The information you will read below is true to the best of my recollection. Some names may have been changed to protect those weaker riders (i.e. myself) or the stuck monsters in the group (i.e. Gigakesslers). </SPAN>
Let me start by saying a couple things. First off I have never been to Togwotee before, and in fact I was always a little skeptical about it – you do pay a premium to go there. </SPAN>
The big rig loaded up and left SE Wisconsin on Wednesday around 11 pm. We had a late addition to the truck, Cheeks (whom we have never ridden with out west before), who really saved Vito and I from driving the whole way as a duo. I should step back here and let you know Cheeks wasn’t always a blessing – he drove too fast, took too many chances, and almost ran us out of diesel on 2 occasions. If his recklessness behind the wheel said anything about his riding behind the bars, we were going to have front seats for the best rodeo on snow. But I digress.</SPAN>
Somewhere in Minnesota we got into some freezing fog which made it interesting for a while. At the first gas stop I felt like I was banging ice on deadliest catch. It built up quick!</SPAN>
After another 15 hours we were finally in western South Dakota. I think this is a pic of the rig in Wall, which surprisingly only have 3 diesel pumps in the whole town… Vito is yelling at me to get back in the truck and let’s get the heck outta here. That Wall Drug is creepy.</SPAN>
Finally around 6 pm MST (yes we changed out clocks), we arrived at Togwotee Mountain Lodge. Being our first time we were impressed. The staff was friendly, happy and eager to please. We quickly unloaded and sat down to our first meal there (we were all hungry as the only thing we had eaten the whole drive was a 50 pack of lunch bag size chips (assortment of course Doritos, Fritos, Sun Chips, Cheetos and Potato), Being on the winter package was nice. Anything off the menu. I chose a steak the first night. And actually that was the only time I ate such a big meal. At Togwotee you don’t eat when you are hungry, you eat when it is time to eat, whether you are hungry or not.</SPAN>
The rest of the guys flew in to Jackson Hole around 9 and were picked up by the included Togwotee shuttle service. We didn’t really stay up to see them in.</SPAN>
Friday morning was ride time though and everyone was up at the crack of dawn (or as close to it as you can get when you are on vacation). With a few rips around the parking lot, a brief introduction with our guide Carter and we were ready to ride. The first day it was just the 6 of us out riding.</SPAN>
The stucks started not 5 minutes from the lodge. Carter, as the ever courteous guide, was the first – I think he was just trying to make us comfortable with the idea of getting stuck. He came to a 5’ drop and slowed (he would call that a rookie mistake) because he couldn’t see the landing. Well anyway, once he cleared the ground below (it does make sense to know where you are going on occasion), the top lip broke and he rolled off the side. With Carter unable to lead, the rest of us were stuck or close to it within seconds…</SPAN>
The snow was really different from anything I had ever ridden before. It hadn’t snowed fresh in over a week so it was really sun dependent. One spot would be first and then all of a sudden you would hit a soft spot like quicksand. There was also a hard crust layer about 1-2 feet down. If you broke through that, watch out – it was a nose-dive, roll or ski tug minimum.</SPAN>
As we have always ridden the Snowies in the past, the terrain was definitely new to me. The best way to describe it is, there are many more ravines, open areas with small hills, and sudden gullies. If I were to compare it to a ski hill, I would call Togwotee the terrain park (lots of small jumps open landings, features to braap off of, etc), where the Snowies would be the black diamonds (bigger hills, more trees, “less inviting”). Don’t get me wrong there is very technical riding at Togwotee, but there is an added level of fun factor in all of the geographical features in my mind. There is one spot in the Snowies called the “Roller Coaster”, at Togwotee I felt like I was in it almost the entire time!</SPAN>
I had a monster Perma-smile under the helmet. I can see how this place could be very different in low light conditions – maybe even a little dangerous with all of the holes we came across. A couple pictures of the terrain:</SPAN>
Everything is always going up or down…</SPAN>
A larger meadow that we tore up on our way thorugh – see how even the meadow has little bumps to cat walk over or whatever?</SPAN>
You gotta follow the guide. Carter took us up around these little hills and we tore them up after getting a lay of the land.</SPAN>
On the first day after a tough dig out, Vito’s foot somehow got locked in to his running board and he sprained it pretty bad. He was pretty angry that night in the Red Fox Saloon. Everyone else was fine. </SPAN>
Vito spend Saturday in the Jackson Hospital, where they told him he had a torn ligament and needed 6 weeks rest. He was really hurting that night, and even was using a cane. Sunday and Monday though he was back on the sled and his ankle was really feeling good – the swelling even went down from a softball to a hardball… While he was in Jackson we were out in the hills. For the rest of the trip we added 2 great guys from MI. They were a lot of fun to ride with.</SPAN>
Snosnake and I had a little foot race back up a small hill after a dig out. It was a tie.</SPAN>
The transition from downhill to uphill proved to be a battle the whole trip with the differing snow conditions.
