stuck all day in the trees. Had some guys come out from minnesota last year and rode with us in the snowies all on 154 summits all good riders but when we started playing in the deep trees I got to help dig lots of them out. They went home saying if they lived closer to the mountains and rode there all the time they would go to 163's.

Track speed is great till you get in the trees and need to slow down regroup and go then length is all that matters. Montana powderhound the good thing about all these short track riders is they won't find your honeyholes. they will pound the meadows and the open hills and leave the good snow for us.

My wife is 5'4 and 115lbs and she had an 06 600 with a 144" track and she got tired of being stuck so I upgraded her to a 900 with 166 and she would never go back doesn't get stuck half as much and likes the handle better. she can spin a cookie on a dime so this short track handle talk doesn't fool me either.

In all seriousness though everyone ride what they want and have fun just don't tell me your 136 is the baddest thing on the mountain if that was the case we would all still be riding yamaha phazers and while a good rider can go many places on a smaller sled put them on a big sled and they will go anywhere they have the desire to go.

 

[Montana powderhound]

Thanks treehunter for the backup I was starting to think everyone was nuts, Ha, Ha. I guess they will never know what real riding feels like.

 

[adam8781]

I just got back from a trip to BC. Got a chance to meet some "names" in the snowboarding, skiing and sledding world. We rode into a pretty amazing area around Pemberton on the 31st. Best ride of my life actually. We got into this really cool spot that took some work. While parked for a break I got a chance to see Dan Treadway ripping it up. What was amazing was that he was riding in tough spots effortlessly and doing tricks and stuff on a Freeride with a 137" track with HIS GIRLFRIEND SITTING IN FRONT OF HIM! There was this really tight trail on the way in that we would never have made it on without someone to break it for us. Basically bottomless pow in the tight trees up, down and sideways and again he did that on a 137 track. Makes you think about all the debate between 154 and 163. And if you say it's because Treadway is a lighter rider remember that he rides that thing double up. I did not get any video, didn't have a camera set up at the time. Regret that.

my normal stomping grounds befor i moved to the yukon was pemberton/whister area. West coast at its best!