SkippyDoo

Nope. I’m out of that business now. I was a road mechanic for a dealer out of Rochester Ny then moved to Albany Ny. I worked on Elgin, Vactor, Labrie, Envirosight, Trackless products mainly. But also everything else related to municipal work,The company I worked for sold out to Federal Signal and then promptly closed the doors in Albany. I’m gainfully employed elsewhere now still in the Albany area. I rebuilt many a rodder pumps in parking lots across NY lol

You by chance run a Vactor ? Going to the pumper show ?

Just saw some pics on fb from the area that where taken today. It looks way better than I thought it would. 

I just got back from a 5 day trip in Saguenay. Trails where good everywhere. We rode down to the Manoir. 83 was great to you get to the end of where the Saguenay club grooms to. After that got thin and drifted in places due the wind. but after the 301 intersection its Great all the way down to 3. After you cross the bridge on 3 no grooming going on till you get to the local trails into Clermont. Thin through there but passable. We crossed the Saguenay River via the ice crossing. They literally just finished staking that. Ice on the south side shore broke through after the second sled had crossed. The other two sleds skipped it to get on. That wasnt  cool but everybody made it.  Valin has boat loads of snow and due to the lack of traffic trails where better than I usually get them. I do not know if the river crossings out by Mont Vilian are staked or not but did not appear many sleds where running out there. We did not after the previous ice crossing earlier that day. There is about a foot of snow in Saguenay. The fields east of there on 83 towards LaBaie where thin from the wind but passable. Had to cross about a 5 foot rock hard drift on the 383 just west of L’Anse St Jean. I can’t really tell ya where exactly that was except that there where 2 bridges just a few hundred yards apart. The bigger steel bridge is taped off and closed. Crossed the ice next to it. In my opinion the trails towards Valin west where the best in the area The only bad trail is the rerout on the orange trail that goes due north to 93 just after you cross at shipshaw. I was ready to hit the go button and head up what used to be the road when I saw the no snowmobile sign and the arrow pointing to the right. They rerouted that. It basically bypasses the road section by the cemetery ?  You can tell they just cut it in. It’s a mess. All in all ended up with 900 good but cold miles in 5 days. 

I just got back from a 5 day trip in Saguenay. Trails where good everywhere. We rode down to the Manoir. 83 was great to you get to the end of where the Saguenay club grooms to. After that got thin and drifted in places due the wind. but after the 301 intersection its Great all the way down to 3. After you cross the bridge on 3 no grooming going on till you get to the local trails into Clermont. Thin through there but passable. We crossed the Saguenay River via the ice crossing. They literally just finished staking that. Ice on the south side shore broke through after the second sled had crossed. The other two sleds skipped it to get on. That wasnt  cool but everybody made it.  Valin has boat loads of snow and due to the lack of traffic trails where better than I usually get them. I do not know if the river crossings out by Mont Vilian are staked or not but did not appear many sleds where running out there. We did not after the previous ice crossing earlier that day. There is about a foot of snow in Saguenay. The fields east of there on 83 towards LaBaie where thin from the wind but passable. Had to cross about a 5 foot rock hard drift on the 383 just west of L’Anse St Jean. I can’t really tell ya where exactly that was except that there where 2 bridges just a few hundred yards apart. The bigger steel bridge is taped off and closed. Crossed the ice next to it. In my opinion the trails towards Valin west where the best in the area The only bad trail is the rerout on the orange trail that goes due north to 93 just after you cross at shipshaw. I was ready to hit the go button and head up what used to be the road when I saw the no snowmobile sign and the arrow pointing to the right. They rerouted that. It basically bypasses the road section by the cemetery ?  You can tell they just cut it in. It’s a mess. All in all ended up with 900 good but cold miles in 5 days. 

Thanks Jack and Sandy and the gutz Bros for letting me tag along today. The ride today finished up a great week of riding with just a little under 900 miles total. 

I believe they do but way too easy to steal, damage and therefore have to replace those parts. There aren’t too many more options. As of yet nobody anywhere has said anything about them being on the tunnel. I’ll plead my case if they ever do. 

I just returned from an 8 day Gaspe' trip and have a Garmin Nuvi 67LM mounted on my windshield bag. It's great to have the large 7" screen to to see upcoming turns in the trail at a glance. My Nuvi requires constant power so I just left it plugged into my powerport while riding. No issues with cold temps and the one day we ran in the freezing rain and just put the unit inside a clear plastic bag. It worked perfectly the entire trip and now I have the tracks from every mile of the trip and the data includes average speed, moving time, non moving time and elevations. The graphs on Basecamp are easy to read and understand. Unit and mount cost me less than $150.
 I will not ride without a GPS again, even on my local trails in Vermont, because I don't need to unfold the map at any intersections.

