When did you start sledding in the mountains?

jpgmtech · Mar 13, 2012

Okay, I couldn't resist... a few more pictures from the late '80's if I remember right. My brother and I rockin' the silver Formula's, and my Dad with the Yellow one. I'm the guy (teenager) with the (ridiculous) pink gloves... And yes, those are 2" paddles...

chrishew · Mar 14, 2012

These pics are great. I'm only 28 now so I can't dig back as far but I'll try and find the pictures I have. I've been riding northern alberta flats since I was 5 on a 1979 jag 3400 but mom wouldn't let me go to the mountains until I was 13. So April of 97 we spent two days riding in Kakwa and slept outside under a tarp. My dad was on a brand new 1997 XLT rmk 133.5" with 1.5" lug. I was riding a 1992 indy with a twin piped 583 rotax and a 136" with 1" lug. Travelled to Tumbler Ridge or Chetwynd every year after until I left for college.

pipes · Mar 14, 2012

gimmepowder said:
Wow! Cool photos.

I feel like such a newb...I started sledding in 2003 and can't even imagine what it must have been like to bust into the alpine on a deep power day on some old iron. I've heard all the stories about spending all day busting trail just to reach the cabin and always thought it was bull, but after looking at these photos I'm starting to wonder. Yeah, we're pretty spoiled now with 150hp+ and 163" x 16" tracks.

Looks like epic fun. Keep the photos coming!

you gotta remember. some of these places didn't have cabins back then.

jpgmtech · Mar 16, 2012

And a few more... Notice the first 2 pictures - myself on the old yellow formula and my brother showin' his skills on the green '94 470 Summit with the 2-up seat. He's just trying to get that extra couple inches of air on the top of that climb, LOL!

RocroM8 · Mar 19, 2012

Love the Pics brings back some of the stories my dad and his friends tell about riding. First Trip up was in 1998 on a 1996 ZRT 600 with a 1.4" lug 136 inch track. Have been up 4-5 times a year since then. Currently riding a stock 2008 M8 162 2.25 what a big differnce even from the ZRT.

MADKAWI · Dec 2, 2013

jpgmtech said:
Okay, I couldn't resist... a few more pictures from the late '80's if I remember right. My brother and I rockin' the silver Formula's, and my Dad with the Yellow one. I'm the guy (teenager) with the (ridiculous) pink gloves... And yes, those are 2" paddles...
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I think this is the best thread i've ever read... Lol awesome classic pictures!!
I have only been in the west Since 1998 and road the mountsins first year here on a Arctic Cat 600 Noth'n Extreme... That said " powered by testoserone" on the back.. Lol
We went to AllenCreek and i had a hell of a time trying to wrestle that whale with no bar riser or anything. I actually didn't like it...was all socked in, getting burried every 10 feet, didn't know how to side hill etc etc...bought a Brand new 1999 Zr 600 and
put a 2" 121 paddle track on it...went pretty good... I put a mountain bar,a pipe off a ZR 700 ( which the factory did for the 2000 model year) bar riser, hood vents lol etc etc and i fell in love with the mountains.

we lived at a big ranch house just outside of Hinton and would ride all day then come back sit around the fireplace and look through the old Cycle Works cataloge. They were such a cool inovative company but then i think everyone started copying their ideas so they quite custom building things.( Think that's what Don told me).

