Poster: A snowHead
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A fascinating article on hybrid skiing or sled-skiing. Using a ski-doo to get out into the back country areas for off piste skiing in British Coumbia. See this from skimag.com
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Some call it sled-skiing; others, hybrid skiing. Whatever the label, using snowmobiles to access powder is going off. To have a Yamaha, Arctic Cat, or Polaris dangling from your trailer hitch in Canada today is to be in possession of the ski accessory of the moment. The movement, however, is decidedly proletarian: North of Whistler—so off-the-map it’s easier accessed in winter via a 35-mile snowmobile route than by asphalt—ski bums are buying ramshackle Victorians in the for- gotten mining town of Bralorne, cruising down the snowy main drag each morning, and heading into the bush to score untapped lines on lonesome peaks. In the yawning ranges of central British Columbia, where the mountains are scribbled with logging roads, roughneck Revelstoke has a strong core of sled-skiers. And for $200, a commercial sled-ski outfit in Valemount will haul you up to fresh tracks all day in the same mountain ranges where heli-ski outfits charge $800. |
There are good photos in the slide show at the bottom of the article. And if all this has whetted your appetite, cooking tips too
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At the bottom, Macdougall has unhinged the cowling of his Skidoo and opened a package of chicken sausages, which he’s barbecuing on his muffler. “Beaks and assholes, probably,” he says, handing them out.
“You’ve eaten worse, eh, Joe?”
“Can’t say I’ve eaten better.”
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But it's not all good news ......
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The only cloud in the sky is a cumulus of two-stroke oil that hovers over the parking lot. |
Why do they use these stinky 2 strokes (once described as science's biggest blunder - it just should not work). Why can't cleaner burning 4 strokes be used on snowmobiles ?? Any other comments, snowHeads
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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An alternative engine has been around for some time, although not entirely free from noise and pollution. It's called DOG.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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A variation on the theme. Sno-Cats provide the mechanical uplift in a commercial operation. At a sedate 9mph. See this artice from seattlepi.com
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Some novice Sno-Cat skiers, however, are a little disappointed until they settle into the experience. Runs are often brief, usually less than 2,000 vertical feet. (Drop much lower and the return trip uphill, in a Sno-Cat that moves at 9 mph, could take all day.) A typical Sno-Cat day includes only about nine runs and 12,000 feet of skiing, which a hard-charging skier can post before lunch at Vail.
Then there's the transportation. Sitting in a cab bolted to a Sno-Cat's back as the machine growls and lurches uphill on roads of packed snow can make for a rough ride. Sometimes, when the vehicle is jostling and the windows are fogged and you lose the horizon and a whiff of diesel exhaust finds your nostrils, you feel that your breakfast may make a return appearance. On my first Sno-Cat trip several years ago, before I learned to stake out a window seat, I took Dramamine.
Now, I almost look forward to the rides uphill. The cab of a Sno-Cat is a movable barstool. Crammed shoulder-to-shoulder for up to a half-hour at a time, skiers bond quickly. Stories are swapped. |
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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More on sled-skiing from Vail in this article from Rocky Mountain News
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For former World Cup ski racer Mike Brown, snowmobiling and skiing go together like freshies and fat boards. But for snowmobile mechanic Marshall Ringler, the two sports mix like oil and water.
Surprise, surprise: Two people, two opinions of one of the most divisive issues in the world of backcountry snow sports. Ask another dozen people, and you'll probably get a dozen different opinions of a sport alternately referred to as snowmobile skiing, sled skiing or snomo-skiing. |
Some tips on this controversial use of snowmobiles at the end of the article and Proper Etiquette
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• Don't ride your snowmobile onto a slope someone is skiing or riding on, even if you think it's stable. The extra weight of your machine could trigger a slide.
• Respect other user groups, including commercial operations, and Forest Service use designations prohibiting motorized access. Never snowmobile in a wilderness area. |
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cr500dom - I thought the problem with 2 stroke emissions was that they were far worse than 4 strokes and therefore not as enviromentally friendly. Not only do they burn oil as well as petrol but due to the design of ports, the exhausts were open at the same time as the inlets during the intake/compression stroke and allowed unburnt fuel to flow straight out. Due to the burn oil in this exhaust gas they were unable to use cat convertors to help clean it up.
I remember a company by the name of orbit, who had high hopes of using a 2 stroke motor designed to run a sealed lube system and fuel injection to control lost intake gases. Any ideas what happended with that design?.
Bimota, an italian bike maker also produced a 2 stroke, initialy with fuel injection, but couldn't get it working right and ended up having to recall the bikes to fit carbs and as a result messing up the emissions again.
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