The pizza at LaCabanon is not bad

RE:  Standing. IMO it's always a good idea to stand up at road crossings to see - and BE seen. Just a safety issue. 

Day 2 
Left Sept Isles at 8am. Had nice breakfast at Comfort Inn. Loaded up and off we go. Trail much like we left it yesterday no grooming and fresh snow, No tracks headed east. We will change that. We make good time to River Moise as expected. From here the adventure really just is beginning. The snow is deep and Randy and Mark are taking turns finding the way for us. This day was quite challenging. Perhaps the most challenging day I ever spent on a sled in Quebec. 
They say "you learn something new everyday" well today I learned alot. Several things in fact. 
1 This Team from VT don't play and they are pro's. Big respect for the teamwork and the skill showed today. Words here will not duly do justice to what we achieved today. I can tell you but unless you lived it, You just won't understand. Big thanks to them Mark, Randy, Greg and Dave. Would not be here without them. 
2 I know now why the amount of people who have actually been to Havre St. Pierre by snowmobile is not very many. The trail is not a trail, its there, but not really. Especially now after 12" plus of snow and winds that created drifts throughout the powelines(which is the main route for most of the way) the size of Peterbilt trucks. Hairy shit. 
3 My sled is quite capable of making its way in deep snow. just don't hesitate. 
Ok now seriously you may want to go to Havre St Pierre. Great. Think again. Cause unless you got a GPS track and a solid crew of at least 4 experts. You are being foolish. There is no sticks, not many signs and you are on your own for more than 40 miles. Thats alot of decisions to make is it up there to the left? Down to the right? Up thst hill? Choose carefully cause your  life depends on it. There are cliffs and drop offs that are so beautifully hidden with the drifts it's not for beginners. 
Today was a long long day. I have never worked so hard for 100 miles ever. 8am-2:30pm to get to Rivere Tonnerre for gas and snacks. Yeah, check that moving average. Do the math. Not easy. Did I mention bring strong guys to help you out? Cause when you get stuck it's deep. I rode 5 or 6 today. Best place for me. We got 4 Doo's 3 1200's and one 900, one Sidewinder and my XTX. I needed to back down one big hill one cause the others dug such a trench they left me nothing to work with. One other time saw me just thrown too far right on a big climb.  But just a pull on my ski loops and i was out. The same can not be said for our leaders they are making decisions on the fly and encountering drits that are incredible. We did alot of digging and studying to find where was the best way to get through. After Rivere Tonnerre there was more sticks to guide us, trail was in woods, but still powerlines here and there. Still drifted bad, but we make better time. 25 miles from Havre St Pierre we find fresh groom trail we are delighted. We exploit this for all it's worth and hammer down. Into Hotel Havre at 6:15. 
Thanks to The Team Vermont and Trailblazer. I made it to Havre St Pierre. Mission Accomplished "failure was not an option"
Talks are aleady in the works for next years ride. Probably starting in Baie Comeau and shooting east of here as far as trail will let us go. I can't wait.
We were hoping to go 50 miles east of here then back but time will leave that as unfinished business for another time. But the objective has been reached. 
Tomorrow back west to Port Cartier. Should be a different game now that we broke a trail through "no mans land" 
in Rivere Tonnerre we chatted with some guys in the store they said last group to come through was last week. Thinking for sure was none other than Roadrunner. So no one else been through since them last week. 
Big respect also to GT Rider who I know made this run 2 up with Mrs GT. You are so lucky it was not drifted like this was today my friend. 
Tired. 



 
I need to make a withdrawl. Ice needs a new Apex....

 

 
Wanna get to Havre St Pierre? Look for these and good luck!