My roomates at the time used to go up to Mcbride with their dad and he was riding since the early 70's.
he told me they put crazy carpets under the belly pans to make them glide better, tapered tunnels, plastic paddles etc. he too told stories of how they broke trail... They would leap frog... So when the leed sled would start bogging down he would pull off to the side n the guy behind would come riping past lol i guess it worked pretty good.

so who was taking all these pictures? Your dad?
pretty good camera for its time!!
This is why people should take more pictures....35-40 years down the road it sure is great to see what it was like!

ippielb · Dec 2, 2013

My first trip to the mountains was in 2011, but i grew up around these sleds, never knew they could get 2" paddles, all i had were the ribs from the fiberglass rods lol

jpgmtech · Dec 2, 2013

MADKAWI said:
I think this is the best thread i've ever read... Lol awesome classic pictures!!
I have only been in the west Since 1998 and road the mountsins first year here on a Arctic Cat 600 Noth'n Extreme... That said " powered by testoserone" on the back.. Lol
We went to AllenCreek and i had a hell of a time trying to wrestle that whale with no bar riser or anything. I actually didn't like it...was all socked in, getting burried every 10 feet, didn't know how to side hill etc etc...bought a Brand new 1999 Zr 600 and
put a 2" 121 paddle track on it...went pretty good... I put a mountain bar,a pipe off a ZR 700 ( which the factory did for the 2000 model year) bar riser, hood vents lol etc etc and i fell in love with the mountains.

we lived at a big ranch house just outside of Hinton and would ride all day then come back sit around the fireplace and look through the old Cycle Works cataloge. They were such a cool inovative company but then i think everyone started copying their ideas so they quite custom building things.( Think that's what Don told me).

My roomates at the time used to go up to Mcbride with their dad and he was riding since the early 70's.
he told me they put crazy carpets under the belly pans to make them glide better, tapered tunnels, plastic paddles etc. he too told stories of how they broke trail... They would leap frog... So when the leed sled would start bogging down he would pull off to the side n the guy behind would come riping past lol i guess it worked pretty good.

so who was taking all these pictures? Your dad?
pretty good camera for its time!!
This is why people should take more pictures....35-40 years down the road it sure is great to see what it was like!

Great stuff! The 'leapfrog' technique was used way back. Dad and the guys used 3 sleds for breaking trail. A fan-cooled 340 mirage with a 503 transplanted in it took the lead. When it got stuck they punched out the top with two super-sonics with modded 440 or 505 big-bore rotaxes in them. They all got stuck and then helped each other out. Then the Mirage would take the lead again for a while if the trail levelled out, rinse and repeat.

The pictures were taken with cheap film cameras, the early Instagram-like shots on a disposable Kodak 110 (smaller than 35mm) and a Fuji 35mm consumer camera for the others. No fancy lenses or zoom, just something compact that could be shoved in a leather riding suit, lol!

The Cycle works boys pioneered a lot of stuff that we take for granted today. We never were serious enough to be bleeding edge, we were generally content to do a few home-grown mods and then go riding! As far as we know Dad was running the first tapered tunnel in Canada. We also ran a three-place sled deck on a 1980 GMC one-ton dually.

lilduke · Dec 2, 2013

Sweet pics!! I started mountain sledding in 96,, Wasn't even born yet when most these vintage pics were taken.

Braddock54 · Dec 3, 2013

Great thread, thanks for sharing the pics guys...first time in the mountains for me was only two years back but frig I am hooked now. Realized quick that a 144x1.25 is a recipe for much frustration and wide open throttle all day. If I would have had that track back in 88, man I would be the BOSS. Funny how things really change over time!

Jake jenkins · Dec 3, 2013

I started about 5 years ago but been sledding all my live ,

teeroy · Dec 3, 2013

love the pics of the old formulas, that was my first "mountain" sled....'85 mx with the liquid cooled 470. upgraded the track to the newer style with rubber guides after all the metal clips bent and broke on the old one, and bolted plastic fluorescent pink and green paddles on it. I had some crazy ultra wide ski skins on it too, the shape of the nose wasn't really optimal for powder and with the weight of that old PRS independent front suspension as soon as you let off the throttle it was submarine city. but I remember it sure had a lot of jam. my buddy had the '84 SS25 that we did the same stuff to and it worked a lot better than mine. I think the first tapered tunnel I saw was a dude from GP in the late 80's, was on a moto ski coincidentally. that sled had a bunch of work done to it, I remember being amazed at how well it did in the deep snow, and how loud it was lol.

