Hey Guys! I Newb From Calgary who has been gearing up to try Mountain Riding

mitco39 · Nov 12, 2018

My name is Mitch, my wife and I own CCS Tuning (some of you guys might recognize the name and many of you I am sure have diesel trucks) and this year instead of sitting around waiting for winter to be over we decided to give sledding a try. We took our first part of Zacks Tracs Avy course in Red deer yesterday and are still trying to figure out exactly what to purchase and what is the best.

My wife is leaning towards a M8000 and I have been bouncing between the Summit and the AXYs. I am looking a year or 2 old because honestly I dont know what I will like best and until I can get out there and sit on and see other sleds I worry that i will pick the wrong one and at least if I go a few years old I will minimize the loss I will take if I am to trade into another sled.

We are in the process of ordering our Avy gear and our first planned trip is Dec 7th in Golden to take the field component of the Avy course and then the plan is to stay and try this mountian thing for the first time on the 8th. I grew up riding sleds in the prairies and was right into motocross so I think ill fall right into it and get hooked.

Anyways looking forward to getting to know many of you!

Mitch.

Rbrduk · Nov 12, 2018

Good on you for giving this sledding thing a try.
Some on here will try and steer you in a particular direction on which sled is best. Try them out and pick the one you liked the best. It’s all personal preference.

Welcome and enjoy the site.

gunner3006 · Nov 12, 2018

Welcome. Your going to be 100% hooked. So don’t chimp out on your gear, get ready to spend some coin and ride some mountain clouds.

RXN · Nov 12, 2018

Welcome to the sport. You'll never be able to afford anything again. Lol
Your Wife is smart wanting a cat.

I prefer to keep my sleds the same.
Or at least the same brand.
Little things like speciality tools, oils, stuff like that will work across both machines.
And I have stolen parts off my wife's crossfire to stick on mine to make trips before as my parts weren't in yet.

mitco39 · Nov 12, 2018

Rbrduk said:
Good on you for giving this sledding thing a try.
Some on here will try and steer you in a particular direction on which sled is best. Try them out and pick the one you liked the best. It’s all personal preference.

Welcome and enjoy the site.

Thank you sir, yeah it seems to be the case, it sounds like you really cant go wrong with any of the newer sleds.

gunner3006 said:
Welcome. Your going to be 100% hooked. So don’t chimp out on your gear, get ready to spend some coin and ride some mountain clouds.

Already placed an order of a bunch of 509 and Klim gear

RXN said:
Welcome to the sport. You'll never be able to afford anything again. Lol
Your Wife is smart wanting a cat.

I prefer to keep my sleds the same.
Or at least the same brand.
Little things like speciality tools, oils, stuff like that will work across both machines.
And I have stolen parts off my wife's crossfire to stick on mine to make trips before as my parts weren't in yet.

Haha you do bring up a good point, ill go sit on a Cat today and see what i think.

LUCKY 7 · Nov 12, 2018

Welcome to a great sport. Nothing better than sledding with your buddies and spending time out doors. i own a 2017 axys and love it

ferniesnow · Nov 12, 2018

Welcome and it is great to see that the avalanche scenario is being addressed. That's starting with the right foot forward.

My wife and I ride and thoroughly enjoy the winter in the eastern Kootenays'

Stg2Suby · Nov 12, 2018

Welcome to the forum Mitch, I believe you tuned my '08 Duramax with EFI a few years back, that truck ran great I should have kept it.

Agreed with RXN's point about keeping both sleds from the same Mfr, the maintenance parts and tools add up if you're buying everything twice supporting multiple platforms.

tex78 · Nov 12, 2018

Mabe rent a few sleds and try different brands, then decide

kanedog · Nov 12, 2018

So cool that you are safetyed up before getting out! Great job Mitch!

FastFarmer · Nov 13, 2018

kanedog said:
So cool that you are safetyed up before getting out! Great job Mitch!

Couldn’t agree more with kanedog, with common sense like that you two will be smiling all winter riding ! Big country out there, I’d even suggest hiring a guide, well worth the money and the extra riding tips they can offer you both. There are women clinics tat are out on also, and I’ve heard that they are a blast to attend and that they really have created a perfect environment for all abilities to be a part of it and home some skills and learn some riding techniques. Have a great winter, congrats on the investment and be safe!

TDR · Nov 13, 2018

FastFarmer said:
Couldn’t agree more with kanedog, with common sense like that you two will be smiling all winter riding ! Big country out there, I’d even suggest hiring a guide, well worth the money and the extra riding tips they can offer you both. There are women clinics tat are out on also, and I’ve heard that they are a blast to attend and that they really have created a perfect environment for all abilities to be a part of it and home some skills and learn some riding techniques. Have a great winter, congrats on the investment and be safe!

