Jonger Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Who's riding, who's shoeing and who's skiing? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 Would be nice to lay something down on NW Michigan trails so I don't have to drive to the UP for decent conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up_north_MI Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Currently up here in Houghton having lunch, rode up from Twin Lakes, lots of sleds, trails are getting choppy. We spent all day yesterday in the trees and power lines, they could use more snow but it’s decent, maybe 30” down near Twin Lakes, maybe 18” up here in Houghton. The drive up here Thursday night was flat out horrible, white out conditions most of the way, love riding out this way but hate the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted January 29, 2022 Author Share Posted January 29, 2022 Last weekend at the AAA rock climbing wall near Big Bay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michsnowfreak Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 I thought of you when I saw a few snowmobilers out on lake Erie today lol. Several ice fishermen as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 I was at Mt. Holly today skiing (been 10+ times so far). Plan to go many more. Going to Boyne eventually too. Plus Bittersweet. Ski conditions have been awesome this winter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 If things pan out..... Friday 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_4184 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 Not much to talk about again this year in my area, I had one good week around first week of December since then just a few inches here or there. No real sustained LES, The pattern has sucked for our area with the toughing setup to close to us, most systems miss to the south and most LES is N or NNW wind flow which isn't good unless your hugging the coast. UP has been pretty good overall though. I have about a foot at my house but trails and two tracks are beat to sh*t right now. I seen a ton of riders around the area over the weekend riding in dirt with some snow with whooped out trails. Desperate i get it especially since the past 2-3 years have been abysmal for snow.. I guess I'm pretty happy about selling the sleds a few years back and buying a boat got a lot more use out of that thing that's for sure. Although I do miss the sleds everyone once in a while. Certainly not worth the costs/headache to ride for a couple good weeks a year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up_north_MI Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 hour ago, josh_4184 said: Not much to talk about again this year in my area, I had one good week around first week of December since then just a few inches here or there. No real sustained LES, The pattern has sucked for our area with the toughing setup to close to us, most systems miss to the south and most LES is N or NNW wind flow which isn't good unless your hugging the coast. UP has been pretty good overall though. I have about a foot at my house but trails and two tracks are beat to sh*t right now. I seen a ton of riders around the area over the weekend riding in dirt with some snow with whooped out trails. Desperate i get it especially since the past 2-3 years have been abysmal for snow.. I guess I'm pretty happy about selling the sleds a few years back and buying a boat got a lot more use out of that thing that's for sure. Although I do miss the sleds everyone once in a while. Certainly not worth the costs/headache to ride for a couple good weeks a year. I completely understand why you sold the sleds Josh, the past few winters in the lower have really been sub par at best. There’s definitely been some good stretches with deep snow and enough cold to maintain the snow but them stretches have really been short lived. My brother n law and I started looking for acreage in the UP this past summer that we can build a “barndominium” on and ride and hunt out of. Not 100% sure where yet but we would like to keep it within 2 hours of the bridge at the most and along 28 or north. We have a bunch of friends that have places in Lakes of the north and even they have had to trailer to Newberry quite a few times the past couple years to get decent riding and normally if you’re area doesn’t have snow nobody in the lower does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 Anything south of the red lines is a waste of snow to a snowmobiler. No trails. No one is even reporting conditions in NE Michigan. No snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 6 minutes ago, Up_north_MI said: I completely understand why you sold the sleds Josh, the past few winters in the lower have really been sub par at best. There’s definitely been some good stretches with deep snow and enough cold to maintain the snow but them stretches have really been short lived. My brother n law and I started looking for acreage in the UP this past summer that we can build a “barndominium” on and ride and hunt out of. Not 100% sure where yet but we would like to keep it within 2 hours of the bridge at the most and along 28 or north. We have a bunch of friends that have places in Lakes of the north and even they have had to trailer to Newberry quite a few times the past couple years to get decent riding and normally if you’re area doesn’t have snow nobody in the lower does. Damn, let's hang out ... this barn is exactly what I'm planning too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up_north_MI Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 43 minutes ago, Jonger said: Damn, let's hang out ... this barn is exactly what I'm planning too. I’ll be completely honest buddy but I would bet you would hate to ride with my group and the type of riding we normally do. Friday we spent all day in the woods climbing hills through trees and on power lines and didn’t even put on 30 miles. Saturday we rode a little more but still it was under 90 miles I bet. Last season I put around 800 miles on my sled and maybe 20 of them miles were on a groomed trail, yes only 20 miles all season with the rest being “off trail “ miles. Most of our group run RMK’s and Summits 146”-155” inch tracks. A friend of ours has a 2020 skidoo renegade 850 with the 1.25” track and didn’t make it 200 feet in the woods the first morning with the group and had to retreat back to the trail, him and two other guys from our 11 man group ended up riding trails the rest of the weekend and they would meet us for dinner at the end of the day. A normal day for our group of guys is we make and eat a big breakfast and are out riding by 10:00, we bring lots of water and protein bars and snack on them while out riding and always try to be back before dark when we try to go out for a decent dinner or we cookout, depends where we’re at but we don’t consume alcohol during the day, only after the sleds are parked for the night. If any of that sounds like fun we could definitely try to ride together sometime. