Sled-Revy Blog

We explore "Zipper Lip Creek".

3/5/2020

Revelstoke was pretty slow when we arrived on the night of December 18th, many Holiday sledders were still at work as the true Holiday rush starts with a frenzy on the 26th and goes hard until January 1st. Come January 1st, many sledders headed home, with a hangover I am sure, leaving much of the main sledding areas banged up, but there was lots of hidden fresh snow treasures to be had.
As we arrived on the 18th, Revy had been getting hit with lots of fresh snow and it continued to snow until after Christmas. On our first day we headed out of town to a local hidden tree riding area that most people ignore, there we explored the area further and found new zones in an area we call “zipper lip creek”. The snow was deep and all untracked, the snow had covered most of the creeks, logs and stumps. While some creeks still had some holes, we could maneuver around them to continue on to explore and enjoy the area. We ultimately ended up spending a whole day in this little gem of a zone, burning a full tank of gas and leaving after we found new areas. As we took our sore and tired bodies down to the trucks we were treated to a beautiful sunset, just a fantastic sight to cap off a great day of sledding, spending time with friends and enjoying the backcountry. We liked this area so much we came back to “zipper lip creek” 2 days later to explore some benches we had passed on our previous trip, but that’s a story for another day.

Looking down into another riding zone, we came back to explore this area.

Further into Zipper Lip Creek we stop to check out the terrain on the iPad, before dropping down and into a new area.

Sled-Revy has a complete line of Merch and Backcountry Gear that we have tested in the backcountry.

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The Start of Another Sled Season

11/9/2017

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Mid November is where time seems to slow down, but that is true for time before we do anything we are excited to start. Sled season is no different, we can't wait for the sled season to start, especially the first few sled trips.
November is an important time, we start doing our longer workouts in the gym, more cardio and light weights, low reps to build up our endurance. We are taking Keto OS to help supercharge our workouts and lose that unwanted weight, we have to say - we are in love with this product -- incredible focus, great sleeps, more energy and a side bonus - weight loss, if you haven't heard of Keto OS, this is a market disruptive technology that's changing how people live. Click the links to find out more. Keto OS.
November is also an important time to go through all your gear and make sure it is up to the standards you will need in the backcountry. Go through your safety and avalanche gear, replace your batteries in your beacon, ensure it's functioning, check your probe and shovel. Check and refill your First Aid kit and replace old items or ones you used last season. I personally use a foodsaver system to ensure my first aid kit, extra clothes and socks are in an enclosed, dry bag. For a list of items we use and carry on our sled see our post on this important topic.
If you didn't grease your sled, here's the time to do that, as well, check the bolts on your sled, especially your suspension, easier to fix it in your warm garage than on the side of the hill.
Of course We are also looking to upgrade our backcountry skills, wilderness survival skills, wilderness first aid, and for sure Avalanche Training, these are the skills you need to have and hope you never have to use them.
The various chat rooms will also be visited to read the preseason chatter and get snow report updates, we check the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club information, including the YamaCam, the Revelstoke ski hills ski hill web cams and weather reports, as well as Avalanche Canada's great resources.
Usually by late November, early December, we are in Revy enjoying the early season, bottomless powder, getting stuck, wishing we had worked out harder, having fun and hanging with our friends.
Our passion for the sport of sledding is fueled by the love of the outdoor, backcountry and friends and the fact that every time we ride, it's a new adventure that takes us to new places - so here is to the pre season, wait time is almost over -- we hope to see you on the hill - safe travels.

Again, thanks for checking us out
Sled-Revy has a complete line of Merch and Backcountry Gear that we have tested in the backcountry.
Also - Go to the products we use page to see what fuels us.

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The Playground

10/21/2016

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Where do kids go when they want to have fun? Hey go to the playground, they have fun with their friends, there are a variety of features at the park that make things fun, they spend huge amounts of time having fun. The riding area we call the Playground is very much like this, and we were lucky to be introduced to this riding area by our friend and local sledhead, Jessie R. He in turn was told about it by Rob Alford, so once again Rob gave up on of his riding areas to our Group and this one is a gooder. I can’t imagine how many good areas he has to ride that he is willing to give up the location of the Playground.

You have to drive out of town to get to the playground, but as the main riding areas in and around Boulder get very busy now, to get fresh snow you often have to travel a bit to get the good stuff. We used to be able to ride all kinds of great areas right on Boulder that was guaranteed to be untouched. But with the great sled technology, and growing popularity, more people are off the beaten paths and into exploring more of Boulder. Certainly if there has not been fresh snow in a few days, people are hunting for fresh and pretty soon, people are riding our “secret zones”.

The Playground is well worth the drive, as the area is big, and is only ridden by a very few, so you can always find huge areas of fresh snow. The Playground is full of wonderful natural features that make this a fun area to ride, rolling hills, open meadow, lots of nice tree riding as well as technical climbs. There are no big cliffs, or areas that you need to avoid, pretty much the whole riding area is open to explore. The fun part is, when you think you have explored most of the riding terrain you keep finding new areas to ride and play in, the area is very big, and so far we have only explored about half of it.
The days we have been to the Playground, we have had epic conditions, often blue bird days with lots of fresh, we have been truly blessed with good friends to ride with and many laughs and fond memories of riding in the Playground. The Playground has become one of our priority riding areas, we get in the trucks and head there whenever possible and are grateful for the opportunity to ride there and explore this fantastic riding area.
We hope that you enjoy the pictures and the two videos of this fantastic riding area, we will be heading to this zone over and over again, because we love to play in the Playground!

