No Snowmobiling Experience - A Ton of Questions!!!

[Billygoat]

Hi All,

For years now, I've been planning to buy a Polaris RZR as soon as my finances permit. I love ATVing and the RZR is an absolute blast. However, it struck me the other day that so much of our year here in Calgary is Winter that I might not get much use out of it and that perhaps I should consider a snowmobile instead. I've never ridden a snowmobile and have a lot of questions that I'd like to know the answers to before fully considering going down this road instead. I know this is a lot of questions so if you only want to pick a few and answer those, that would still be much appreciated. Also, as a disclaimer, I'm assuming this is a Calgary and area forum as I came to it off the Calgary Snowmobile Club website. If that's not the case, my apologies. Some questions are Calgary specific.

1. How much of an issue is the avalanche concern when snowmobiling? Is this mostly an issue for the cruising up the mountain off-trail guys or is it a prevalent concern on many Calgary surrounding area trail systems?

2. How much of the year are Calgary riders able to go out assuming one is willing to drive an hour or two?

3. I am a big guy. Are these comfortable to ride for bigger guys?

4. I have one bad knee from a quad outing where my knee buckled which is one of the reasons I was considering a RZR over a quad. What is the wear of your knees like on a snowmobile? Is it like a quad where you're not really sitting on the seat when going fast and hitting bumps/jumps and so your knees take a lot of punishment?

5. There seems to be about 4 different snowmobile types. Not brands, but purposes if you will. Which type makes the most sense for a new rider who isn't sure what kind of riding they prefer yet? Is there a type that's kind of well rounded and covers a few purposes?

6. Avalanche issues aside, how common are snowmobile accidents and how bad do they tend to be? Obviously a helmet is a must but do you guys wear chest plates and stuff like that like a dirt biker would?

7. I assume there are tons of places to go close to Calgary. Is that correct?

Thanks!

 

[dogsmack]

OMG you ready for the onslaught of info, comments and opinions?

Answers:
1. Avi issues are issues in avi territory educate yourself.
2. Amount of riding is proportional to your income, time off and snow/weather conditions.
3. I ride with a couple guys almost 300 lbs without issue on summit 800 etec's
4. Abuse is what you put into the ride. Limits are set by your choices. Powder is soft, landing a bad jump is painful.
5. Question 5 is a loaded question, personaly I can serve up case of Doolaide and other will most likely and will disagree. A well rounded ride I can't answer as I own a 2013 summit 154 800 etec. It is wicked with lots of jam and great fuel economy.
6. Demon protective wear from allsportsprotection.com save a ton on gear and ship united states parcel service NOT courier. Minimum with helmet is chest protection for ribs which usually covers a spine guard.
7. Alberta and BC is your oyster with sled areas and this is the place to find out where.

Best of luck.

 

[summit1974]

-there is thousands of miles of avalanche free snowmobiling within a 250 km radius of Calgary.
-you can ride nov/june most years.(the experience is very different from season to season and based on snow conditions)
-what is a Big guy?
-riding a sled can be almost like riding a dirt bike…but you can drive them sitting down as well.
-it really depends on what your looking for as an experience …the most valuable thing to have are friends willing to show you the ropes
-if you start out with a good day in the mountains you could be hooked for life,but start out with a bad day and you might never wanna look at a snowmobile again
-this i a great forum for information ….lots of great people on this forum!!

 

[mick]

Buy the RZR first. We ride year round with the RZR, sleds will sit for way longer than the RZR. Dogsmack covered the basics except for to doolaide part.

 

[Bnorth]

It sounds like the rzr is the right choice for you. In the Calgary area it will be usable almost year round where sledding is very season limited especially if you are not travelling to the mountains. Sledding is hard on the knees as you will rarely sit except on freshly groomed trails. If you are unsure what kind of sled you want you should rent a couple different types and try them out. Being the beginner isn't the concern so much as the type of riding you plan to do (mountains, trails, drift busting etc). They are fine for big guys I'm 6'3" 270# and my 800 summit hauls me around handily. From Calgary expect a fair bit of travel time and weekend trips. Avalanches are all about managing risk, just as you wouldn't pass on a corner in a white out you don't highmark in terrain trapped avalanche runouts up to the rocks when the risk is high.

Sledding is the most fun you can have, but it is expensive and time consuming with a limited season. You will probably get more use out of a side x side.