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 I have a crew that rides almost exactly like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaryWarren Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 The United Colors of Benetton crew that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_4184 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 2 hours ago, Up_north_MI said: I completely understand why you sold the sleds Josh, the past few winters in the lower have really been sub par at best. There’s definitely been some good stretches with deep snow and enough cold to maintain the snow but them stretches have really been short lived. My brother n law and I started looking for acreage in the UP this past summer that we can build a “barndominium” on and ride and hunt out of. Not 100% sure where yet but we would like to keep it within 2 hours of the bridge at the most and along 28 or north. We have a bunch of friends that have places in Lakes of the north and even they have had to trailer to Newberry quite a few times the past couple years to get decent riding and normally if you’re area doesn’t have snow nobody in the lower does. I have lived in the Gaylord area for about 7 years now, the are near LON where I live "used" to average around 160-180" a year, I think I have hit that number maybe once. Perhaps its just been a bad stretch but do have some concern that perhaps is trend may be more of the norm for the foreseeable future. I do enjoy living in Northern Michigan, although dealing with the cold from late September though April does get a little old. Its not bad when its snowing but just cold air and dirty snowbanks does get old looking at. The wife and I did consider relocating further South last year but with COIVD everything has gone crazy in terms of costs especially housing. Ill get off my soap box now, but do feel bad for the local businesses who rely on the snow to maintain operations until Golf Season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_4184 Posted January 31, 2022 Share Posted January 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Up_north_MI said: I’ll be completely honest buddy but I would bet you would hate to ride with my group and the type of riding we normally do. Friday we spent all day in the woods climbing hills through trees and on power lines and didn’t even put on 30 miles. Saturday we rode a little more but still it was under 90 miles I bet. Last season I put around 800 miles on my sled and maybe 20 of them miles were on a groomed trail, yes only 20 miles all season with the rest being “off trail “ miles. Most of our group run RMK’s and Summits 146”-155” inch tracks. A friend of ours has a 2020 skidoo renegade 850 with the 1.25” track and didn’t make it 200 feet in the woods the first morning with the group and had to retreat back to the trail, him and two other guys from our 11 man group ended up riding trails the rest of the weekend and they would meet us for dinner at the end of the day. A normal day for our group of guys is we make and eat a big breakfast and are out riding by 10:00, we bring lots of water and protein bars and snack on them while out riding and always try to be back before dark when we try to go out for a decent dinner or we cookout, depends where we’re at but we don’t consume alcohol during the day, only after the sleds are parked for the night. If any of that sounds like fun we could definitely try to ride together sometime. My group would have gotten along great we road very similar, only used trails to get to gas and food on occasion. I bought my new 2013 Polaris Assault and sold it in 2017 with only 800 miles on it and we road quite a bit but not very much distance as we off trailed 90% of the time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted February 1, 2022 Author Share Posted February 1, 2022 5 hours ago, josh_4184 said: I have lived in the Gaylord area for about 7 years now, the are near LON where I live "used" to average around 160-180" a year, I think I have hit that number maybe once. Perhaps its just been a bad stretch but do have some concern that perhaps is trend may be more of the norm for the foreseeable future. I do enjoy living in Northern Michigan, although dealing with the cold from late September though April does get a little old. Its not bad when its snowing but just cold air and dirty snowbanks does get old looking at. The wife and I did consider relocating further South last year but with COIVD everything has gone crazy in terms of costs especially housing. Ill get off my soap box now, but do feel bad for the local businesses who rely on the snow to maintain operations until Golf Season. For whatever reason the NW flow has been missing. It's always straight north now....... Good for Ludington, but not Gaylord or Kalkaska. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh_4184 Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Yea most normal years, NW or WNW flow is most prevalent, the past few however NNW or N has been most common which is very peculiar. Which as you said is a no go for my area towards Kalkaska. Only really favors helps the UP especially East of Munising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Looking forward to some fresh snow skiing!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 New slides put on last night.. Bloody hands and lot's of swearing. Now, we see who has something to ride on Friday. No matter what I get locally, I'll be trailering out of here anyhow. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestMichigan Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 17 minutes ago, Jonger said: New slides put on last night.. Bloody hands and lot's of swearing. Now, we see who has something to ride on Friday. No matter what I get locally, I'll be trailering out of here anyhow. Lol Mostly a bust around here. Have to go S or E to find snow. Looks like Allegan county fared a little better and then much better around the Kalamazoo, Three Rivers and Paw Paw area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted February 2, 2022 Author Share Posted February 2, 2022 2 hours ago, WestMichigan said: Mostly a bust around here. Have to go S or E to find snow. Looks like Allegan county fared a little better and then much better around the Kalamazoo, Three Rivers and Paw Paw area. The best snow within 150 miles is in Ontario and they aren't letting people in for recreational reasons. I wish this entire storm went north 100 miles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 Sadly for you sledders is this pattern has been rotten yet cold. Honestly this has been a spectacular Ski season since Christmas. Thankfully Ski hills have advanced snow makers and daily grooming. