Snowmobiles.

iLLbiLLyFirst off, I agree with you. After your first year you'll probably want to upgrade to something with more gusto. I do.

But I disagree with going for the 800 your first year for a couple reasons:

A: the older 800's are known for reliability issues, especially if it's got high miles.
B: You shouldn't spend too much on your first sled
C: a 600 is likely enough sled for your first season

That why I'd say just get a cheap 600 or 700 (

600 will work to get one person out there but they can lack power for gnarly mantandems.

loganimlachQue? Pretty much any Rev ('05-'08) is so DAMN reliable. They have their quirks (sticking reeds and cracked carb boots) but aside from that they're awesome sleds. the price difference between a 600 and an 800 that are both 10 years old isn't going to be nearly as substantial as the performance.

**This post was edited on Nov 5th 2014 at 2:44:06pm

Those older summits don't handle as well for a beginner compared to the Mseries (800HCR?) sled that he bought. Also everyone has their opinion but the M series cat with the suzuki HO 800 is definitely a contender for the most reliable sled out there.

^^ yea golden/revy are fuel gouging assholes. seriously when i picked up the sled fuel in Kamloops was the same as lake louise(1.12 a litre) in golden it was 1.39. the classifieds in golden are starting a petition to make blockades on the gas stations and have a protest lol. Luckily my boss fills my tank whenever he can while im working so its not 2 bad, my parents live in ll so im here all the time visiting/getting free meals etc etc. I will most likely invest in a supply of Jerry cans doe.

Yup I am definitely prepared to dig, got all winter off starting in 3 weeks so i'll be able to get loads of miles on it, thats the plan too so that when the warranty is about to run out i can bring her in and get a fine combed inspection and see what i can get replaced for the free's.

Honestly so stoked though, Even last year i toured up some logging roads that were sled packed and there was some super lappable terrain right off the road, pillows, perfect road gap booters and a nice road that does a huge switch back so you can easily just shuttle up and down and ski right back to the lower road! Plus having 180km of logging roads up the bush arm I can't wait to do some skimo this spring and hit some of the lines i've been scopping for last couple years. O and chatter creek in the spring lets sledders rip it up, free cat roads to access the gnargnar wooooo. Yea im probably rambling cause im just SO FUCKING STOKED woooooooooooo

ShredMasterPlusHonestly so stoked though, Even last year i toured up some logging roads that were sled packed and there was some super lappable terrain right off the road, pillows, perfect road gap booters and a nice road that does a huge switch back so you can easily just shuttle up and down and ski right back to the lower road! Plus having 180km of logging roads up the bush arm I can't wait to do some skimo this spring and hit some of the lines i've been scopping for last couple years. O and chatter creek in the spring lets sledders rip it up, free cat roads to access the gnargnar wooooo. Yea im probably rambling cause im just SO FUCKING STOKED woooooooooooo

Sounds sick. Wish sledding around the Tetons were like that. It's hard to find lap-able zones. Always sketchy doubles or skinning off the sled. Maybe I just don't know where to go yet.

iLLbiLLySounds sick. Wish sledding around the Tetons were like that. It's hard to find lap-able zones. Always sketchy doubles or skinning off the sled. Maybe I just don't know where to go yet.

While I don't like giving out my stashes I would recommend you look southwest of Dubois. There is nothing real crazy out there but the elevation is sufficient to get plenty of snow and there are a lot of dramatic lines not very far off the trails. Another good spot is on the Western side of the Absorka range, it however can be a real SOB to get around out there at times due to a lack of trails and infrastructure.

JustGoWithItWhile I don't like giving out my stashes I would recommend you look southwest of Dubois. There is nothing real crazy out there but the elevation is sufficient to get plenty of snow and there are a lot of dramatic lines not very far off the trails. Another good spot is on the Western side of the Absorka range, it however can be a real SOB to get around out there at times due to a lack of trails and infrastructure.

Interesting... I'm planning on doing some more exploring up on Togwotee pass this year. It would be a long haul all the way to Dubois, but maybe I'll check it out one day.

I spent most of last winter down south of Jackson. The lines are insane (hint: "film worthy") but the access is anything but easy. Half the times we'd go out the skis wouldn't even come off the sled. When they did, it was always a sketchy boot pack or a tour to the top.

This season I really want to find some zones where I can just make easy laps on fun terrain (pillows, mini-golf type features).

iLLbiLLyInteresting... I'm planning on doing some more exploring up on Togwotee pass this year. It would be a long haul all the way to Dubois, but maybe I'll check it out one day.

I spent most of last winter down south of Jackson. The lines are insane (hint: "film worthy") but the access is anything but easy. Half the times we'd go out the skis wouldn't even come off the sled. When they did, it was always a sketchy boot pack or a tour to the top.

This season I really want to find some zones where I can just make easy laps on fun terrain (pillows, mini-golf type features).

the Togwotee pass is nice because it is close to 26 I would also recommend venturing about 7-8 miles southwest of Togwotee towards ummmm, well actually it's in the middle of absolutely f*&king no where (So bring the GPS or a map). Anyways, there are a lot of heavily wooded (Mostly spruce) faces that aren't impossible to climb. Snowpack was pretty good last February from what I remember.

ShredMasterPlus^^ yea golden/revy are fuel gouging assholes. seriously when i picked up the sled fuel in Kamloops was the same as lake louise(1.12 a litre) in golden it was 1.39. the classifieds in golden are starting a petition to make blockades on the gas stations and have a protest lol. Luckily my boss fills my tank whenever he can while im working so its not 2 bad, my parents live in ll so im here all the time visiting/getting free meals etc etc. I will most likely invest in a supply of Jerry cans doe.

Yup I am definitely prepared to dig, got all winter off starting in 3 weeks so i'll be able to get loads of miles on it, thats the plan too so that when the warranty is about to run out i can bring her in and get a fine combed inspection and see what i can get replaced for the free's.

Honestly so stoked though, Even last year i toured up some logging roads that were sled packed and there was some super lappable terrain right off the road, pillows, perfect road gap booters and a nice road that does a huge switch back so you can easily just shuttle up and down and ski right back to the lower road! Plus having 180km of logging roads up the bush arm I can't wait to do some skimo this spring and hit some of the lines i've been scopping for last couple years. O and chatter creek in the spring lets sledders rip it up, free cat roads to access the gnargnar wooooo. Yea im probably rambling cause im just SO FUCKING STOKED woooooooooooo

Pumped for ya!!! Hopefully all this advice comes in handy haha.
Switch backs are a great place to get started and get comfortable mantandeming. Remember, when riding a sled in deep snow, turning is not leaning but counter steering and "rolling" the sled on its side, oh yeah and use twice as much throttle as needed haha

Yea learning to sled in powder sounds like its tricky, but it also looks. SO FUN. yea going to be good to practice tandeming and such on logging roads and then progess to bigger and badder things. Hopefully cap it off with a pemby trip in march and then road trip up to ak for some sledding and hopefully get a pontoon plane in somewhere super rad for some skiing. O man this winter is going to be life CHANGING wooooooo.