I sled quite a bit (or at least try to.....kids have made it complicated).
What year is your RMK? Why Polaris? Did you look at the new XM's? Reason I ask is the new XM is far, far easier to maneuver thn the older machines, including the new RMK's. The sleds from 10-12 years ago are garbage compared to sleds made from 07-2015, and the new XP's are far superior to the 02-2015 summit machines.
The closest decent sled area is probably Castle Mountain. You can stage right from the parking lot, and it's not a difficult ride at all. Plus it's close to end of day beers at the tbar pub, which is a BIG bonus. Lots of trails, and lots of variations in terrain from beginner to expert.
Corbin/Pipeline as well as Inn on the Border are decent as well (right in Crowsnest Pass and Sparwood). I find there's not as much snow there though. I've never been to Elko but I want to check it out, heard great things about it.
Fernie has a lot of zones, but I'm not going to tell you where because that's where I go! Morrissey is OK (there is a cat skiing operation down there) and a few other zones here and there close to Jaffray.
If you want to do a guided tour check out Glacier Lodge in Revy. Revelstoke is a bit if a mecca, so the trails are groomed and there is UNLIMITED terrain. Everything from beginner to pucker your arsehole expert. Shuswap has plenty of terrain to explore too.
As far as avi gear, I would recommend an ABS bag, and a very good beacon. I've never been involved in a recovery (thank god!) but I have dropped a few avy's and been in some pretty sketchy terrain. The thing with sleds that you need to understand is that they are incredibly fast, so you can quite quickly get yourself into different aspects with totally different conditions than what you may have tested. Keep it in mind, stay away from open bowls when the conditions are poor, and download the Avalanche Canada app.
Have fun, ride sober and don't do anything "stupid". At the very least you run the risk of wrecking your machine, let alone hurting yourself.
|