 
 

I can confirm you that St-Zenon area is top shape. Just read few sledders reports from the area on FB that quote 9/10 to 10/10.
The trail condition web site quote good to very good: http://snowmobilecountry.ca/en/conditions

Regardless of the brand, I  spend a lot of time at one hotel during the winter and see way too many people returning from saddlebagging on a flatbed due to a breakdown, or asking the location of a dealer due to sled problems. This is insane that sleds have been around for more than 50 years and are still having so many problems and so many parts that fail way too soon. I have had sleds in the 70's and 80's that were more dependable than some of today's sleds.
mike

If I lived up there I probably would be pickier on what I ride on too. I go to LaCabanon a lot for short trips not because trails are great but because it's close, I can get up there after work and gain a day of riding instead of driving. But If Skidoo closed its doors tomorrow,  I would ride something else be it green, red or blue. If all I could have was my 1976 Polaris Colt 250 back, you can bet I would be  riding it. I had some riding buddies  that where brand loyal AC guys years ago that bailed when the Rev took over and the Firecat didn't live up to the hype. They hated Skidoo so much they quit the sport. I never understood that. All that being said, that 900 ace is an awesome trail sled if you can get past the lack of hp. 

If I lived up there I probably would be pickier on what I ride on too. I go to LaCabanon a lot for short trips not because trails are great but because it's close, I can get up there after work and gain a day of riding instead of driving. But If Skidoo closed its doors tomorrow,  I would ride something else be it green, red or blue. If all I could have was my 1976 Polaris Colt 250 back, you can bet I would be  riding it. I had some riding buddies  that where brand loyal AC guys years ago that bailed when the Rev took over and the Firecat didn't live up to the hype. They hated Skidoo so much they quit the sport. I never understood that. All that being said, that 900 ace is an awesome trail sled if you can get past the lack of hp. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

No, we where going to finish but my sled (2016 Rene X 600 etec)started overheating Friday morning for as of yet unknown reasons. Nothing I did seemed to help.  The temp just went slowly up and up until the light came on. I tried to push on but we weren't making good time. The coolant was full, getting the sled in loose snow didn't help either. Acts like the Tstat is stuck. Then as we where towing my sled back to the copper with the ol ladies Artic cat the other guy in the group hit the bridge just north of the copper on 5 and bent his control arm pretty bad. (Yamacat) plus it's making a noise like the cooling fan is hitting something. Apparently he was nearly ejected over the side of the bridge. The rear of the sled was sitting up on the cable at a 90 degree angle to the bridge. That was the story being told by the 2 female observers that where behind him. Hopefully he learned the value of self preservation while riding when 2 days away from the truck. He was going too fast. We had two ladies with us on this trip, and even after the deluge and mostly miserable weather and trail conditions we had rode in for the better part of 100 miles they still where having a ball. My  woman worked with the brother of the owner of the copper and came up with the rental car on the back of the flatbed idea. Somehow. Not sure how they pulled that off with  the language barrier bet they did. I was outside with my sled ripped in pieces trying to find a problem. DNF's are unacceptable. In my mind at this point We where going to finish somehow.  They first said there was a bus back to RDL that runs every day but we had missed that. Then they offered a helicopter ride that started out as 800 bucks back to RDL to get trucks. That turned into about 3500 when they wanted to charge to bring it in from Gaspe to Murdochville, then to RDL and back to its home port which I understood to be in Murdochville.  The helicopter ride would have been fun and a good story but not for 3500. The flatbed and rental was 1350 split 2 ways minus the rooms we no longer needed plus gas food and beers, subtract US to Can dollar conversion and it was nearly a break even expense. And now I can cross off driving a car out in the Gaspe. 132 is a nice ride. The trip ended well with no regrets, lessons learned and a good time had by all. I'll be back next year with a rain suit and a shiny new Renegade X 1200. This was my first time in 11 years of riding in Quebec that I got a DNF, and first trip to the Gaspe

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one. 

Ha funny, just got done washing them. Not as bad as I thought. Just a light haze of salt spray on the front. They cleaned up easily. The truck and trailer where cleaner than usual when we got home too. Her windshield on the Cat didn't much like the highway speeds. Only 2 screws left holding it on. The others pulled the rubber grommets off. Much further and it woulda flew off. 
I also gotta say good job to Klim, FXR, and the Skidoo Absolute Zero gear ( or who ever makes their stuff ). After riding through that monsoon in the mountains for the better part of 100 miles, everything stayed dry, all the electronics survived. Pockets where dry.  And everything was dry by morning, even the saddle bags. Packing everything in zip lock bags and water proof bags worked and only my tshirt was a little damp. So we where able to put on nice dry clothes for dinner. Everybody was mostly dry on the trail, only a few minor issues with water getting in. And we weren't wasting any time either. We where running 60 plus mph up 595 in a down pour. It sucked, not gonna lie. But wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It was a hell of a ride albeit a shortened one. I'll never forget this one.