Which style of ride do you prefer?

[TIM]

So which is it? Do you prefer to go big backcountry loops are cover lots of ground? basically covering country off trail is more important than playing.

or

Just going in a little way and playing you heart out. You don't cover much country but you just play.


So which is it?

 

[sledfvr]

I like to ride until my heart is about to seize up on me. Doesn't matter how much ground I cover. The best rides are 4' of powder and working my butt off all day.

 

[WestMont]

I enjoy exploring the back country so I'm always up for a back country loop and covering lots of ground.

 

[89sandman]

riding the trees, you don't cover half the distance but its twice as much fun

 

[norsepeak]

my entire goal when riding is to put tracks where there aren't any, so I just keep going, track up an area, then move on to the next wether it's thru the trees or down into some nasty canyon.

 

[Goinboardin]

Definitely prefer to find a good technical spot nearest the truck, so less gas burned on the trail and more time picking my way into tree wells, errr I mean trenching on hill climbs, No I mean ripping fresh lines, yea sure. haha Certainly like to try... So the optimal day is not to cover much ground, just play in the deep with minimal trail riding in.

 

[Travelgirl]

Playing in 3' fresh is the best and tree riding but I'm not strong enough to get myself out if I hit a tree or get stuck bad so I have to be careful not to go too far into the woods where no one can find me LOL I do carry a whistle but that would freak out the DH HA! For those who have been, I really like the Round Lake area and the rolling hills past Daisy pass and Lulu pass in Cooke City.

 

[Blk88GT]

I like any kind of riding that pushes me to be more calculated and precise. Tight trees, big climbs or upside down in a draw, it doesn't matter. As long as my heart is pounding, it's a good time.

 

[Scott]

So which is it? Do you prefer to go big backcountry loops are cover lots of ground? basically covering country off trail is more important than playing.

or

Just going in a little way and playing you heart out. You don't cover much country but you just play.


So which is it?

That's a great question. My answer to that changes often. If there is a spot that I can sit and hit for an hour, I'll do it. If running a ridge for a few miles is what's required to get to a new drainage...I'll do it...twice if I need to.


EITHER!!! As long as I can minimize my on-trail time. Would rather keep the scratchers up.

 

[PJ-Hunter]

I generally try to push myself farther each day. If I was in an area the day before then we just blow through it fast on our way to the next area. I explore alot. And I find alot of sweet, untouched places. But when I do that I only go with a couple of close friends that I trust. If I ride with someone else that doesn't ride with me much I tend to keep it simple. I'll go to technical areas but not super hard places. Why? Because I used to ride with lots of people and they actually remembered the way I went in and then came up the next week with their buddies and hit it. Secret dead. Normally I don't even ride the trail to get somewhere. I dive into the trees and pick my way there. It's a pretty good warm-up. I will jump on the trail to access an area I scoped out the day before but didn't ride in.

 

[miralas]

your second one. if i could find a spot that fits my needs for technical, jumps, and drops right off the side of the highway, i could sit there all day.

 

[TIM]

miralas

kind of like a whitewater playboater. spend all day in a 30 yard section of river.
I have done that a time or 2.


I am not going to deny, that somedays the nomad in me comes out and it is all about big backcountry loops.

Saturday will be a little different. Going to access the alpine and snowshoe to the top of a peak. I want to check out if you can climb out of a particular chute.

 

[longtrack156]

Back country

 

[Vern]

depends on the snow alot of the time, if its deep bottomless pow we can find a place and start playin then the next thing you know were about out of gas and hadn't even gone anywhere.

if its more set up we tend to do alot of exploring and avoiding the trail as much as possible. we know where all the trails lead and where certain landmarks are so some days we'll just say were gonna go to such and such place, but instead of heading down the trail or taking the usual path we'll just point our sleds in that relative direction and take off through the trees and see if we can find it. we've gotten ourselves into some "situations" a time or to but alot of times you'll take off through the trees then next thing you know your right there then your wtf, takes 10 minutes to go somewheres that would take half hour or fourty five minutes if you followed the trail around.

we get alot of crap from the "professionals" in the area because we usually ride whats known to be the "mellow" areas instead of all the places with the huge hills where all the "cool" kids go and sit and watch each other beat the same hill over and over. thats fine with us though because with our exploring we've found some awesome riding areas that nobody else touches.

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

I prefer a short ride from the truck, good technical spot with lots and lots of fellow sledders. I like to race several others up the hill ski to ski, reminds me of my motocross days when I was a kid. The more sledders that show up the more fun I'm having. I've gone on many ridiculously long boondocking style tree rides over the last 30 years, but all things considered that style of riding just bores me to death.

 

[J_Goodwin]

I'll ride the trails as far as I have to, to get to the deep but once I'm there its trees and meadow. To me nothing is better than cruising the trees and bust out into a meadow that hasn't been touched in what looks like ever. Over the hood all day is what gets me.

 

[polaris dude]

I just love the deep snow. Its not fun getting stuck in less than a foot or two of snow. I'd rather be stuck on a flat plane with 5 feet of fresh snow.

 

[Timberview01]

Off trail, for sure. Luckily I live in north Idaho where there are endless opportunities and good snow (most years.)

Haven't gone the same place twice this season. Most rides have been less than 50 miles, but out of gas. That tells all...

Either way you choose, it is a great way to spend your day as long as you are having fun!

 

[WYsteph]

Depends on the snow, if the snow is good I could spend all day in a small area. If it's not, I do enjoy getting to spend some time exploring.

 

[Prayn4snow]

One thing I like about living in Upper Michigan is that you just "open the garage door and go". I haven't touched my enclosed trailer at all this year. I run across our lake and I'm in the woods. Different areas to boondock and hills to play around on & tree riding. But I do miss Alaska......Nothing will ever change that. If you haven't rode there it needs to be on your "Bucket list". I have rode many states in the US, but nothing compares. If you need explanations look at the 12 years it took me to build the "Directions to Favorite riding areas" in the Alaska section. And those are just my favorites. http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66351