Dunno, maybe it's not for me

[Beels]

For your second time sledding, it sounds like your group may have taken you somewhere you didn't need to be.

Maybe next time get a few days under your belt in Boulder...pick and choose what stuff you want to climb...there's lots of big hills for the more experienced guys to play on as well, so nobody gets bored. Best of all....you don't get busted up.

Frickin Tex...

I somewhat agree. I think it depends on how much time you've had on a sled, period. I got thrown into the fire very quickly and had to learn quick, or get left behind. Thing is, I had a lot of time on sleds around home. One thing I've noticed around here is the number of guys that have hardly ever ridden at all and are buying 800cc mountain sleds and it's a real steep learning curve. There's not many people that can ride these things to their full potential and a raw rookie is setting themselves up for disaster.

I've been real lucky to ride with real strong riders and that really helped me early on.

 

[carlsonswerve]

hey Dean, i had heard of your crash from Jimbon but after seeing your xray is eye opening. Really sorry to hear about the crash. Dont let it discourage you about sledding. I just took 17 people out with me and it was amazing. Three of them were complete newbies. Like we discussed while quadding, dont let others push or pull you into uncomfortable places. Same goes for sledding. Looking forward to putting some miles on the quads this summer. Dont be a stranger

 

[whoDEANie]

hey Dean, i had heard of your crash from Jimbon but after seeing your xray is eye opening. Really sorry to hear about the crash. Dont let it discourage you about sledding. I just took 17 people out with me and it was amazing. Three of them were complete newbies. Like we discussed while quadding, dont let others push or pull you into uncomfortable places. Same goes for sledding. Looking forward to putting some miles on the quads this summer. Dont be a stranger

Thanks Hommes. I was actually planning to bring a group to your neck of the wood right around now. ...but I guess it will have to wait another couple of months.

 

[tater]

That sucks man. Hope ya heal well. Me and guys I ride with on regular basis know what everyone likes to ride in.... That being said we always ride to lowest persons ability if that makes sense. Few times in fernie this year we met up with random people at cabins who had never been there. Took them with us and sure maybe makes for less adventurous day but everyone came home safe! Never go into anything you even think might be hard to get out of. That's my motto sledding. Good luck!!

 

[lilduke]

We met this Kid from Sask in Revelstoke 3weeks ago. His sask buddies never showed up in Revy so he had no one to ride with so he asked to come with us. So we said no problem. He was a really good guy and we pushed him HARD, brought him out riding with Rob Allford and some other friends and he had a blast. He wound up righting off his 2013 pro tho....lol

Hang in there sledding can be the funnest thing ever and some times you just wonder why do I do this too myself...lol

 

[MP Kid]

I somewhat agree. I think it depends on how much time you've had on a sled, period. I got thrown into the fire very quickly and had to learn quick, or get left behind. Thing is, I had a lot of time on sleds around home. One thing I've noticed around here is the number of guys that have hardly ever ridden at all and are buying 800cc mountain sleds and it's a real steep learning curve. There's not many people that can ride these things to their full potential and a raw rookie is setting themselves up for disaster.

I've been real lucky to ride with the real strong riders and that really helped me early on.

I couldn't agree with you any more!

Seen this in '98 - 2000, pile of guys bought their first sleds, Tcat Mtcats for Christ sakes!

This is a western Canadian problem fuelled by over confident relative newcomers to the sport ( i also know several guys that have been riding for a life time and still shouldn't be on 600 class sled), supported by dealers, and promoted by manufactures!

Have a look around a dealer showroom, and it pretty much tells you the story! I have a family with a few young boys, what am I supposed to start them on? A $14000 new 800, somebodies old wore out 700 mod, where the hell is a decent starter mountian sled?

The hills where I ride are dominated with 800's, not sure about the western US? Manufacutures are missing a market segment here, albeit small (meaning not as lucrative), but this seems to me as being a bit irresponsible by the industry as a whole!

just my bitch for the day....!



Oh and by the way, sorry bout your luck buddy, but don't give up on sledding just yet! The night is always darkest before dawn!

 

[tex78]

For your second time sledding, it sounds like your group may have taken you somewhere you didn't need to be.

Maybe next time get a few days under your belt in Boulder...pick and choose what stuff you want to climb...there's lots of big hills for the more experienced guys to play on as well, so nobody gets bored. Best of all....you don't get busted up.

Frickin Tex...

Where we went down into butterfly was where we were going to come back out.

Problem is there was 20 plus sleds skiding down the hill and looked to go out and had a 3 foot deep trench with rocks showing.

Not going back up that and only had the other place to come out.

It wasn't bad to get out.

Just didn't have the speed ( I was at the top waiting for everyone else ) so I didnt see it happen.



