Sharing Snowmobile Memories Adds To Enjoyment…
Related: Memorable Trail Encounters
Talk about fond snowmobile memories! After years of snowmobiling, I can laugh at even the worst experiences…
I recall sledding near a popular ski resort in the mountains. Our guide worked for a local tour and sled rental company catering mainly to novices. Many were primarily skiers looking for a new adventure. The tours followed a groomed logging road to a play area in a large, open meadow, with no trees or rocks. Just oodles of deep powder…
Rental Reality Makes Fond Snowmobile Memories
It looked to me like a very safe place for beginners to play. Yet each of the new rental sleds had suffered serious dings, bends and cracks. “With nothing for renters to hit but snow, how do your sleds get damaged?” I asked. Our guide replied that when each new group arrives at the meadow to play, they inevitably do two things.
One, run into each other. Or two, get stuck, hitting the throttle while the sled digs itself a burial hole. Apparently, the guides spend all of their time either separating collided sleds or hitting kill switches before excavations start. Maybe leaving them stuck would reduce collisions!
Holed Heat Exchanger Makes Fond Snowmobile Memories
Another favorite memory is simultaneously trying a prototype, pre-studded track and a new aftermarket suspension. We were far from home when my engine warning light came on. A mismatched combination of studs and suspension had holed my tunnel heat exchanger, allowing coolant to escape. We towed my sled back on a Krazy Karpet. Like dog paws slipping on a vinyl floor, the back end of my machine careened from side to side.
Meanwhile, I tried to steer a straight line on that groomed trail. Two hours of terror later, we found a country store. I figured buying extra antifreeze to top up my coolant might enable me to ride my sled back. Except none was available!
Just as I had resigned myself to resumed towing, I noticed a large display of window washer fluid. Aha, I thought and bought 12 jugs. I tied them to every part of my sled. Three hours later, we made it home. But only after refilling the reservoir countless times and consuming all but a half jug of washer fluid. I didn’t even get a chance to clean my windshield!
Ice Storm of ’98 Makes Fond Snowmobile Memories
On the morning after the Great Ice Storm hit the northeast, we awoke to check our sleds. We slip-slid halfway across the parking lot on glare ice. Crawling on hands and knees, we made it to the ice sculptures that used to be our sleds. At almost 1 1/2” thick, the ice had to be cracked with a hammer and brute force before prying it off. Even so, we had to lay over for a day because the going was too treacherous.
Two days later, we were trailering home, still blissfully ignorant about the true extent of the ice storm damage. Except for emergency vehicles and us, the roads were empty, with most exits blocked with stranded vehicles or impassible snow banks.
The power was out, including for gas pumps. Consequently, countless cars were abandoned on the roadside. But we made it, thanks to a siphon hose, an empty jerry can and the fuel remaining in our snowmobiles. Later we found out that highways were actually closed as part of a disaster plan. It pays to have emergency gear on board, just in case!
The tips and advice in this blog are the opinions of the author, may not work in every situation and are intended only for the convenience and interest of the reader, who has the personal responsibility to confirm the validity, accuracy and relevancy of this information prior to putting it to their own use.