We had a blast with Carter. He was always challenging us to push our limits. He told us to take a look at a line up through a hill, explained how he thought we should hit it and said it would be no problem… Once up there Gigz gave it his best shot, but I think a little turbo power (or a little more than the 30’ running start the hill allowed) may have been necessary to make it up through the vertical section which kicked him a little to the right... A rock and tree kept the sled from coming back down.</SPAN>
And here is me using the approved roll method (use your legs not your back).</SPAN>
And here is one of the MI boys using his brake instead of the throttle! Carter was always there to help dig out (within reason of course) – we may have tested his patience at times
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>
Let me start by saying a couple things. First off I have never been to Togwotee before, and in fact I was always a little skeptical about it – you do pay a premium to go there. </SPAN>
The big rig loaded up and left SE Wisconsin on Wednesday around 11 pm. We had a late addition to the truck, Cheeks (whom we have never ridden with out west before), who really saved Vito and I from driving the whole way as a duo. I should step back here and let you know Cheeks wasn’t always a blessing – he drove too fast, took too many chances, and almost ran us out of diesel on 2 occasions. If his recklessness behind the wheel said anything about his riding behind the bars, we were going to have front seats for the best rodeo on snow. But I digress.</SPAN>
Somewhere in Minnesota we got into some freezing fog which made it interesting for a while. At the first gas stop I felt like I was banging ice on deadliest catch. It built up quick!</SPAN>
After another 15 hours we were finally in western South Dakota. I think this is a pic of the rig in Wall, which surprisingly only have 3 diesel pumps in the whole town… Vito is yelling at me to get back in the truck and let’s get the heck outta here. That Wall Drug is creepy.</SPAN>
Finally around 6 pm MST (yes we changed out clocks), we arrived at Togwotee Mountain Lodge. Being our first time we were impressed. The staff was friendly, happy and eager to please. We quickly unloaded and sat down to our first meal there (we were all hungry as the only thing we had eaten the whole drive was a 50 pack of lunch bag size chips (assortment of course Doritos, Fritos, Sun Chips, Cheetos and Potato), Being on the winter package was nice. Anything off the menu. I chose a steak the first night. And actually that was the only time I ate such a big meal. At Togwotee you don’t eat when you are hungry, you eat when it is time to eat, whether you are hungry or not.</SPAN>
The rest of the guys flew in to Jackson Hole around 9 and were picked up by the included Togwotee shuttle service. We didn’t really stay up to see them in.</SPAN>
Friday morning was ride time though and everyone was up at the crack of dawn (or as close to it as you can get when you are on vacation). With a few rips around the parking lot, a brief introduction with our guide Carter and we were ready to ride. The first day it was just the 6 of us out riding.</SPAN>
The stucks started not 5 minutes from the lodge. Carter, as the ever courteous guide, was the first – I think he was just trying to make us comfortable with the idea of getting stuck. He came to a 5’ drop and slowed (he would call that a rookie mistake) because he couldn’t see the landing. Well anyway, once he cleared the ground below (it does make sense to know where you are going on occasion), the top lip broke and he rolled off the side. With Carter unable to lead, the rest of us were stuck or close to it within seconds…</SPAN>
The snow was really different from anything I had ever ridden before. It hadn’t snowed fresh in over a week so it was really sun dependent. One spot would be first and then all of a sudden you would hit a soft spot like quicksand. There was also a hard crust layer about 1-2 feet down. If you broke through that, watch out – it was a nose-dive, roll or ski tug minimum.</SPAN>
As we have always ridden the Snowies in the past, the terrain was definitely new to me. The best way to describe it is, there are many more ravines, open areas with small hills, and sudden gullies. If I were to compare it to a ski hill, I would call Togwotee the terrain park (lots of small jumps open landings, features to braap off of, etc), where the Snowies would be the black diamonds (bigger hills, more trees, “less inviting”). Don’t get me wrong there is very technical riding at Togwotee, but there is an added level of fun factor in all of the geographical features in my mind. There is one spot in the Snowies called the “Roller Coaster”, at Togwotee I felt like I was in it almost the entire time!</SPAN>
I had a monster Perma-smile under the helmet. I can see how this place could be very different in low light conditions – maybe even a little dangerous with all of the holes we came across. A couple pictures of the terrain:</SPAN>
Everything is always going up or down…</SPAN>
A larger meadow that we tore up on our way thorugh – see how even the meadow has little bumps to cat walk over or whatever?</SPAN>
You gotta follow the guide. Carter took us up around these little hills and we tore them up after getting a lay of the land.</SPAN>
On the first day after a tough dig out, Vito’s foot somehow got locked in to his running board and he sprained it pretty bad. He was pretty angry that night in the Red Fox Saloon. Everyone else was fine. </SPAN>
Vito spend Saturday in the Jackson Hospital, where they told him he had a torn ligament and needed 6 weeks rest. He was really hurting that night, and even was using a cane. Sunday and Monday though he was back on the sled and his ankle was really feeling good – the swelling even went down from a softball to a hardball… While he was in Jackson we were out in the hills. For the rest of the trip we added 2 great guys from MI. They were a lot of fun to ride with.</SPAN>
Snosnake and I had a little foot race back up a small hill after a dig out. It was a tie.</SPAN>
The transition from downhill to uphill proved to be a battle the whole trip with the differing snow conditions.
We had a blast with Carter. He was always challenging us to push our limits. He told us to take a look at a line up through a hill, explained how he thought we should hit it and said it would be no problem… Once up there Gigz gave it his best shot, but I think a little turbo power (or a little more than the 30’ running start the hill allowed) may have been necessary to make it up through the vertical section which kicked him a little to the right... A rock and tree kept the sled from coming back down.</SPAN>
And here is me using the approved roll method (use your legs not your back).</SPAN>
And here is one of the MI boys using his brake instead of the throttle! Carter was always there to help dig out (within reason of course) – we may have tested his patience at times
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN>