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outflow Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 1/31/2022 at 12:45 PM, Jonger said: Anything south of the red lines is a waste of snow to a snowmobiler. No trails. No one is even reporting conditions in NE Michigan. No snow. There is a set of trails that run in eastern sanilac county/se Huron county over here in the thumb, I don't ride so no idea what they are like but I see the maps every once/while hanging in a couple local sporting goods shops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up_north_MI Posted February 4, 2022 Share Posted February 4, 2022 On 2/2/2022 at 3:51 PM, outflow said: There is a set of trails that run in eastern sanilac county/se Huron county over here in the thumb, I don't ride so no idea what they are like but I see the maps every once/while hanging in a couple local sporting goods shops I’ve ridden them a number of times, mostly edges of fields but they are groomed and signed well, well they were, I haven’t ridden them in a few years actually. The one dump site was in Sandusky behind the movie theater about 35 miles north of me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueWaves Posted February 5, 2022 Share Posted February 5, 2022 On 1/31/2022 at 3:13 PM, josh_4184 said: I have lived in the Gaylord area for about 7 years now, the are near LON where I live "used" to average around 160-180" a year, I think I have hit that number maybe once. Perhaps its just been a bad stretch but do have some concern that perhaps is trend may be more of the norm for the foreseeable future. I do enjoy living in Northern Michigan, although dealing with the cold from late September though April does get a little old. Its not bad when its snowing but just cold air and dirty snowbanks does get old looking at. The wife and I did consider relocating further South last year but with COIVD everything has gone crazy in terms of costs especially housing. Ill get off my soap box now, but do feel bad for the local businesses who rely on the snow to maintain operations until Golf Season. I made it 7 years before heading back south. But I was outside of TC from Sept of '90 til summer of '97. First 2 winters were longer and snowier than SEMI where we had moved from, but not harsh in any category. Then we got '92, the summer that wasn't. 70F was a hot day. I had a 50 mile commute one way thru Kalkaska snow belt over to Grayling by that point and for the next 5 years. It was snowing on the regular inland by October of '92, but that winter didn't get "deep". Then 93 was mild. So mild in the autumn we were deep in December without snow, even Gaylord. Ended up that was a false flag as right around Christmas it got sharply colder and the LES set in. We got the "Big Freeze" for about 7 weeks to begin '94. Because the LES started so late, the regions nearer the shore did better than the high terrain and I peaked at 40" depth by mid-Feb. It was so bitter cold tho, -35 and -40F inland for the morning drive was pretty common. Hope I never experience that kind of cold again. Next winter went Nino and a brown holiday week, even in the UP! I took the entire week off of work Soley to ride and it was the first brown holiday season in decades. Sucky luck I had! It finally snowed the Sunday evening before my Monday back to work, lol. The next two winters were extremely long and record snowfall (you can see them as all-time snowiest for TC, Gaylord, and The Sault on the NWS chart). Snow was on the ground Sept 19th of '95. Snow was in the air 8 months of the calendar year. It's awesome fun to play in, but when you have to go to work, school, just normal life chores it wears on you week after week. I also suffered with a deadly disease in autumn of '96 into '97 which didn't help matters. The Ex and I decided it was time to sell the sleds and head south. Originally thought way south like Dixie or the Sunbelt, but as it ended up a really good job offer took us to South Bend which was close to our families. Like night and day tho wrt length of enjoyable warm season from the 3 years we'd just lived through. And we skied as well as had 3 sleds to ride any day for weeks on end. Can not imagine living through those long winters and not be into winter sports. That would be so difficult imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up_north_MI Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 The UP is having a pretty good winter for snowfall and cold but it’s been like like a different world as soon as you get south of the bridge, “hopefully” that will start to change so we can salvage the remaining 6 weeks or so of winter in northern lower. The cold has been there but the snow really hasn’t. Looking like a few chances for a little fresh snow between now and the last big winter holiday weekend, President’s weekend. I’m not a huge fan of having to chase snow but this season we’ve had to unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baum Posted February 9, 2022 Share Posted February 9, 2022 never a good sign when this thread is at the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonger Posted February 9, 2022 Author Share Posted February 9, 2022 8 hours ago, Up_north_MI said: The UP is having a pretty good winter for snowfall and cold but it’s been like like a different world as soon as you get south of the bridge, “hopefully” that will start to change so we can salvage the remaining 6 weeks or so of winter in northern lower. The cold has been there but the snow really hasn’t. Looking like a few chances for a little fresh snow between now and the last big winter holiday weekend, President’s weekend. I’m not a huge fan of having to chase snow but this season we’ve had to unfortunately. 15th coldest month ever at Flint. Jan 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michsnowfreak Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 11 hours ago, Up_north_MI said: The UP is having a pretty good winter for snowfall and cold but it’s been like like a different world as soon as you get south of the bridge, “hopefully” that will start to change so we can salvage the remaining 6 weeks or so of winter in northern lower. The cold has been there but the snow really hasn’t. Looking like a few chances for a little fresh snow between now and the last big winter holiday weekend, President’s weekend. I’m not a huge fan of having to chase snow but this season we’ve had to unfortunately. Southern MI had more snow on the ground than most of Northern lower MI the past week. But Munising is looking great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now