Totally agree. First time out hire a guide. You will learn a lot. Riding in the mountains is a whole different game to the flats. When first starting out try to ride ins bigger group than just the 2 of you. This is a money pit sport but I wouldn’t trade the memories with my family for nothing. Have fun.

bayman · Nov 13, 2018

Our group is out of Calgary too. There is always room to show some peeps around regardless of their skill set. If your stuck and need a group to ride with, look me up.

solarguy · Nov 13, 2018

Welcome to an incredible sport!
The Calgary snowmobile club has destination rides all winter, great group, all skill levels, several women riders and someone guides each ride. A lot of helpful people for getting unstuck and learning new skills while exploring fantastic places. Check out their website and join us for a ride or three this winter.
cheers, Rich and Yolande

cattechsummitrider · Nov 14, 2018

Welcome to the sport!
You are smarter then I am ( and most of the other sledders out there) by taking the safety courses before you tried mountain sledding!
If you ever need anyone to show you around I spend most of the winter in the Golden, Revelstoke, Sicamous areas and like to show new sledders around.
Have a great time!!!

mitco39 · Nov 14, 2018

LUCKY 7 said:
Welcome to a great sport. Nothing better than sledding with your buddies and spending time out doors. i own a 2017 axys and love it

Awesome I just purchased a 17 Axys as well, I sat on them all and the Polaris felt the best for me personally to sit on anyways.

ferniesnow said:
Welcome and it is great to see that the avalanche scenario is being addressed. That's starting with the right foot forward.

My wife and I ride and thoroughly enjoy the winter in the eastern Kootenays'

Awesome my wife and I hope to be able to enjoy it together as well!

Stg2Suby said:
Welcome to the forum Mitch, I believe you tuned my '08 Duramax with EFI a few years back, that truck ran great I should have kept it.

Agreed with RXN's point about keeping both sleds from the same Mfr, the maintenance parts and tools add up if you're buying everything twice supporting multiple platforms.

I have a LBZ myself and I cant justify switching trucks because I just love it so much.

FastFarmer said:
Couldn’t agree more with kanedog, with common sense like that you two will be smiling all winter riding ! Big country out there, I’d even suggest hiring a guide, well worth the money and the extra riding tips they can offer you both. There are women clinics tat are out on also, and I’ve heard that they are a blast to attend and that they really have created a perfect environment for all abilities to be a part of it and home some skills and learn some riding techniques. Have a great winter, congrats on the investment and be safe!

A guide would be a good idea, is there any place anyone knows about where you can see all the guides and pick one that sounds like would be best suited for us?

TDR said:
Totally agree. First time out hire a guide. You will learn a lot. Riding in the mountains is a whole different game to the flats. When first starting out try to ride ins bigger group than just the 2 of you. This is a money pit sport but I wouldn’t trade the memories with my family for nothing. Have fun.

Just need to make some more sledding buddies! haha

Ballzdeep · Nov 14, 2018

Welcome to the site and the world of step N deep...ride safe :beer:

mitco39 · Nov 14, 2018

solarguy said:
Welcome to an incredible sport!
The Calgary snowmobile club has destination rides all winter, great group, all skill levels, several women riders and someone guides each ride. A lot of helpful people for getting unstuck and learning new skills while exploring fantastic places. Check out their website and join us for a ride or three this winter.
cheers, Rich and Yolande

I will join them here this week when I get some free time to sign up. Thanks!

cattechsummitrider said:
Welcome to the sport!
You are smarter then I am ( and most of the other sledders out there) by taking the safety courses before you tried mountain sledding!
If you ever need anyone to show you around I spend most of the winter in the Golden, Revelstoke, Sicamous areas and like to show new sledders around.
Have a great time!!!

Growing up and seeing story after story (even though I was not part of the sport) was enough to make us want to plan ahead and be as safe as we can be. We might take you up on that, just impatiently waiting to get all setup and for some more snow to fall.

solarguy · Nov 14, 2018

Always exercise caution early season, hazards are lurking under the snow until we have a good base, really easy to damage your sled and also your body. Good time to get some trail riding but oh so tempting, I've personally made the mistake more than once and it hurts...mostly the wallet.
Also, good idea to get as many pointers as you can and practice the skills, learning to put your sled on edge (on one ski) is one of the first skills you want to master as it allows you to sidehill slowly and in control across steep slopes as well as carving that virgin powder. Don't get discouraged as the sled will not obey you at first, the learning curve is not to bad but still takes a bit before you and the sled find that loving feeling. After you master a few skills the fun factor goes way way up!!!

Hey Guys! I Newb From Calgary who has been gearing up to try Mountain Riding

mitco39

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Rbrduk

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gunner3006

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RXN

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mitco39

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LUCKY 7

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ferniesnow

I'm doo-ing it!

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tex78

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TDR

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bayman

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solarguy

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mitco39

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