snowmaster2112

Thats why I got and installed the Ridelite on my sled this year. I feel liberated now that I am not taking my hands off the bars and especially when it's in corners. Safer for me and safer for others. Simple, superior & low cost product that works great

i cant imagine what these poor peoples families are going through not to mention the rescuers/divers. That's a serious long ways away. Thanks ice for keeping us updated. RIP brothers !!

Ditto

If I remember the story correctly from Andy that right where you guys got stuck there was a rotted whale carcass nearby on the ice and the stench was unbearable. I bet there was no beer left onboard anywhere after the 4th hour too.

ZERO and I left it unlocked outside the hotel overnight with the GPS in the mount and rear saddle bags on. The other 5 sleds there did the same. No problems whatsoever.

Heading to bed now at the Auberge Manawan. Stayed here once a couple years ago when it was new and second time tonight. Great rooms/showers/amenities, great internet and the most awesome mattress and pillows you could ask for. Don’t hesitate to stay here anyone.

What can I say Ice......I’m just addicted to Beaver. Fresh ones that is !!!!

Here’s is first....we left Parent yesterday morning and headed to Clova for breakfast. Chatted a bit with Dominic and headed down the trail that goes down to Le Fer Cheval. This is not a federation trail and not on the map. Dominic said groomer left at 7 that morning heading south to where he turns around about 25-30 miles. Also said another groomer came up yesterday from the south to where they meet at a small River and bridge they both can’t cross. Approximately 4-5 miles from the bridge the groomer guy was broke down in a corner (trouble with hitch pin, bracket and hydraulic hose that is gonna require some serious repair). He satellite phoned Dominic already so all good. Approximately 2.5 miles from his spot heading south we are bogeying down the trail and a tree was across the trail. As we stop a beaver jumps up from behind it in the middle of the trail. He scurried off but not before finishing up knawing the branch he was working on and dragged it off into the bush with him. As we were sawing the tree up to get it out of the way we looked over to see he had another 2-3 chewed ready to drop too. Just when you think you have seen it all. Another 2.5 miles south of the beaver is where the other groomer turned around from his passage. The next 30-40 miles down to Cheval area was not only double wide groomed with no tracks but one of the most insane logging road trails we both have ever ridden. It Rivals the Kanawata/Casey run and the Chibougamau/Mistissini run for sure. Absolutely insane trail and ride.

Your videos and pictures are of the finest quality sir . Absolutely stunning quality. All I can do is snap pictures with my phone.

We were at Lunic this a.m. after leaving 100 Lacs this morning. Was talking to André the owner and a couple days ago (maybe last week) there was a sled/sled collision about 15km from there supposedly involving an American and guy from Ontario. One guy supposedly got a broken leg. The way he was describing the one guy (to me at least) sure sounds like that Jim Jamison guy. Andre said he was older 70ish and rides CRAZY miles mostly alone but sometimes with his wife. But he swore he was from Ontario as he saw the guys registration and I thought he was from Pennsylvania. Also said the guy never had a serious accident in all his years and miles. Just glad no one was more seriously injured.

Yes and she awesome big and CLEAN rooms upstairs and shared bathroom with tile/marble glass door showers and very Euro countertops and sinks.

They will sleep 5 if need be. One bedroom with two single beds and another with one single and bunk beds

We are at L hombre du Vent cabins in Parent. Dave is still sleeping at 6 a.m. i think I’m wearing him out LOL....we had a great supper at the Central last night and the trails (200 miles) from Andres camp to here were all fantastic. Repos, Kanawata, Casey, 83 got to figure out what we are gonna do today

The club and FCMQ ,IMO, wont let a total blockage of the 3 for long. Too much revenue at stake. Expect a quick answer in the coming days. Sorry your friends are getting hosed Andy. First it's rain, then a gigantic snowstorm, now the trails are getting blocked. Come ride with us in the Lanaudiere. Dont believe you have ever been to Andre's cabin.

"trudopey"....LOVE iT !! My riding partner and I refer to the gas in Canada (ridiculously expensive) as "Justin Gas"

Pipeman....looks like we are just going to miss each other. Will be at camp on M21 tomorrow evening and most likely in Parent or 100 Lacs on wednesday. You guys will LOVE Mistissini. sent you a PM

You can carry whatever you want but if the dude (or dudette) in the booth hands you a little slip of paper and say's "see that building over there" .....expect AT LEAST a minimum one hour delay. I travel often with a buddy that has a pistol permit and they seem to zero in on him like flies on shit and bring on 1000 questions.

Good read: Sent from my iPhoner incident last weekend in the Chic Chocs. I assume most of you have already heard the general story, so I will quickly summarize that. I mostly wanted to note what we used (and wished we had) that allowed us to spend almost 40 hours in the woods at 0F and be rescued by a Canadian military helicopter. Hopefully it can help someone be more prepared than they are now. A couple guys from our group of snowbikes dropped over a ridge into a section of steep trees that would have been easily rideable if the snow was different. That day, the snow was super powdery, bottomless, and filled with buried trees. I went in to help Leon get unstuck, and quickly found that getting back out the way we went in wasn't going to be possible. We sidehilled horizontally across the mountain as long as possible, hoping to intersect the ridge and ride out the top. The tree line was super dense at the top, and riding through it wasn't possible. The tree line gradually forced us downhill into a river bed, where we decided to head for a "road" on the GPS that would lead us to an old trail, then out. We battled the creek bottom, open water, tons of stucks, trees, dead ends, etc well past dark The “road” wasn’t there. The sides of the ravine were too steep, deep and dense to get out, the way we came in was out of the question, and the way we were heading was dead ended everywhere we looked. Eventually, wet, cold, exhausted and almost out of gas, we decided to set up camp and try again in the morning. The next morning, my bike wouldn't start. Obviously a few mistakes were made that got us in there in the first place, but dozens of good choices followed that allowed us to stay the night, the next day, and half of the following night until we could be retrieved. Search and rescue had attempted to reach us by snowmobile and snowshoes for almost 24 hours and were unable to get to us. It goes without saying that you absolutely need to be able to start and maintain a fire if you expect to spend any amount of time in the woods in the winter. Besides that: The #1 most valuable asset we had was my Corona folding limb saw. I have been carrying this saw since I started riding the backcountry in 2008, and it was in someone's hand cutting almost 100% of the time. It is super efficient and durable, and easily cuts up to 12" logs. DO NOT TRUST THE SHOVEL SAWS!! They are brittle, bend, and break, and will wear you out. Fires in the snow take a surprising amount of wood to make heat. The wood is almost guaranteed to be wet and/or green. We had stockpiles of different wood and tended the fire constantly, and still froze. Don't leave home without a good saw. #2 Garmin Inreach. This is a small satellite communication device that allows you to send messages and your coordinates through text. Not only did this take the guesswork out of where we were for search and rescue, but it allowed us to communicate to our families that we were ok, etc. We all feel terrible about the worry and chaos that this situation caused our families, but it would have been much worse for them if no one knew where we were, and if we were alive, injured, lost, etc. I had just gotten the Inreach for christmas and almost didnt take it. Without it, you are limited to radio contact and old fashioned hunting. #3 Good gear. Space is limited on what we can carry every day, but we all wished we had a spare, dry layer to change out at night. We were all wet from riding/digging/working, and even the best gear takes a long time to dry out when it's 0 degrees. Even with good gear and a solid fire, we all froze all night. I was more sore from shivering and being tense all night than I've ever been from any exercise or activity. Any gear can be waterproof, but if it doesn't breathe, your inner layers will stay wet. Breathability is what drys you out and warms you up. There is a reason I wear and sell Klim. And I think we all know by now, no cotton. #4 Batteries. Almost all of our "life saving" equipment relies on batteries. Charge everything every night. Dont use it during the day if you don't need it. Keep important, small devices close to your body to keep them warm. Cold kills batteries even if they aren't being used. The equipment is only worth having if you can turn it on and use it, and chances are if you need it for an emergency, it is going to be needed for a long period of time. Carry a small recharging battery and the correct cables, and keep it warm. #5 Mental and physical aptitude. Always be thinking. Make only careful, methodical movements to make forward progress and avoid mistakes, stay calm. Panic will never help anything and is usually dangerous. Luckily we all kept calm, worked together, and were in pretty good shape (for old guys). This got really long. Huge thanks to the local Search and Rescue team, the helicopter crew, our snowbike buddies who did everything in their power to help us out, the Sled Den, and our families for not chopping our heads off when we got home... Live and learn, send and return.

I'm thinking the FML stands for "F*&CK me longtime

Good one Steve Love it

A lifelong riding partner from Vermont (rode together last week) got back home and turns out some other lady his wife works with personally knew one of these guys wives. Just got word that the helicopter bill was 30,000 grand i guess 7500.00 each is better than freezing /starving to death in the Chic Chocs

Have yourself a blast Ice hoping to make it to Gaspe sometime later this season still gotta be quite a haul for you to Matane

We have all seen “big snow” pics before but I’m thinking these win “first prize “ in my book. just god damned unbelievable

Just unreal.....feel sorry for these people By March Chapais might look like this.....LOL

Well at least your not In Newfoundland....LOL.... I am getting a little “wishy washy” this morning. Could change trip plans (don’t actually have any reservations or anything) to St Zenon area and northbound as well. Parent, 100 Lacs, Windigo etc... might be some target spots. Anyone game ???