Sled-Revy has a complete line of Merch and Backcountry Gear that we have tested in the backcountry.

Homer, loving the fresh lines in the Playground

Thank-you Homer for the great commentary

Caw, Caw -- where are you guys?

Again, thanks for checking us out – We are now offering to the public our Sled-Revy baseball caps - check them out.
Also - please go to the products we use page to see what fuels us.

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10 Bump Plus

2/26/2016

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We love riding Revelstoke because of the large number of fantastic riding areas in and around Boulder Mountain. The area we call 10 Bump is one of those little gems that is tucked away and most people ride by in order to ride more established and popular sledding areas. The area was named 10 Bump because there are a series of shelves one after the other, where it feels like your riding up 10 different shelves. 10 Bump was shown to us by our friend Kurt who is a legend in deep and steep extreme skiing field who made the transition to sledding many years ago. Kurt was, like Rob Alford a world ranked extreme skier and we have had the privilege to ride with him on many occasions. Kurt, like many long time locals rarely share their secret areas with outsiders, so we were honored when he brought us into 10 Bump. We have been riding 10 bump for 6 or 7 years and have always had excellent days playing in this zone. Over the years we have explored the many aspects of this area but we have always known that there was more secrets to 10 bump, but due to technology we were not able to access these zones, until this year. This year we have found an area we now call 10 Bump Plus, as it is another huge riding area at the top end of the last Bump, a Plus to the existing known areas. In the last month we have broken in and explored this zone several times, the most recent trip we had 4 feet of fresh with sunshine and we took full advantage to explore and document our deep snow riding experience. We took stills and video and we hope you enjoy what we rode and enjoyed. The day we were riding was one of those days you see in other people videos and movies, deeeeeeep fresh, powder snow and sunshine, these are what deep snow days are made of. To say this trip was epic would not do honour to the day and conditions. Not only were the conditions excellent but the crew was on their game and we spend the day riding and exploring and having a fantastic time. 10 Bump Plus will be an area we will continue to ride and explore as this is just the bottom end of another huge riding area, and once again Revy proves that it truly is the MECCA of sledding and if you haven't made your way there yet, you need to book a guide and explore the area for yourself.

Sled-Revy has a complete line of Merch and Backcountry Gear that we have tested in the backcountry.

Here are a few short videos and a couple of pictures of our adventure.
The videos were shot on the "last bump", so to speak. You have to climb up and out of the technical tree's and the mountain rewards you with this beautiful rolling terrain, and on days where the visibility is good, you end up with spectacular riding and video opportunities. We shot lots of GoPro footage, but the iPhone makes it easy to upload and share, enjoy.

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The Season is About to Begin- how to prepare

11/6/2015

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Sled season is about to begin, what do we have to do to prepare the first ride. The first thing I do is make sure all of my riding gear is clean and ready to go. I check my AVI pack to make sure it is in good working order. I check to make sure my first aid kit is filled and any missing items are replaced. I check to make sure there's no holes are tears in my jacket and bib pants and I check my gloves, helmet and goggles and of course I put fresh batteries in my avalanche transceiver I make sure my shovel and my probe are functioning as they should. Next I turn my attention to my bag I use on the back of the sled; in this bag I have a third spare belt, 2 sets of goggles and a few tools to help me in a pinch. After going through my pack, and clothes I head to the garage to do a fall check of my sled. I say fall check, because in the spring before I put the sled away for the season, I check the track for rips or missing lugs, I check the Hy-Fax and I pull the clutches off and clean them and make sure everything is working properly. I grease the skid and check it for wear and tear and damage. I add stable to the gas and I clean up the engine bay and sled to make sure the area is clean and free of debris that could bounce around and hit the clutch. So when the fall comes around my sled is basically ready to go, but I like to give it a once over to ensure everything looks good. I rather fix things in my warm garage than on the side of the hill why my buddies ride or even worse, have to wait.
Just as important as my sled condition is in, I also start working out in September to that come late November, I am ready to ride. I start working that upper body strength, not just bulking up, but building endurance muscles as well as flexibility. I like to cross train and play some different sports just to ensure I have fun while I get in sled shape. I also work on my cardio because once in the mountains the elevation offers huge challenges to your riding day. I live at 3700 feet, so I am not overly affected by the elevation, as most of my riding is in the 3500 – 6000 foot range. However if you’re coming from 200 feet or a much lower elevation, you will need to prepare for the elevation differences. You need to arrive in the mountains with some cardio endurance, plus you need to refrain from drinking alcohol, instead drink as much water as you can tolerate, that will help you acclimate quicker. And just as important as avoiding alcohol, getting good rest and healthy meals will help ensure your body has what it needs to keep you going in the mountains. You would the to travel, spend the time and money to get to the mountains and end up too tired to ride or not on your game, causing you to get stuck more and not enjoying the mountain adventure. Often people get fatigued at the end of the day and that's when you can make mistakes that can cause you to get stuck, or end up hitting stationary objects, like trees. So preparing for your trip to the mountains in advance will help ensure your time there is fun, safe and memorable and you will make more trips to Revy and the mountains.

Sled-Revy has a complete line of Merch and Backcountry Gear that we have tested in the backcountry.

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Forward>>

SLED-REVY BLOG

We explore "Zipper Lip Creek".

The Start of Another Sled Season

The Playground

Homer, loving the fresh lines in the Playground

Thank-you Homer for the great commentary

Caw, Caw -- where are you guys?

10 Bump Plus

The Season is About to Begin- how to prepare

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