For a group of flatlanders, the prospect of heading out west to experience snowmobiling in the mountains was an exciting one! "We" were myself, my dad, Andrew, Ardie and Mike S. We headed out in early March of 2000, our destination was the north end of the Big Horns of Wyoming.
The 14 hour trip from southern MN to Ranchester, Wyoming where we stayed at a hotel was a long one. But it gave us time to dream of what lie ahead.
We left home with the news that grass was showing in the meadows near Bear Lodge - our starting point. The group decided to go anyway. We didn't see snow til the Bad Lands of South Dakota and that vanished as we made our way past the Black Hills.
We pulled into our hotel at 1 in the morning Mountain time looking forward to a short night's sleep.
About 7:30 that morning, we pulled out of our hotel, stopped for breakfast, then began the ascent up to Bear Lodge. Along the way, the snow gradually got deeper, and we were greeted with about 3 feet of fresh snow when we parked at the Lodge.
After unloading the sleds, we examined the map and headed south. It didn't take us long to get sidetracked. We found an empty waterway that served as a ramp for some jumps.
The Wyoming High Country: Along the trails west of Bear Lodge near Burnt Mountain. - ~9400'
Taking in the view atop a snow mound.
Mike walking back up a steep slope after helping me dig out my sled when I didn't get turned around in time. He looks tired! I think he had to rest 3 times walking up the slope - took him 10 minutes to walk 50 feet! Thanks Mike!
Dry stream bed with high banks makes for sme good air.
We must have spent an hour playing around and taking pictures. Mike wasn't there ten minutes and he got stuck twice! Gotta take pride in that. Once we tired of sitting in one spot, we headed back down the trail to see what else we could find.
Altitude took its toll on us that day. We were pretty lethargic and didn't move very fast. A few miles later, we stopped for a snack and some water. We discovered we had lost the trail, so we headed up some slopes to see what we could find.
Just a couple miles and several hundred feet higher, we found a nice slope that would serve well as our first taste of hill climbing. We came on the slope from the top; making our way down, the hill looked a LOT higher and steeper from the bottom!. The fresh snow obscured any previous riders.
Ardie watching his Panther roll. The white blob in front of Mike's Cougar is the rolling sled. Ardie's helmet is the black dot next to Mike's sled.
It was bound to happen. After a few successful runs up the slope, Ardie gave it another try.
Just at the apex of his climb, he lost speed and attempted to turn around - he stopped perpendicular to the slope. The angle was too steep, and his Panther went over. It rolled on top of him, then proceded rolling a total of 8 times (we counted when we watched the film later that night). Mike took off down the slope after the machine, hoping to do what he still doesn't know :-)
There was a small lip part way down the slope, and amazingly, Ardie's sled came to rest just on its edge. Had it kept going, we probably could have brought the Panther back to the trailer in our tool compartments!
Ardie was no worse for the wear, and the only damage suffered by the Panther was a bent windshield and two broken mirrors.
Not a great way to start the trip, but no harm done - and it WAS exciting to watch!
The sled came to rest on its side just one more roll short of rolling all the way to the bottom - and a date with a grove of trees.
At the top of this hill, we looked south and found a peak that was higher. We decided to see if we could find a way to get to it. Since we had lost the trail, back country riding was the order of the day. We did indeed find the next peak. By the time we got there, we were getting pretty tired. In the middle of the afternoon, we headed back having travelled a grand total of 17 miles in 5 hours!