And where dean was trying to aim through had tons of room. But caught a small tree which draged him into a big group.


I feel just as bad as I did that night.

But dean said it him self. If he didn't feel like he could do it he wouldn't have gone down.




from my HTC

 

[tranquillicer]

I couldn't agree with you any more!

Seen this in '98 - 2000, pile of guys bought their first sleds, Tcat Mtcats for Christ sakes!

This is a western Canadian problem fuelled by over confident relative newcomers to the sport ( i also know several guys that have been riding for a life time and still shouldn't be on 600 class sled), supported by dealers, and promoted by manufactures!

Have a look around a dealer showroom, and it pretty much tells you the story! I have a family with a few young boys, what am I supposed to start them on? A $14000 new 800, somebodies old wore out 700 mod, where the hell is a decent starter mountian sled?

The hills where I ride are dominated with 800's, not sure about the western US? Manufacutures are missing a market segment here, albeit small (meaning not as lucrative), but this seems to me as being a bit irresponsible by the industry as a whole!

just my bitch for the day....!



Oh and by the way, sorry bout your luck buddy, but don't give up on sledding just yet! The night is always darkest before dawn!

Apparently kids are smarter than some adults then because after their initiation to sledding on 60-80hp sleds my girls went directly to 800's. They were told that the hp is there if you want it but does not have to be used. Common sense for some. Typical 800 sled is running about 130hp at 7,000' and a 600 is all of that where my kids learned to ride here in the flats.
I did not plan to change sleds several times over the learning curve to account for skills and the need for more hp thus, the jump from beginner to 800. As for the dealer thing....I believe they put on their show room floor exactly what the consumer wants and if they don't they will not be around for long.
I am no pro by any stretch but I have been able to teach my girls what I know about mt safety and sledding, and with the help of a couple of pretty well known pro's in Bc they have become quite competent. I believe that teaching your kids will make you keenly aware of keeping a newbie safe and making the appropriate choices on terrain.

 

[tekim]

I feel your pain. Your xrays look disturbingly familiar, except I don't have a good sledding story to go along with it, lol

 

[kokanee 800]

Where we went down into butterfly was where we were going to come back out.

Problem is there was 20 plus sleds skiding down the hill and looked to go out and had a 3 foot deep trench with rocks showing.

Not going back up that and only had the other place to come out.

It wasn't bad to get out.

Just didn't have the speed ( I was at the top waiting for everyone else ) so I didnt see it happen.



And where dean was trying to aim through had tons of room. But caught a small tree which draged him into a big group.


I feel just as bad as I did that night.

But dean said it him self. If he didn't feel like he could do it he wouldn't have gone down.




from my HTC

Yes that was the plan to come up where we dropped in, but sometimes things change. Glad your mending up dean and will check in with you before we go next time and meet you there lol.
Just hit the ejector button next time , shat happens to all , my ac is still healing from the mishap at the top of that damn hill too.

 

[kbrunlees]

That is quite the hardware Dean, are you sure you will be quadding in a month?? Kinda look a little bionic now.

 

[Luke The Drifter]

Let your body heal up completely and come back next season with a fresh attitude man. We've all been there thinking "wtf am I doing this for?" whether it being stuck up to your tits in snow, broken parts, broken bones or bad situations (weather, getting into and out of certain terrain). I would really stick to simple terrain that YOU are 100% comfortable with and work your way up. Slowly but surely start stepping out of your comfort zone and push yourself but within reason. Don't feel like you're holding the group back because you're new. We're out there sledding, it beats the pi$$ outta working IMO, regardless of what terrain and/or snow you're riding. If your riding buddies don't get it, theres lots of us on here (myself included) that will go riding with you and teach you what we can. With that said some of the best and memorable rides I've had have been easy going, simple days with my dad,. Unfortunately he quit sledding several years ago after getting injured in Revy but last weekend I let him take my M8 for a spin at a friend's farm and I think he might pick up a sled again, even if its just for flatlanding

 

[whoDEANie]

That is quite the hardware Dean, are you sure you will be quadding in a month?? Kinda look a little bionic now.

I thught I'd be back in business by now, but it's looking more like closer to the beginning of May at least.

 

[whoDEANie]

Yes that was the plan to come up where we dropped in, but sometimes things change. Glad your mending up dean and will check in with you before we go next time and meet you there lol.
Just hit the ejector button next time , shat happens to all , my ac is still healing from the mishap at the top of that damn hill too.

Sheesh, with your shoulder, that made 3 injuries during my four days of riding! The very first day I went out, one of my buddies broke his ankle. Ahh well, with all the encouraging words from everyone, I'll probably end up getting back on the horse next season. ...truth is, I'd probably hate myself if I didn't.