Some people ask us what a day of riding snowbikes entails. We’ve made a rundown of what a typical day looks like when you rent a timbersled or go on a guided snow moto tour near the Broken Top backcountry and Dutchman Flat Snowmobile areas.
For full day rentals, reservations will typically take place in advance through the website. Hourly rentals which are available most weekends in two hour time segments can be setup over the phone, & paid for in person Check our Instagram & Facebook for weekend operating plans.
Once your booking is confirmed we will plan our meetup time and place. For clients making their own riding plans, arrangements can be made to pick up the bikes on the way to a snowpark. For clients who hire a guide, first time renters, or folks doing hourly rentals, we will meet you in a pre-determined snow park that we are allowed to operate out of.
Upon meeting up the day of the rental, the client will fill out release of liability waivers, pay the $1500 refundable damage deposit, and go over a gear, and bike checklist.
Now on to the fun stuff. Bike, gear, safety, avy, and trip planning!
Snow Bikes are fairly complicated machines, and we need to give you a run down on what makes them tick. We go over cold start procedure, starting and turning off the machine, and how to jump start them if a battery goes dead. We show you that there is only one brake on a snow bike and that is on the right handlebar side. There are hand warmers, and light switches to be aware of, and the most important gauge, the temperature gauge!
We constantly remind clients to keep an eye on the temperature gauge as it is a good indicator if something is not running properly on the machine. Typical operating temps are between 120-200, any higher than 205, the machine needs to be stopped and snow placed on the radiators. Overheating a bike is very bad for it, please keep it within a safe range.
After the snow bike operating introduction, we show you some first aid/safety supplies on each machine, spare gas, along with some fire starting and survival gear.
We move into explaining your avalanche survival tools that you carry in the supplied backpack. These tools include a beacon, probe, & shovel. We demonstrate how to use each tool, but what is most important is that we teach you how to avoid avalanche terrain in the first place.
Trip planning and group dynamics are one of the most important aspects to having an awesome and safe day in the backcountry. We discuss how the dynamics of snow bikes can present challenges for sticking together as a group. We always recommend clients bring two way radios, and fully charged phones for the day. The backcountry is vast, and getting separated happens quickly in low light, challenging terrain, or if someone tips over. A good leader and guide helps keep the group together. Hire a guide!
Now it’s about time to ride, we discuss some riding techniques, do a gear, food, water, beacon check and we’re off.
For first time riders we will practice starting and stopping a fair number of times until the client is able to consistently start and stop without tipping over. Check out our first timers guide blog post for some in depth techniques to practice. After 15-25 minutes of basic skills development, we may travel over some groomed snowmobile trails to a few powdery meadows to practice turning and bike handling. As the day progresses we will search for the ideal combination of snow conditions and terrain that is best suited for all clients to enjoy.
Throughout the tour we can focus on whatever type of riding the client is interested in, traveling through terrain, setting up a practice turn track, or riding powdery meadows.
We always plan to be back to the snowpark at least 45 minutes before sunset. Once back to the snowpark, the client returns the backpack with beacon, probe, and shovel, and Cascade Snow Bike inspects the snow bike for any damage or items lost.
Most likely we had an awesome and smooth day. Our goal is to make your day in the backcountry a memorable and safe one, so we can always ride another day. The backcountry can be a challenging place with adversity, with that comes the adventure, and the rewards are the experiences and places you will see and learn about.
We know this sounds like a lot of things to go over before the fun starts, but we feel it’s best to take the time up front and create a solid foundation for venturing into the winter backcountry, rather than struggle from adversity due to lack of understanding or un-preparedness.
Cascade Snow Bike seeks to be your guide to enlightenment if you choose the path of one ski, track, and throttle! Our goal is to offer the needed guidance, advice, & support to pull off some amazing days riding snow mx. We hope this was informative, and look forward to riding with you!
