Snowmobile Jack

If you snowmobile in deep powder with or without people, you most likely get stuck multiple times each trip. Even if you are with people, it can take hours to get the snowmobile out. A snowmobile jack can make it much easier and give you more time riding instead of being stuck. All you have to do is pack down some snow and place the jack down, then the jack raises the snowmobile off the ground. You can then throw the snowmobile over so it is on top of normal snow. It is also very light and mounts on your sled really easy. You can find these anywhere online and they start at about $100.

Ice Scratchers

If you are still riding, the snow is most likely hard packed which makes your sled heat up fast. The few people I know that still ride, have a dual ice scratcher set up to make the sled stay cool in those conditions. Even if you are not riding, it is a good idea to spend about $100 on a pair of ice scratchers. They are easy to install and will keep your sled cool. Your sled should run at about 118 to about 140 degrees. When the sled heats up to about 160 degrees, you need to stop the sled and throw snow on the back to make sure you don't blow the engine. You will only need these down when you are trail riding or most the time during spring.


If you are serious about spring riding and ride till even early may, you will need to have dual ice scratchers to keep the sled cool enough. You will have to mod your sled enough to put the second scratcher on. You also can buy scratchers that can go in reverse and not breaking which is nice.

Goldfinger

A goldfinger is left hand throttle for snowmobiles. This will make your side hill and boondocking experience even better by giving you more control. It makes riding much easier when you have the ability to use a left throttle when you can't reach the right one. These throttles are great for anyone from beginners to experts. They are also very easy to connect to your sled and will take about 30 minutes. You can order these from almost anywhere and they range from $90-110$.

Have Control Over Your Sled

There are many customizations you can add to your sled that will give you more control. One of the cheapest and simplest upgrades you could add are handlebar extensions. The size of the extension depends on your snowmobile, riding style, and preference. If you do trail riding and sit a lot, short extensions would be best.

Tall extensions would be best for intense riding in powder, hill climbing, and jumps.

 

The higher extensions help out on how much control you have over your sled because it gives you a lot more leverage. I have 5.5" extensions on one of my polaris sleds which seems be the perfect height. Any taller would be too tall and make it hard to ride and any shorter would not give the maximum control.

You can go to any nearby snowmobile shop and they will help you pick the right extension.

Upgrading Skis

If you want to upgrade your sled even more, buying after market skis is a good choice. After market skis will make your sled lighter, allow you to have more control, and will glide across fresh powder much smoother. My sled has the Hell Hound skis made by Slydog.

Each ski is 7.25 inches wide which is the best length in my opinion. I feel like any skis that are wider than this dig into the snow too much, unless you strictly ride in deep powder. Any skis that are less than 7 inches wide are good for mainly trial riding. These skis were the largest improvement that I put on my sled. It gives more control on trails and just float in deep powder. It is much easier to throw the machine around and control it just by adding these after market skis. You can buy these skis for $500 and customize the colors and designs by going to: http://slydogskis.com/

You can also watch this video for a more in depth description:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVKxQRaP69U

Best Can For Your Sled

If you have decided that the riding in your area is over, now is the perfect time to do some upgrades. You now should have much more free time on your hands since you are not on the mountain, and customizing your snowmobile is now the perfect project. One of the first upgrade's you should consider is a exhaust canister. They will drop pounds off your sled, increase the power and performance, and make your sled sound better.



I have rode on many different sleds that had different cans on them, and I by far like the Skinz Super Q Silencer that I have on my sled.




This can gave my 09 Polaris 700 RMK unbelievable power and made it sound great. It made my snowmobile drop 15 pounds which is a huge amount of weight. It was also very easy to install and came with a 3 year warranty. If you enjoy racing, mountain riding or ride in lower populated areas, this can would complete your sled.

If you want to hear the difference between this can and a stock Polaris can, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaQcLy5lEfY

Spring Riding

Even though the riding conditions have felt like spring riding for the past couple weeks, today is officially the first day of spring. That means there is plenty of riding left to do, you just have to find it. I went riding this weekend and found snow depths ranging from 6 to 8 feet between an elevation of 7,000 to 11,000 feet. That sounds like a good amount of snow but the riding conditions are not the best. The snow is turning to concrete but there is still good riding in trees.

To find good snow, you first need to get your snowmobiles to the snow which is a challenge itself. You will first have to search for the snow.

