Best Snowmobiling Memory

[bobsledder]

I am fortunate to have many good snowmobile stories to remember, travel trips with buds, great rides with the kids and leading new members on the club trails. At this moment a fun day we had at my brother’s farm seems to have great meaning. Our family has been riding since 1972 and some of the sleds have been passed down through the generations. Several years ago we gathered at the farm and had a family ride, the significance was our mother was 81 and wanted to ride her own sled. Our father had passed several years before and I purchased the sleds and trailer. Mother had ridden some since dads passing but this day was different. 4 generations were riding together that afternoon and 3 of dad’s old sleds and 2 of mothers old sleds were there also. There were 13 family members riding together for a fun afternoon.

 

[reiley99]

I am fortunate to have many good snowmobile stories to remember, travel trips with buds, great rides with the kids and leading new members on the club trails. At this moment a fun day we had at my brother’s farm seems to have great meaning. Our family has been riding since 1972 and some of the sleds have been passed down through the generations. Several years ago we gathered at the farm and had a family ride, the significance was our mother was 81 and wanted to ride her own sled. Our father had passed several years before and I purchased the sleds and trailer. Mother had ridden some since dads passing but this day was different. 4 generations were riding together that afternoon and 3 of dad’s old sleds and 2 of mothers old sleds were there also. There were 13 family members riding together for a fun afternoon.

Now that's a good memory.

 

[Cat600]

The 2nd year I owned my zl600 I think, Christmas day after the family spent time opening gifts and messing around and stuff, I decided to go out for a bit. Northern Wisconsin trails, all freshly groomed and barely a sole on them, had about 4-5 hours of the best trails anyone could hope for.

 

[gffdc1045]

My best snowmobile memory is of taking my 13 yr old son to Cable 5 years ago. We had driven 10 hours to get there and he was VERY impatient with travel. We got unloaded about noon and rode until supper as we were headed into the Loon for supper Ryan said to me " I hope I can bring my son here some day dad this is the greatest trip ever!" We have been on a sled trip together every year since and I would not trade those memory's for anything. Now my daughter just turned 11 and its time for me to find a way to make a 500 sno pro PINK!

 

[lenny]

Have many many good memories but one that stands out was a trip up to da UP with 4 really good friends. We had major new snow and we all were trail riders at the time. I jumped off onto a logging road spontaneously and we stayed out there well into the dark and have been talking about that trip for years. I remember the snow was deep and we found these off-shoots of the road and it was like the trail was real high on the edges and we jumped ever bump and hump there was to be had. Snow flying over the hood and pillow like landings,,,,good good times

 

[bonnevier]

Here are some of my most vivid memories:

1. My first couple of times "driving" the sled took place in a friend of the family's yard in Palos Park, IL. Cruising around in circles on a Yamaha 340 Enticer (I think) making our own trails. I was probably 7 or 8 and I got so good, the friend suggested that his grand daughter hop onto the back. All was going well until I took a turn too fast. I hit the break but held onto the gas and went right through the wood fence with her on back. Not smooth and they bring it up still today!

2. We used to have a place in da Yoop near Big Powderhorn and I remember being young enough to ride between my dad's legs. Not sure where we were going but I was falling asleep here and there and having a blast! One year I finally got old enough to make the annual "stag weekend" with all the guys and I hung tough.

3. I would say it was back in 2004-2005 and it had been many years since I last was snowmobiling. My wife surprised me for my b-day with a sleddin trip to Tomahawk, WI. Rented sleds, hit up all the trails and we both had a blast. The next 2 years we did it with couples until we hit a really cold weekend...best thing that could have happened. Now it is all guys and guys only every year!