S.W.A.T. · Dec 3, 2013

After reading all the posts made me really appreciate having been born and raised in the mountains. I don't have a pic on hand but there was a group of 6 of us, our dad all had sleds and we had the 340 Polaris indy lite. The adults called the the snow flake gang. Great pics, great stories and great memories. Lots of passion out there

Sammy · Dec 3, 2013

Started Riding the Valemount and McBride area in 1979, first sled was the Blizzard 5500. We used to ride Alan and I have pictures of us getting back to the top of Milton (Hill climb hill). Lucille and bell were my favorite spots back then, used to ride into Horsey creek as well all the way up to the glacier. Seemed like everyone knew everyone up on the hill then, pretty small group of people.
Sleds to beat back in the day were SRX's and the 6000 eltigre's. Tapered tunnels were the big mod back then and no air box, lol. Wasn't until 86 when the Colby's were caught in the avalanche in the wind tunnels on Clemina when we even thought about avalanche safety. Group of us bought our first transceivers then and took our first avalanche safety course at the same time.
Been pretty cool seeing all the changes through the years to where we are today.

jpgmtech · Dec 3, 2013

Sammy said:
Started Riding the Valemount and McBride area in 1979, first sled was the Blizzard 5500. We used to ride Alan and I have pictures of us getting back to the top of Milton (Hill climb hill). Lucille and bell were my favorite spots back then, used to ride into Horsey creek as well all the way up to the glacier. Seemed like everyone knew everyone up on the hill then, pretty small group of people.
Sleds to beat back in the day were SRX's and the 6000 eltigre's. Tapered tunnels were the big mod back then and no air box, lol. Wasn't until 86 when the Colby's were caught in the avalanche in the wind tunnels on Clemina when we even thought about avalanche safety. Group of us bought our first transceivers then and took our first avalanche safety course at the same time.
Been pretty cool seeing all the changes through the years to where we are today.

I remember Dad and Bob (and everyone else for that matter) talking about that Clemina slide when I was a kid. Woke everyone up big time, and a sad time too.

GYMBRAT · Dec 3, 2013

First trip for me was in 87 to Golden on a short tract Cat 440 Liquifire lol. And the rest is history. I was HOOOOOKKED

Skegmeister · Dec 3, 2013

Been sledding most of my life as a flat lander. A buddy convinced me to do the Avy course and go to the mountains Feb 2011 for my first time ever. Bought my first mountain sled last year and have been riding in the moutains at every opportunity I get. My son is scheduled to his first trip in January for his AST Feild session in Mcbride.

Sammy · Dec 3, 2013

jpgmtech said:
I remember Dad and Bob (and everyone else for that matter) talking about that Clemina slide when I was a kid. Woke everyone up big time, and a sad time too.

\ Yeah sad time for sure, real eye opener as we were riding that very area the day before. Coming back to the hotel the day of the slide, there were messages for us to call home immediately. We thought something had happened back home, guess it was on the news.
You mentioned your Dad and Bob, what was your Dads name, I am assuming Bob Micku as well.

Old-Soul · Dec 3, 2013

Just last season. Shouldn't have waited so long :rant:

as I've been sledding since I was a wee lad.

jpgmtech · Dec 3, 2013

Sammy said:
\ Yeah sad time for sure, real eye opener as we were riding that very area the day before. Coming back to the hotel the day of the slide, there were messages for us to call home immediately. We thought something had happened back home, guess it was on the news.
You mentioned your Dad and Bob, what was your Dads name, I am assuming Bob Micku as well.

Yep, that would be Bob Micku. Dad's name is Lance Paynton. Dad showed me the spot years later, got an informal avy lesson right there! Bob's in a couple of those shots - the old TXL for sure and maybe a couple more. Dave's in there too on one of the Super-Sonics if I remember right.

When did you start sledding in the mountains?

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