  

And to get to where the snow is, you might have to deal with this:

If you are able to get the sleds on the snow, it is worth it but if you cant, it is still not time to put them away. Now is the best time to tune up and even customize your sled.

My next posts will talk about extras and upgrades you can add to your sled to make it better for next year.

  

Gear That Could Save Your Life

In my last blogs, I talked about avalanches and what to do in one. Knowing what to do in one still might not be enough to save your life or someone else's, that is why you should have the right avalanche equipment. The main equipment you should always carry while snowmobiling are:

          1. Avalanche Beacon-
You and all your riding partners should always carry a beacon. They send signals to other beacons to help others find where you are buried or help you find someone buried.

There are many different brands to choose from but BCA makes one of the more popular ones which is shown above. This beacon costs about $330.


          2.  Avalanche Airbag-
These bags are designed to keep you closer to the surface in an avalanche.

BCA also makes a very reliable airbag. It is only 5 pounds and easy to reuse once it has been deployed. It also has the trigger on the right shoulder strap so you can give it gas while deploying it. Not only is it a great bag but it is one of the most affordable bags there is, starting at only $500.


          3. Break Down Probe-
Probes are very important to have when you are searching for someone caught in an avalanche. Using your beacon and probe, the person could be located quicker which will increase the chance of getting them out in time and saving them.

 

Klim makes a light probe made of aluminum that extends to 3 meters long which is by far enough length to locate the person. This backcountry probe costs about $60.

 

 

          4. Expandable Shovel-

Once the person is located with the beacon and probe, you will need to have a good shovel to start digging them out. I have the orange version of the Polaris shovel shown below and it is a great shovel. It extends to a full size shovel in seconds and is very durable. I luckily haven't had to use it for an avalanche, but have used it to dig out my snowmobile and it performs great.

 

                                             



What to Do in an Avalanche

No matter the amount of knowledge you have about avalanches, there is still a chance you could come in contact with an avalanche. If this ever does happen, you will need to know what to do in an avalanche.

This ski of your snowmobile could be the last thing you see before you are buried by tons of snow.

If the snow below you breaks loose when you are riding, you need to have the throttle wide open and do whatever it takes to get off the slab and to safety. Try to get to the side of the avalanche if possible because the avalanche might be faster than your snowmobile. To see proof that snowmobiles might not be able to outrun an avalanche, go to:
http://www.keepbusy.net/play.php?id=snowmobilers-try-to-out-run-avalanche

Hopefully you could escape the avalanche, but if you don't try to stay with your sled. The snowmobile is a larger object which will keep you closer to the surface and is easier for people to find you. You most likely will be disconnected from the snowmobile so you will need to swim or roll like a log with the avalanche. You should keep your backpack and gear on because it will have useful gear to help you survive and also will make your body stronger. Try to keep one hand up towards the surface and try to keep track of which way is up. When the snow starts to settle, move your other hand to your mouth and dig a pocket to help you breathe because when the avalanche stops, the snow will turn to concrete. A pocket in the snow in front of your mouth can give you enough air to survive for 30 minutes.

Now you need to calm down and wait for someone to rescue you and hopefully they can dig down to where you are.

Don't Be Fooled

Right now the majority of Colorado seems like it is spring with temperatures nearly reaching 60 degrees every day. This does not mean riding is over. Once you get up to higher elevations it is still cold and there is a lot of snow. The snow isn't the greatest because it is a little crusty, but this should make you ride harder to remote areas in the trees and back country. These spots will be amazing with untouched fresh snow, but will also have higher risks of avalanches. With this risk, you need to know how to avoid avalanches, what to do in one, and have the right gear to save your life.

Almost all avalanches are caused by riders and can be prevented. The top three things you should know about avalanche safety are as follows:

1. Ride up or down onto, or across, steep slopes only one snowmobile at a time; the rest of the group should watch from a safe location until the rider on the slope safely clears it before the next person proceeds.
2. Do not park at the bottom of a steep slope in single file; instead park to the sides of the slope with your snowmobiles side by side and pointed away from the slope.
3. Never go up on a steep slope to help someone who has become stuck, since adding your sled to the slope could trigger an avalanche. 