 

[m8man]

Now out here by Lake Linden in the Keweenaw the use to have something called the Flake Fest back in the 80's. What it was was an 8th mile drag down a straight track that wasn't groomed it was just straight. I believe it was 1986 possibly 1987, so I was about 13. I already had a bunch of years sledding in and had riden my own sled with our group for a season or two. they had a bunch of classes, and my dad had bought a brand new phazer, had it polished, ported, and a clutch kit. The thing ripped, for the time. He ran it and then what seemed like average times/performance, he asked me to run it because I was lighter and I ran the best time/speed that day in my class. I still remember that I ran 76 mph, and I got an envelope with some $$ in it. boy I felt like the king that day. the next year I got to run as well and placed but nothing like the first year. I have to ask my dad if he remembers that. I felt like I shouldn't tell my mom I went that fast. Also in 1984 my dad bought a new vmax 540, i think that was the cc, I asked him to take me fast and he took me like 60 mph back then and that rocked. gosh those were the days.

m8man

 

[dj2muchjunk]

I think it was 1969, I would have been 12. a classmate friend's family invited me to overnight visit. We were both farm kids so after chores Kelly's big brother took us (all 3 on one sled) on a snowmobile ride on their new Yamaha. We went through various fields and headed towards home on an hard packed icy road. Going wide open John yells lean and locks up the brakes and throws the sled sideways sliding down the road. Scared ----less but excited as ****, will never forget my first ride!

 

[doospunk]

Short and sweet, but Winnipeg, Manitoba (mid through late 80's). Dad had the Doo Blizzard, and a 76 Scorpion Whip he entrusted me with. We used to ride the Red River and trail systems on weekends, and when he was away, he let me ride the whip around the woods and land. I'd ride that thing in circles around the property, and when mom would call us in, I'd carefully put the cover on the sled (next to the blizzard) in front of the shed, and take a walk over my tracks time and time again to see the line and all the "cool" turns I made. Unfortunately, that property/neighborhood is no longer there. The River claimed it on two different occasions, and after the second time, it was abandoned. There were 12 houses back in the woods. Each with a minimum of 4 acres, good people and many memories.

 

[Team Elkhorn]

All this talk about snowmobiling is finally getting my 2 stroke blood flowing again. I think I'll finally pull the sleds into the garage this weekend and clean them up. Hoping for 7 seasons from the batteries, but I don't know.
Anyway I was talking to a friend last night about the good old days and riding with our kids in the 80s at the Kettle Moraine SF on the old sleds and Cutter. Spending the whole day having a blast out in the woods. We would pack a lunch and eat out on the trail at some scenic overlook. Awesome times! I still need to scan some pictures, but I did find a picture of our '72 Cheetah and cutter on the computer. I also had my '73 Puma then, the first sled I ever bought when I was a kid. The Cheetah was the 2nd. Wow I'm old.
View attachment 36060

 

[blkhwkbob]

Wow! That thing looks fast standing still! NOT!!!!

 

[snoluver1]

Great thread John. Lots of great stories!

I had to think about this one for quite a while. Like so many others, I have a ton of great memories. From riding in front of my Dad, to trips with the guys, to trips with my kids, etc,etc. It was pretty hard to narrow it down, but if I had to pick just one, I would have to say it was the first time my Dad cut me loose to make my own tracks.

I'll never forget the excitement I felt that day when the old man looked at me and said, "you think you can handle heading out on your own?" I was around 11 or 12, and I was so excited I think I may have even let a little pee out. We had just got dumped on by a nasty Nor'easter and had about 2.5 ft of fresh. On that old '72 T'NT, 2.5 ft was a LOT of snow! I know Dad was a little nervous. He must have asked me a dozen times if I had spare plugs, belt and gas before I left. Up until that point, I had only been allowed to ride in our yard and in the hay field out back. I remember the feeling of absolute freedom I had, when I left the edge of that hay field, lost sight of the house, and headed out into the woods.

I had my trip all planed out. I was going to try and get out to an old hunter's camp I knew about, that was way out in the "middle of nowhere" and had a bunch of old logging trails leading in every direction from it. I was going exploring!! It was an exciting trip and I had quite a few hairy moments along the way, but I made it out there. I played around for a while and decided I was starting to run low on fuel so it was time to head back toward home. That's when my trip got real interesting.

