Who else has converted from skiing/snowboarding to snowmobiling?

[Rush44]

I snowboarded for the first 5 winters after I moved to Montana from Georgia. One season my buddy put me on his 340 XLT and it was OVER from there. The next season I bought a 500 Polaris Indy and never looked back. I have 4 snowboards and all my gear still sitting in my garage. I have no desire to board.... except maybe down some wicked back-country chutes.

 

[stalefish_132]

i started snowboarding when i was 9 er 10 and snoboarded up until i was 14. knee's couldn't take a day of boarding along with the broken wrist's it wasn't realyl worth it along with the $40-50 lift passes skiing in revy and silverstar. my board has collected dust since. tryed a little bit last year and reminded me how much better sledding is. why slide down the hill when you coudl climb up it and ride down it. oh yeah no waiting lines!

 

[RideGuy]

Who else still skis or snowboards?

After years of kicking around the idea of buying a sled for backcountry snowboard access, in January 2007 I purchased my first sled, a 2002 mtn cat. That season, I spent most days towing around my snowboard freinds. Anyone who has done this knows its not very exciting. The mtn cat gave me a ton of headaches, so I retired it in April and spent the rest of the season on my board.

This past august, I found a deal on two Yammies and a trailor. I kept one and sold the other to one of my snowboard buddies. Needless to say, we have been snowmobiling at least once a week since early December. Memorial day weekend was the first time my machine has sat dormant for more than a week. My freinds and I have a tradition to snowboard Rocky mtn natl park as soon as they open Trail Ridge Rd (usually Memorial day weekend). I found the trip to be surprisingly unfulfilling.

My conclusion is this: after 20+ years and about 1000 days on my board, snowboarding has taken a back seat to snowmobiling. My board still goes on a lot of my snowmobile rides, but those days may be numbered.

Who else has had a similar experience?

8 years snowboarding was my passion.... bought a sled and have only been to the ski hill twice in the last 5 years.... Being a Powder Pig it's hard to leave the back country for a resort where the fresh lines are toast by noon.....

I'd sell blood for Gas.... I'm hooked..... Although I agree that carving up some of the chute's in the back country is tempting.... but it takes away from snoofing up the freshies on my sled.......

No desire to go back to resort riding.....

 

[700rmker]

I Ski and sled. My winters are busy but i only get about a dozen days of skiing in which are often the days my sled is broke down.

 

[oneshotcrew]

i bought a sled this yr so i didn't have to ride crowded resorts and tracked out hills on my board.. same goes for a hand full of buddies.. i got 30+ days on my board up until march when i bought my sled, i got 20+ sled days since then and only about 5 where i took my board.. can't say i'm done with boarding yet, but i know i will only ride powder and it will be sled access from now on.. heck, with the board racks for your sleds now, u can ride all day on your sled and not even notice its there, see a sick line, grab your board, hit it, and call it good.. you went boarding and sledding.. growing up on dirtbikes, i am hooooooked on sledding for sure.. we'll see what happens still

 

[GODEEP]

Yes and no. Dad always had snowmobiles, but back in the day, I didnt think they were that fun at all to ride. I rode them, but it was nothing like they are today. Snowboarded since I dont know how long ago, then got back into sledding more in the mid 1990's. around 2000 snowboarding was about out of my life. since then, I board, maybe 4-5 times a year.. well 25-30 lbs of fat later, im still snowmobiling.. lol.

 

[76FOMOCO]

Add me to the list, in 98 got a 91 580 ext to pull an ice tent fishing and after 20 min of ice fishing it was all over. skied for 10 plus years and have no need to ever go back to the over priced lift lines you wast half the day standing in. i still own 2 skis but they are only about 3' long and have a trigger on them.

 

[Killerk]

Same as most.
Started out skiing, switched to a board... Rode the sleds with pa the whole time I was snowboarding.
I think what did it for me was all the new "high speed lifts".
Like most have said, if it snows all night and you are the fist one up the lift, you still only get a couple hours of pow.
Not to mention the high prices.
Once you have a sled, you can snowmobile for less money than a day at a big resort... Not to mention much more freedom and powder!

My burton balance has been collecting dust for many years.

 

[tomx]

This is my 23rd season snowboarding, not to mention the years skiing before that. I fully bought my sled with the intention of getting more backcountry snowboard lines in. I actually bring my board with me on most pow days and just throw it in the CFR rack. Never know it's there if I choose not to ride it.

Most days, depending on stability of the snow and the tolerance of my crew, I'll take a few snowboard runs in a day along with some good snowmobiling. Best of both worlds.