There are multiple signs to look for if the snow is unstable:

• Recent avalanches (don't play on similar, unreleased slopes)
• New snow (the added weight can overburden buried, weak layers)
• Wind loading (wind can deposit snow ten times faster than snow falling from the sky—as a result weak layers can quickly become overloaded)
• Rain (weakens snow quickly, but causes the top layer to stabilize when refrozen)
• "Whumphing noises" (indicates the collapse of a buried weak layer)
• Shooting cracks in the snow surface that run across the slope (indicates the snow is ripe for fracturing and is beginning to slide downward)
• Hollow-sounding snow (indicates a buried weak layer of snow)
• Signs of rapid or intense warming (the snow will weaken quickly and create unstable conditions — often see small 'pinwheels' or snowballs that have rolled down the slope) 

Even if there are many tracks on a mountain, there is still a chance it could avalanche which is shown in the picture below.

 
This is a crack in the snow which indicates a avalanche could happen.


Avalanches can happen in any size, but any size is deadly.



My next blogs will tell you what to do in an avalanche and what equiptment you should have.

Choosing The Right Snowmobile

If you are looking for a new 800-class mountain sled, there are many options to choose from that each have unique characteristics. You will first have to choose from the 3 top snowmobile companies which are Polaris, Ski-doo, and Arctic Cat. There are multiple options of mountain sleds to choose from made by each of these companies. SnowGoer magazine has officially named the top snowmobile of of each company which narrows your options down to 3 sleds.

Arctic Cat M8000 Limited 153:

Since the introduction of the ProClimb mountain machine in 2012, Arctic Cat has focused on inproving the subtleties that add to the enjoyment in the backcountry. This is the most improved sled in my opinion and has dropped a total of 18 pounds from last year's edition. This is a huge advantage and made the sled ride better, but it still felt heavy and was tough to sidehill. This might be caused by the Fox Float shocks that may need to be readjusted differently. Overall I think this is a good sled with the most attractive design, but is the 3rd best sled out of the three.

Ski-doo Summit X 154:

After several years attempting to improve on what was basically a snowcross racetrack-built XP sled, Ski-doo went back to the drawing board to make the sled better in deep powder. This sled seemed very tippy and required an always on your toes style of riding. This machine was the most fun in the trees because it felt easy to manuver. In my opinion this is a great sled in all conditions and is the 2nd best sled out of the three.

Polaris Pro-RMK 155:

Polaris needed to change very little for 2014 to remain its spot atop the leader board in the mountain segment. This machine is the lightest mountain machine out there and had the most power out of the three. The skis are almost always not touching the snow when going up hills and through trees. I felt like I had the most control when riding this machine which added to my confidence. Also, it maintains its line across ruts which is a huge benefit. This machine proved to be the best mountain machine with the others close behind.

Stay Safe Snowmobiling

Right now is the peak of the snowmobiling season which also means there are greater dangers to your safety. So, what do we do to keep it safe in the mountains?

One of the first things all serious riders always put on before they ride is a chest protector. This type of protection is often overlooked by riders and simply not worn. This year you’ll see a lot of hardcore riders wearing the SV1 Trail Protective Snow Vest from EVS. These vests are built with a puncture resistant internal EVA and PP armor construction to protect against collisions and abrasions. They are also equipped with RECCO Avalanche Rescue System which is crucial for hill climbing.

Beyond the safety features, these vests also give you another layer of warmth. They can be worn under your jacket or outside, as the Hi-Vis reflective piping makes the rider highly visible. The full front zip closure make for easy-on/easy-off and it’s relatively light weight too.

EVS also makes race version of their SV1 vest which has an optional compatible neck brace and conforms to all ISR guidelines. The race version is shown in the picture below.


In the end, being safe when out in the powder is the most important. EVS is one of the more popular brands for safety equipment from knee and neck braces to chest and shin protectors. There are many other brands who make similar products that could fit your needs, but I recommend EVS.

For more information on EVS protective gear check out www.evs-sports.com.

About me

Hi my name Kody and I was born and raised in Colorado. Living in a small town in the mountains, I have had a lot of experience with outdoor activities. Even though I enjoy all activities outdoors, snowmobiling has been my main passion since the first time I went. I now have many years of experience of riding in deep powder, hill climbing, boondocking, and trail riding with various different sleds. With my access to constantly ride new sleds with different customized extras, I am able to test the capabilities of the sled in every situation and condition. Each sled has its own pros and cons which makes it hard to pick a favorite sled, but I will blog my experiences and reviews for each machine I ride. I also will blog about the best riding spots, equipment and gear, and different snowmobiling events.