I wonder if the summit 800ho in going to work as well as the 1M 900 Cat? I heard even with the limited build on the 900 it was highmarking all.

Oh I almost forgot............congrats on the new title permafrost and I think this forum is going to add alot to this site. :thumbsup:

Thanxs Sled-head. The summit 800 HO cleaned up at haydays hopefully it will do as well in the hills. The new MC900 has alot of serious improvements for this winter and will be a serious contender.

Is having permafrost as the moderator here gonna be the same as having snowmonkey as the moderator in the open forum? :0: :D

Congrats on the new title from me as well.

What about Queen of the mountain?? :D

as for the ski-doo beating up on the cat it really all depends on the rider.

I had a couple seasons under my belt(still a rookie) and bought a newer sled(93xlt sks),,well my brother comes along on a 96 340 puma and basically made me look foolish :D
it wasn't the highlight of my riding experiences but it taught me that if the rider don't know what to do it doesn't matter how good the sled is.

LadyK,you can be queen of the mountain if ya beat me to the top :p
I know a few lady's that can ride,and very well too.


just watch out for those puma's,I still have nightmares!

Need Snow you are so right. It is at least 60% rider. Just a few years ago 136" were all the rave in the mountains. Now it seems if you dont have at least a 151" people dont think you will make it :)

riding powder is harder than most people think,its physically demanding,took a guy out 2 years ago who had never ridden in powder,he was a loud mouth who was saying its not that hard so he rented a summit 700 136 2inch paddle,he didnt know how to approach anything and was stuck all day,so just because you have a good sled you still need to know how to approach things,and yet hes been sledding for years(all trails..lake racer)

I am a newbie to the powder and i am sure I will spend more time practicing than anything. :D

Needsnow- Ill sure try!

Your right just a couple years ago a long track was 136" now you cant buy a big cc cat or polaris shorter than 144". Those long tracks are going to get alot of new riders into trouble.

I wish Polaris made that SKS a 136" track. that is a nice sled.

supposedly the 144" handles like a 136" on the trail due to the tipped up rails,yet in the power you still get 144" for flotation,sounds like a great all around sled

:D I seriously considered the 2003 SKS 800 and if i would have found a polaris dealer that would give me a decent trade in for the putty tat i would have been riding one this winter!! 144 seems like alot, but off trail boondocking would be termendous with this machine!! Not many trails where we live so it is tral blazin through stubbles and ditches!! I will wait and see how it performs then consider the machine for next year!!!For now i am gonna 136" the putty tat!!! :D

I need some clarification here...I am wondering if my idea of powder riding is the same as those of the middle and eastern US riders. Many of the posts I have been reading are about people riding in powder in farmers fields, ditches, etc. If that's the case, it doesn't sound like much fun to me. On the issue of riding in the powder, the tough part is learning that you can't just hit the gas from a standstill, and that is still easy to figure out. Even on my sister's ZR 580, I can quite a ways in the mountains, just not where the long tracks go, thats for sure . I'm just a little confused on how it works in the Eastern parts of the US...

In ontario we dont have to many clear hills they are covered in trees. We run hydro lines /pipe lines /riverbeds and untracked logging roads. Last year(JAN) the powder in Cochrane was around 6' deep and i still hadnt hit bottom. There were NO hard layers in between just fluff. I was walking in the troughs I made and I still couldnt see grass and the top was almost over my helmet. Last season with my Gade 136"x1.25" I found a crazy technique that worked every time I tried it. If I started feeling that my sled was getting sucked in beyond the point of no return . I would give the throttle a good blip before I bailed off. The machine would land on top of the powder every time. No digging. I would just swim through the powder back over to the machine, put one leg on and doo a power turn out of there. Give it a try, you'll be suprised. Just M2C

permafrost - that sounds like a good idea and way of spraying a buddy or two nearby. Thanks for the idea...

NP crazymtnx34, most of the people dont know when to make the call and dig down to the sod , makes for alot of digging , the same applies for water ive seen lots go down full throttle,lol. Ladyk made the call 2 winters ago on her FZ500 , it was straight up and going down hard , she hit the kill
dove off and swam too shore. i thew her on the back of my sled and headed off to the doo dealers house a few kms away.

The most powder I've ever been in is after a good blow and we usually don't get more than 2-3 ft during a real good storm. Then it warms up and the powder is no more. You guys make it sound like a real gas. Love to try it sometime with the proper instruction.

Permafrost is right about our area. I think the difference between the flatlands and the mountain areas is that (from what I've read) you mountain guys do a lot of traillering to get to where you ride. That is of course unless you are from the only state north of Canada. Myself I start my sled in the garage, and ride off for the day. Getting there is half the fun!!!

I trailer about 60 miles to ride. I can ride from my yard, its about 20 miles to the mountains and we have lots of trails to ride. The only time I ride the trails is when my wife wants to go for a short cruise, not very often. Once a person rides the bottomless powder in the mountains, they are hooked. I started out riding trails and using my sled for hunting and fishing, then a friend took me riding in the mountains with my 121" track and I have been hooked ever since. That first day we spent 8 hours in the mountains, I was stuck for about 7 hours and was so sore the next day I could hardly move. Now I ride the mountains 2 or 3 days each week.

Nothing beats a good day in the mountains!! What I don't understand though is why everyone says they get stuck so much when riding in powder...???

I've ridden an xlt with a 121x 1 1/2" track for the last 9 years in western and central Montana and I've finally reached the age to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! In January a friend and I went to Big Sky and rode Buck Creek Ridge after a 3' dump. I had my xlt and he had his rmk Vertical Edge. I was one sad and sore fellow. It's true that the rider has a lot to do with how the sled performs in the powder but under some conditions even the best rider is going to be humbled. C'mon Crazy, give the flat landers a break. Anyone from the west that hasn't been laughable stuck and stripped to the waist digging out just isn't having fun no matter what you ride. :D btw crazy, do you ride a CMX? Just curious because I see them testing them in the area that I ride evey now and then. One Cool Sled :) Have fun this winter people.

my buddy has a 700 151" 2"paddle and it makes my 800 136" 1.25" look silly,when im stuck on a hill he just motors past me like nothing :D ill be putting a 1.75" on at mid season,that will help climbing quite a bit,ill just have to stay off the trails then

Is there a good 1.5" track that will work good on the trails also? And how big of a difference in handling is there between a 136 versus a 144? All comments welcomed here guys/gals.
Caleb

sled dogg,I have a 136" by 1.75 track on my sled and my brother has a 144" by 2" on his,when we switch sleds I noticed no differance on the trails