snowmobiling the NW

trxguy · Dec 12, 2011

So my wife and I decided we want to get into snowmobiling. We have talked about it for a couple years and we have decided to buy a couple sleds this week. I know the wenatchee area has a bunch of trails and the nordic side of stevens opens to sleds in march i believe, however does anyone know where else to sled or where we can find info on places to go and places to sleep in those areas.

Thanks
matt

boardbysled · Dec 12, 2011

Backcountryrebels is the pirate4x4 of the snowmobile world.

And there is TONS of good snowmobiling in the northsound. Mt. Baker being the dominate area. Ive been sledding since I could walk, its funner then wheeling.:beer:

trxguy · Dec 12, 2011

boardbysled said:
Backcountryrebels is the pirate4x4 of the snowmobile world.

And there is TONS of good snowmobiling in the northsound. Mt. Baker being the dominate area. Ive been sledding since I could walk, its funner then wheeling.:beer:

Thanks jacob i think we will enjoy it i have always had quads and dirtbikes., you should show me the ropes some time. Are you back from idaho yet?

boardbysled · Dec 12, 2011

Ill be back this week for about a month. And I am willing to go riding anytime.

What kinda sleds you guys picking up?

trxguy · Dec 12, 2011

I wanted a rmk but we found a package deal a polaris 440 swapped to a 500
Another polaris 440
And an arctic cat 580 fuel injected
The package is for all 3

boardbysled · Dec 12, 2011

Ah nice. We have a Polaris 440 with close to 10k miles on it, ya just cant kill em. They are awesome because they are so light that I can pick em up by myself.

Those 580's get around decent, but if you get much into backcountry riding, your gonna wanna upgrade to something with a little more power (just like every other sport it seems:redneck

trxguy · Dec 12, 2011

What do you know about the 600 or 700 triples

boardbysled · Dec 12, 2011

trxguy said:
What do you know about the 600 or 700 triples

I own one, a 96 Polaris Ultra 680,psi pipes, slp heads, 159" track. Damn good sled, bit on the heavy side though. With heads & triple pipes, the desktop dino says right around 150hp. The only problem is that I have to keep up on the jetting. Thats whats nice about fuel injected sleds, put gas and oil in them, and ride.

The 600's seemed to be underpowered for how heavy they are imo.

A huge upgrade on the indy chassis sleds is to ditch the stock handlebars to a wider, straighter pair and get a riser. The stock handlebars sit so low that its hard to ride standing up.

My dad just purchased a Mountain Cat 900 with a 153" track, and it rips. First sled that I have rode that will push past my comfort level. I have to say, the new sleds are lightyears ahead of the older sleds.

jeffs_62 · Dec 12, 2011

Lake Wenatchee:awesomework:

Yotakid · Dec 12, 2011

I grew up riding on snoqualmie. Crystal Springs sno-park for more trail riding, Gold Creek sno-park for more aggressive backcountry. Cle Elum has some decent trails too with some cabins you can rent.

trxguy · Dec 13, 2011

So how does the discover pass work. Is it just for ur trailer rig ur leavong parked or do u have to have it on each recrwational vehical u have

boardbysled · Dec 13, 2011

trxguy said:
So how does the discover pass work. Is it just for ur trailer rig ur leavong parked or do u have to have it on each recrwational vehical u have

For most of the snowmobiling I do, you just need tabs on the sleds and a Sno-Park permit (free with tabs) on your tow rig. There is some locations in Central WA where you would need the discover pass just for your tow rig, as your sleds are exempt because of thier tabs.

trxguy · Dec 15, 2011

So i picked up the wifes sled today a 1999 arctic cat 600 efi deep powder special with a 136x2 track

greenie · Dec 20, 2011

trxguy said:
So i picked up the wifes sled today a 1999 arctic cat 600 efi deep powder special with a 136x2 track

those arent too bad, a bit heavy as you will find.
if you can step up to the 2000s, "the mellenium year" sleds recieved significant upgrades across the board. my fav was the yamaha mountain max 700, which were awesome sleds back then. skidoo was the first to offer a 151 track which made thier summit the top dawg though. But when polaris came out with their small block 600 in 02 or 03, they were really on to somethin good, like they had a crystal ball or somethin. they punched those blocks out to 800 and are still runnin em in their pro chassis, which is like 100 pounds lighter than the tanks we are used to.
:beer: