TDI-HAM

Rode 238 kilos yesterday- Coin lavigne up to st michel to Cabanon, down to Koubecs, over to glaciere abck to coin lavigne. Trails were good to not so good. We did get about 6 inches of fresh snow during the day which made things better. They are still just opening up, so signage is almost in existant, and not everything is open. As we were saying yesterday you can go out and ride your sled and hit the odd rock and have fun, or leave it in the garage until mid January and whine about it until then. Best bet is slap on an old pair of skis and carbides, and if you are running a studded track, just be careful. I'll post some pics later.

The Provincial park issue has been around for a long time. It just seems to get pushed back year after year. I know that some parks are now prohibiting snowmobiles, however if I am not mistaken there has to be an alternative trail to by pass what was is being lost. The Tremblant park is a major artery and one of the most beautiful places to ride, as mentionned above I hope it doesn't come down to banning snowmobiles.

I believe it 100%- Too bad it'll never be broadcast.

At this moment I'm hoping for more than the 100 feet I did on my lawn last week- Looks like we're going to be off to a slow start this year...

One of my good riding partners put a set on his Yamaha Nytro- 2006 model with stock skis. They definately make a huge difference, however as mentionned the "wings" wear down and the effectiveness is reduced. He used them for season then they went in the bin. He swaped out the stock skis for some aftermarket ones last year, which handled even better than his setup the previous year.There is another company in Quebec that has developed a new carbide and easy stear type all in 1 that is supposedly the cat's meow. From what I have read alot of people are switching to these from the snowtrackers. I spoke to a rep from the company a few weeks ago, and they seem to have a very good product. The company is called "Qualipieces" and the runner I am talking about is the cobra head. http://www.qualipieces.com

Where are you planning on ride to? The FCMQ has a brochure of secure parking and lodgings. Not sure if the link will work, but I just found the secure lodgings are posted on the fcmq website- http://www.fcmq.qc.ca/Pratiquerlamotoneige...CA/Default.aspx

Club up around Wentworth would probably be Hibou Blanc. Personally I usually split my trail pass between the Club Motoneige Ile Bizard and Club des Lynx. One year I buy from 1 and then from the other the next. Usually you can leave from Ile Bizard about the second week of January and cross the river- then head up north, east or west. Great starting point for West Islanders. The general accepteddeal is you buy your trail pass from the club that you will be using their trails the most.

Where'd you see it CMIQ?

Any further info? Couldn't find anything.

Windigo falls.. in Ferme Neuve.

That's great to hear. Was missed last year not stopping by the Pot for breakfast.

They should give her a Darwin award for that...

Ahhh a Sno Bug... Not only a work of art, but probably quite warm with an actual functional wind shield when you do hit the double digits....

3900 kilometers..( 2450miles) therefore 6450

If I am not mistaken, ethanol content is 10% max, and the pump will be labelled as an ethanol blended fuel. If it was a reddish sediment sounds to me like the station must have had old steel tanks that have seen better days. What kind of station was it? A mom and pop rural one or a big named one? (Petro Can, Shell. Ultramar...)

I have always made a point of filling up at high traffic gas stations, and so far have yet to have a problem. However there are times when you can't so I always have a bottle of isopropelyne handy in case the fuel seems questionable. Years back when I had boosted sleds, I always carried a bottle of octane boost just in case. You wrote that you fuel filter was blocked- Was it sediment or water? I've been told to avoid filling up at a station that has the tanker truck filling up the tanks. The new fuel filling the tanks stirs up all the crap in the bottom , however the filters on the actual gas pumps should take care of that.

Great report and pictures. It's nice to hear about strangers helping sledders out and not asking for anything in return. I've heard stories of locals opening their home to strangers stuck in storms, helping out broke down sledders by driving them to dealers sometimes not so close. In a sport where we only get negative publicity, why can't newspapers pick up stories about people lending a hand to total strangers who are snowmobilers- Maybe because people would soon realize that 99.5% of all sledders are good people and the stereotype of swearing, drunken, chasing down wildlife "Snowmobilers" is nothing more that what the "anti sledders" want to read and hear. Sounds like you had a great trip.

Depending on where you are driving from- LaTuque towards lac Edouard is supposed to be groomed this evening. Have a feeling it'll be real busy around there this weekend. Supposedly Clova got a lot of snow last week and it's still winter up there. Make a few calls before you decide. Parc des laurentides should be good, but I imagine traffic will be heavy as well.

Spoke to a friend yesterday that was in Saint Michel last weekend- He said it was getting bare and beat up around st Zenon and St Michel- There was still lots of snow north towards manawan and the repo- Now that was a week ago- I would make a few phone calls before you decide. Val Dor might be a better option.

Spoke to a Lynx Club dragger last night- Club Argenteuil (Lachute), Club Laurentien, Club Lynx and Club Hibou Blancs all planning on dragging Friday evening. Lynx, Lachute and Laurentien will be the last run until next season. Hibou Blanc will depend on how the trail network looks after the weekend.

Do you by chance know what the stops are going to be? Not sure what the conditions will be like after the crap were getting today.

Left Coin Lavigne in St Come just before the Tremblant park- Rode up to Saint Michel des Saints, over and down to Koubecs, to Glaciere back to Coin Lavigne. Trails were everything from 10 to having your ham beat up real bad. The only section that was real beat up was Koubecs to Glaciere,But the groomer was going out as we passed the Glaciere.Crossed 2 groomers during the day. There is still alot of snow up there and they are out grooming. I think they'll be good until the end of the month at least. Great time to ride, days are longer, weather is warmer and there is hardly any traffic.

A trail pass can be swapped to another machine as long as the registered owner is the same for both machines. Any club can sell you a replacement pass. The charge is 15$ or 20$- You will need your old pass and the paperwork (Blue or pink slip you got with the old pass). Some clubs say you can only replace a pass with a pass from the same club- This is not true. Some people that sell passes are not aware of the transfer process- It's the same as buying a pass, except there is a section that says "this pass number replaces (your old )pass number" and it cost the 15 or 20$.

Tried Ile Bizard yesterday- As Usual the club had all their trails groomed, great job but everything was glare ice, or ice, or frozen hardpack snow- Jumping off trail was useless as the snow was just frozen- (This was around 10:30 am) Maybe with the sun it would have softened up- Don't know. I jumped on the river and crossed to St Marthe and rode up to the 640 junction. Same crap. Turned around and headed back. The river is 90% glare ice that is as hard as concrete- No cooling no slide lube- Until we get snow, down below is going to be a free for all with the 4 wheelers- Hopefuly the snow they are forecasting this week will bring everything back to normal- The plus side is we have a solid rock hard base that should still be around in April.

Anybody have an idea what the conditions are, or what they'll be like next week up around Mont Laurier? Was planning on going up for a few days next week, but the weather doesn't seem too good, and am contemplating perhaps looking elsewhere.