Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/4049
6 MODSTOCK 2009 SnoWest Magazine is published 8 times per year by Harris Publishing, Inc., 360 B Sreet, Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (208-524-7000). Harris PublisHing, inc. Jason Harris—President Chuck Harris—Vice President Ryan Harris—Vice President Steve Janes—Vice President Clayton Ward—Treasurer Janet Chase—Secretary advertising and editorial offices: 360 B Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83402; Phone: 208-524-7000; Fax: 208-522-5241. subscription services / address change: SnoWest, 360 B Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83402; 1-800-638-0135. subscription rates: SnoWest, $19.95 per year. Back issues, when available, $5.00 each. Copyright (c) 2009, Harris Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part, without written permission, is strictly prohibited. www.snoWest.com PUBLISHER STEVE JANES EDITOR LANE LINDSTROM TECH EDITOR RYAN HARRIS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT KAISJA CLARK SNOWEST TEST STAFF LANE LINDSTROM STEVE JANES MARK BOURBEAU RYAN HARRIS ADVERTISING MANAGER GREGG MANWARING gm@snowest.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES DEAN COWLEY dean@snowest.com MARK EVANS mevans@snowest.com MARKETING DIRECTOR ROBIN BLACK robin@snowest.com SNOW GROUP SECRETARY CAMILLE TYLER camille@snowest.com PRODUCTION MANAGER JANET CHASE DESIGN APRIL FREDERICK PRODUCTION JIM DONOVAN LAVON HORNE IT DIRECTOR CHUCK HARRIS CONTROLLER CLAYTON WARD ACCOUNTING LAURA RAFFERTY CIRCULATION YVONNE YOUNG EULA ENDECOTT Schooled is Out By Steve Janes White Out & Wide Open If there's one thing all snowmo- bilers tend to have in common, it is a competitive nature when it comes to their snowmobiles. Everyone wants the best, the fastest, the most reliable snowmobile on the snow. In fact, that's the reason we do Mod-Stock … so we can provide you with all the insights to make your snowmobile go faster, climb higher and perform better on the snow. For years we've provided you with all the information necessary to modify your sled to your specific needs. But recently we've realized that's not all you need. You also need to do some tuning on your rid- ing style. The editors of SnoWest were able to get our hands on a pirated ver- sion of an instructional/entertain- ing DVD entitled Schooled that is scheduled to be released later this fall. It has been known for some time now that two of the West's best technical snowmobilers, Bret Rasmussen and Chris Burandt, have been working together to release a video that goes into some detail on how to improve your extreme boon- docking riding techniques. Coming from snowmobilers who have been "schooled" by Rasmussen on numerous occasions, we were curious to see the video for a couple of reasons: First, we wanted to know if these two guys could actually put something together that could be useful to the average snowmobiler. And second, we wanted to see if they could actually capture the boondocking experience on video. Both were accomplished. The video starts out with Rasmussen saying, "My goal is to motivate …." He then says he likes to push himself and others to the limit. (If you read the column in October SnoWest, you know he's a man of his words.) For Rasmussen, getting stuck and occasionally wrecking sleds is all part of the learning process. But when you watch how he controls his snowmo- bile in extreme situations, you real- ize how far he has pushed the limit. One section of the video is called "learn to ride again." Here he teach- es a simple technique of "wrong foot forward" that demonstrates how to have better control of your sled on a steep sidehill. If there's one procedure that can improve one's boondocking ability, it is this. And Rasmussen and Burandt spend most of the video trying to help you understand it. Although Rasmussen talks about balance and how it relates to han- dlebar position, foot position, coun- ter-steering and use of the throttle, it all comes down to rider position in relationship to the slope. And he does a great job of making the con- cept easy to understand. The words complement the video. The video is fun to watch. The sound track may be a little off- beat at times, and perhaps the least impressive of the package, but it continued on page 48