My lift serviced snowboard days have gone down dramatically though. Early to mid 90's I was pulling 100+ days a year (lived right by Mt. Baker,WA), in this decade I got a real job and was pulling about 50-60+ days a year (mostly Alpental, WA).

BUT, since the sled (and the birth of my baby girl) the script has flipped. This season I put in 15 days of lift serviced, 30+ days of sledding with many snowmobile assisted snowboard days in there. With the sled I have so much potential to learn and my progression is dramatic. Snowboarding, I plateaued years ago, and really only my backcountry riding is progressing. I hate standing in lines and the attitudes of many of the new school riders (damn kids! stay out my stash!) which has pretty much turned me off from ski resorts.

With that said, check it, little shorty vid from a good pow day in March when we combo'd up the sled and snowboarding action:

Gold Creek SnoMoBro

 

[oneshotcrew]

some more sled assisted skiboard riding up here in warshington...

tomMTX, me and some others.. after reviewing these vids again.. i wont be quitting snowboarding at all, i'll only ride powder and never have to wait in a lift line again!

 

[CO 2.0]

On the snow 40+ days per season. This is my first season where I have gone sledding more than snowboarding. This will now be the norm forever. I only go to the resorts now if there's 1-2ft+ of fresh. Powder all year round is what it's about.

 

[-Alticity Films-]

I started out as a sledder then boarded a few seasons while in college. After I was done with school I went back to sledding and never touched another board until this year when I picked up a Cheetah Factory Racing rack. The rack is awesome. It holds two boards and a can of gas. The only bad part about the whole setup is that i was quickly reminded of how bad I suck at snowboarding.

Those videos kick a$$ by the way.

 

[smokenjay]

I used to ride both resort (mostly park) and backcountry (when it snowed). Then I had kids and something had to give. Easy decision. Since my kids were born (oldest is 5), I have spent 5 days total at ski areas. My last trip to a ski area was breckenridge closing day. I sat on the chair lift, with everyone and thier dog, and looked out at the mountians I had ridden the day before with my sled and board. I hope I never have to waste a day at a ski area again.

I bought a sled for access purposes. You still get the same verts as hiking around berthoud or loveland pass, but you dont spend all day walking.

I also have the cfr rack. Great product, but when in the backcountry we usually end up stashing our boards until we see a run we want to do. I have this fear of rolling the sled with the board attached and ripping off the back of my tunnel and breaking the board.

I like the videos. Maybe my snowboarding days arent numbered, only time will tell.

 

[tomx]

No worries with a board in the CFR on a roll. I managed to flip my sled on top of me on a climb and then rolled it a good 10-15 times with board attached. No damage to the board, and only a slight bend to the back part of the CFR. Can't say the same for my bar risers, they were toast. CFR still works great, now it just has more style.

 

[bushy]

Sled's defy gravity I'm a motor head too and like tweaking the machine too. And it comes down to adrenaline rush per buck or pound of flesh. No contest!

 

[Tempest]

I started Snow Sking at the age of 3. I got into Sledding at the age of 33. I still ski a few times a year with my kids but most of the time we sled. The kids have sleds too. No lift lines, and you can go most anywhere.

 

[depsnolvr]

I started out as a sledder then boarded a few seasons while in college. After I was done with school I went back to sledding and never touched another board until this year when I picked up a Cheetah Factory Racing rack. The rack is awesome. It holds two boards and a can of gas. The only bad part about the whole setup is that i was quickly reminded of how bad I suck at snowboarding.

Those videos kick a$$ by the way.

Be careful, if its the same rack im thinkin about, they may be too good. We've had some friends twist their tunnels all to hell while crashing with boards strapped to those racks. They are amazing racks, just dont roll your sled with boards strapped to it.

But as for the original thread, I grew up boarding, now my collection sits in the closet. To me my sled is a 170hp snowboard !

 

[sleddin pete]

Was hooked on skiing till winter 00(lived in snow country since 84 Vermont then Colorado)Skied 100 plus days a year,no B.S.
Then my co-worker took me sledding,the 3rd day was over the head deep,had to slow down to see where we were going.Looked in the Rocky Mt News the next day and had a sled and trailer with in the week.
Have never looked back,sure a powder day on the hill is fun,but how long does it last???$400 for a season pass,this past season that was 100 gallons of super
Powder days on the sled last much longer

 

[Motley Doo]

I was skiing up until 05', two bad ankles finally caught up to me, so I tried sledding, haven't even looked at the old toothpicks ever since!

 

[tbeaton]

Skied from diapers through college, i knew as soon as i was workign full time i would sled and never ski again. here i am 4 years later, 2 sleds and i haven't knocked the dust of my skis since senior year. i knew it would happen, but i don't miss the lines, high ticket prices, and tons of people getting in my way on the slopes.