Torpy/McGregor Area 2012-2013 Riding Conditions

[thunder44]

I blame that guy on the pro near the end lol, what bullchit that is, are those people completely dense?

If you haven't rode this area before, some of the closures can be really decieving. I agree there are some people who just don't care about the closures but there are many of us that do. I think it's good that conservation is giving out warnings for riding in closed areas but I also think the money they are spending on this would be better spent on finding the real reason the mountain cariboo herds are dwindling. Perhaps if they spent some time out in the mountains and realized the wolf population is growing so fast that they are having to travel farther to feed themselves. Last year we were headed into the Torpy and saw a moose with its hind end ripped apart from wolves. It was really hard to watch the moose suffer like that.

 

[snoqueen]

I'd just like to give a very big THANK YOU to SledMamma and Jeremy8 (Richelle & Jeremy) for their HUGE donation of fuel for the groomer! My hubby and I are lucky to be able to sled with this couple and they are always doing what ever is needed to improve our sport. So.....huge props to Jer & Chelle. Also big thanks to all the other volunteers, and people who have donated fuel/and or time to making PG a better place to sled. Also thanks to those of you that have bought memberships also...it's a small price to pay to help keep the areas that we love to ride open. THANK YOU!

 

[driller]

Yes thanks for your donation.
the groomer really needs to pull the drag to have decent results.
leaving a large hole in the middle of the road with out marking it was a little dangerous.
i believe people would pay 20 dollars no problem if the trail was actually groomed on a regular bases.
just some random thoughts.
rode the burn yesterday and it was stellar. but the beating the sled and i took on that trail was beyond words

 

[snoqueen]

We rode the Burn yesterday....trail in was the absolute WORST that I've seen it for a looooong time. It was enough to shake all your teeth loose, and not to mention the toll it takes on your sled's shocks The groomer has not moved from it's position at the Pass Lake junction in a month. I'm not sure what's up with that....maybe lack of volunteers to run it? Maybe it's broke down? But yes, driller, I agree that the drag should be pulled behind. That deep hole was actually marked with a pine tree when we went by in the morning....two weeks prior it was not, and this hole was definitely deep enough that it could cause severe injuries, wreckage or worse, riding at trail speeds.

We were the first ones up the Burn...was very socked in so we decided to wait it out above the first bowl till it broke. It was an absolute blast once the skies opened up! We found the good stuff, anywhere from a foot and a half to two feet of fresh on a pretty soft base. Unloading at the McGregor camp parking lot, as they are no longer plowing to 12km.

A BIG word of caution for those riding the North Rockies/Cariboos....there is a HUGE presence of MOE's in choppers and riding sleds looking for those that are not complying with the Caribou closures. They were flying around the Sande area in the fog, and seen them a few times hovering around throughout our day. When we got back to our trucks the MOE's had just arrived behind us on sleds....they were giving out their "business cards" and I briefly spoke with him and he mentioned that the sledders that they saw were complying. Today we rode Yanks in Barkerville, and the MOE's were out in full force as well, along with the RCMP, checking for compliance/registration, etc.....

Geez, I wonder if the HUGE presence of enforcement has to do with the news story a couple weeks back??

 

[driller]

yes we broke over the top in the fog and it cleared up as we dropped into the second bowl

 

[Alpine Assassin]

Anyone know what the snow conditions are like out towards the seaback

 

[SledMamma]

360 degree view from today :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoaUefCL3eM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Bluebird skies and HAWT, HAWT, HAWT UP there. The snow is ridiculously settled... It's go-anywhere-spring riding. I even collected some pussywillows for the kids along the road on the way back

 

[snoqueen]

Just a heads up for peeps riding the Torpy. Avalanche conditions are extremely unstable. We came across a HUGE avy (size 3) on Sunday that had slid probably 2 days prior. It was a natural wet snow type avy with a debris pile approx 20 feet deep in places. The debris resembled concrete boulders some the size of small cars. The crown had fractured off down to the rocks for approx a 500 m runout to the road. If you are familiar with the area, the slide was after 4k where there are usually sled tracks coming down from the Sande. It's super steep, and a super long runout. Other observations that day.....there is literally running water underneath the couple of inches of fresh snow that had fallen the day before. With the rain and warm weather previously the conditions are downright scary. These types of avys have a zero survivable rate as the snow is so wet and heavy, and chances for digging out a victim are nil. After seeing this our group definitely toned our riding down a few notches that day. Please be extra careful and observant out there this spring!