I came to a spot in the trail where there was a nasty off camber climb I would have to make. I remember thinking on my way out, that that spot would give me trouble on the way back. Well, it sure did. I got about half way across that hill and got hung up on a downed log. When the track spun on the log, the sled slid down hill and the back of the skis lodged themselves under the log. Now I cant go forward, and I cant pull the sled back. I was in trouble. Keep in mind, I'm 12 years old and cant really lift the sled by myself. I was about 3-4 miles away from home and I knew it would take a couple hours to walk it in that snow. I also thought if I did go home to get my Dad, he would never let me go out on my own again. So, I decided I would have to put my big boy pants on and figure something out.

I had a small hand saw, a bit of rope and a bunch of brush to work with. I ended up making a lever and fulcrum system to lift the rear of the sled up higher than the log. Then I built a log bridge under the track and packed it with snow. Wouldn't you know it, after about 2 hours of messing around, I got that dang machine out of the woods all by myself.
I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment I had after that. I know it sounds corny, but at that moment in time, I was no longer a 12 year old boy. I was a 12 year old MAN! LOL

 

[uncle_ed]

As many have stated some of our first experiences that got us hooked in this great pastime stick in our minds the most and the same is true for me. I remember taking turns up in Canada on my uncles old snow cruiser in the back forty with my cousins and brothers and it seemed that the snow was knee deep in the fields but super high next to the roads. I believe it was stacked up high by the roads because the road grader they used to plow the snow with never got going fast enough to get the snow far from the road and it would just pile up and then drift even worse with the winds.

Anyway we were looking for a way to have fun with the group so we rustled up this roll of rubbery sealing strip from the barn and used it to pull each other around the fields on a pair of old downhill snow skis. It was just like water skiing but hurt a little more when you fell!! My youngest brother couldnt get the hang of it to well so we tied a sled on the end and let him ride it around the fields as my cousin drove and I spotted. Well ole cousin bill decided to ride up the bank next to the road and around this downed tree and mess with my brother a bit. Of course he got hung up in the branches and we just kept going...........stretching that rubbery 100 foot long strip out to about 200 feet.......and then my brother rolled off the sled letting it free to catapult toward us like a slingshot. It was coming right for us, rocking from runner to runner at a blazing speed that im sure that old snowmobile could not outrun!! About the time I hit my cousin in the ribs to get going faster the sled passed us by!!! Man we were lucky that thing didnt clip us!!

I survived a few more close calls over the years but have resigned myself to leave the silly stuff to the kids now.......

 

[90s]

This takes place in 1962 when I was in the Navy stationed at South Pole Antarctica. We had a Polaris that had the engine in back, I beleive it was a Kohler. We kept the "thing" in a tunnel that led down into camp. The camp was buried under snow. Had to pre-heat the engine to get it started, got it running and headed for the geographic South Pole which was about a half mile from the camp, circled the flag at the Pole a couple times and back to camp. Non-stop around the world!! Temp was probably -30. There are many other rides thru out the last 50 years that I have been on that are memorable, but this one stands out, even though it was only a couple miles.

 

[bearrassler]

I have lots of great stories over the years, so I will start with one from the 60's. In 1969 my parents went to the West Yellowstone Roundup in early March and my dad met a hunting guide from Bozeman named Jr Meyers. He left some snowmobiles with him in Bozeman and my older brother, myself, and my dad flew out to Livingston in my dads Cessna 210 a little before Easter. Jr picked us up in Livingston and we were going to one of his hunting cabins near the 320 Ranch between Bozeman and West Yellowstone. We unloaded the sleds at the 320 Ranch and rode about a mile to his cabin. The snow must have been 3 feet deep on the roof so they made my brother and I go up and shovel it off. We rode around for 3 days just north of Yellowstone, and the last day we went to Bucks T4 ranch and pulled hay on old car hoods out about a quarter mile from the ranch, and a little while later the elk came down by the hundreds and ate the hay. This was a few years before they built the Big SkySki resort just down the road and it was not built up at all in that area. The wind was blowing about 80 mph when we were suppose to fly out so we had to stay an extra day. When we got back to school everyone thought we had went to Florida because we had good tans.

 

[bearrassler]

Hey John we bought 6 or 8 Sno-Runners in the late 70's, I think it took until the late 80's to sell them all, Doospunk, I see you said you rode in the woods up in Manitoba, up there it is not woods, it is da bush eh.