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All corporations take the fun out of every job eventually, in my opinion. They'd replace us all with robots if they could (and eventually will). Just give me a good severance package and they can have my job.

Is there like a highlights version of their 3-hour podcasts? I'm a big fan of Gunner's videos, but I wonder what the average podcast watch time is.

I let both Cats out to play this week in the Chippewa National Forest. The Catalyst now has about 4-1/2 hours total time and the Riot has about an hour for the season.

You had one, too? I'm a retired Chief, and one of my predecessors was able to get out from under a business that was losing money when a fire conveniently gutted it. One of my regional fire school seminars was taught by Jamie Novak, a very respected fire investigator. I think that was the most interesting class I ever had as a firefighter. One day of the class was all classroom. As we were in class, the local fire department was at an old farmhouse, setting each room on fire using a different method. The next day, we had to go to the house and figure out how each room started. In my assigned room, it was just charred remains. Jamie suggested that we wash down the room with water from a fire truck conveniently located just outside. Once we did that, the pattern of a liquid accelerator was clearly visible on the floor, and we were able to piece together what happened without any further assistance. After we'd covered all of the rooms, we went back to the classroom where he showed us video of each fire. I learned so much from Jamie, that was a great experience. After that, I've been to several fires that made me suspicious and where we called the state to investigate. Arson is a lot more common than people realize, especially when money is somehow involved.

I left the group. Instead of being a place to help others find ridable snow, it has turned into a place where people tell each other not to go snowmobiling. I couldn't take it anymore. Most of our trails up here in nordern minneesoda go through public land, with only a few sections of private land (by me, anyway). I was able to get in a couple of shorter rides after work this week, some ditch riding but mostly open trails.

I don't think they were ever completely sold out. However, there were a lot of people who walked away from a spring order. The public will never know how many, so maybe it was just one guy who lost his job at Walmart. But, we shouldn't assume there wasn't any. I think there were more than we realize.

We have enough for some good ditch riding, and I still have a sled with LAST year's gas in it, so I think I gotta get rid of it somehow.

AC5S video with Ben Langaas:

That's a great testimonial. The way he posted on Facebook, it sounded too good to be true. And, I keep looking at other clutch people, like BDX and Speedwerx, and they've got nothing about belt size. I just wasn't sure what to believe. However, the way you've explained it, I think there's definitely merit the belt. Since I don't have a spare for my Catalyst, I'd be willing to give it a try next season.

The claim from Thunder Products on social media about the stock belt being too short has come up again (Snow Tech infomericial). Has anyone tried that to see if TP might actually be right?

Yeah, but does it bridge the bumps better?

Your quote looks fishy. There's no charge for the standard stuff - running boards, bumpers, etc. I wonder if the dealer accidentally added accessories to your quote. The way it is, it's not right.

I had tunnel flares on a fan cooled Indy back in the 90's and they did a great job keeping snow off my back. Didn't do shit for cooling.

This winter, the Timberwolf in Marcell, MN hooked me on a concoction that includes vodka, peppermint Rumchata and a couple other chocolate/coffee flavored things that they called a peppermint martini, or something like that. I'll bet this brandy would go well with that in place of vodka. In other news, brought to us by Polaris....

Which is better: Boyeson V-Force Why?

I keep thinking I need a wedge and a Trail would work fine. Started second pull one-handed. Every. Single. Time.

Which green matches my helmet?

Snowest rode the 858 during the media snow shoot, which was late February. They said they felt rushed, not enough time to give it a good review. The harder they tried to explain what they didn't like about it, the less clear it was, which makes me think it's probably clutching - that's where the Catalyst voodoo is, as so many have struggled with this winter. Even Speedwerx hasn't figured it out yet. Their skepticism wasn't enough to sway me, I think it'll be a good engine, especially for trail and crossover riders. On the other hand, if I'd been a mountain rider with a 2024 M600, I'd keep it, put a turbo on it this summer and see what Cat announces at Hay Days.

The story is confusing. An airport and a snowmobile trail should not be the same point on a map. Near me is a trail that goes around an airport, not on it. That's the way it should be. Muddying the waters, it sounds like it was a private airport/airstrip and not public. Why was a military aircraft landing at a private airstrip? Why did they land at an airport with no lighting system at night (most private airstrips don't have lights for night operations). Why did they shut down and turn their lights off? None of that makes sense. I can understand why the snowmobiler didn't see the helicopter, it was flat black (or, at least, a dark color) - paint intended to make it hard to see at night. They paint it that way on purpose. On the other side of the coin, I agree - snowmobilers accept risks every time they ride. We need to fully understand and manage those risks. When I was younger, a snowmobiler was killed riding a ditch at night when they blew past a road sign and it decapitated them. Nobody blamed the sign. It doesn't happen as often any more, but livestock fencing can also decapitate unsuspecting sledders and nobody has ever blamed the fence (that I know of). It sounds like the snowmobiler sued the land owner and settled out of court. Typical "news" story doesn't give us critical details or context, but at a private airstrip it would be assumed that the owner would need to grant permission to an aircraft to land, especially at night. If this were a training mission, I would expect it. So, to me, the responsibility would fall on the landowner alone for allowing the potential for incompatible vehicles to be in the same place at the same time. Landing at night is a specialized skill. I've worked landing zones for medical helicopters both during the day and at night, and as a fixed wing pilot I know how important it is to practice. But, I'd still want to know why the helicopter shut down and turned off its lights. That's not normal for any training operations I've ever seen at a public airport.

Who's ordering the new VR1 with Dynamix? What would make me nervous is how many ways a fancy pants electronic system like that could fail when exposed to the abuse of snowmobiling. Then again, it's not like sleds aren't already loaded with electronics, so it'll probably be fine. Why, back in my day, a guy was smart when he refused to buy a new car with power windows onaccounta the fear that they're just something that could break. Far better to have crank down windows and lean across the car at highway speeds when it started to rain.

INSIDER INSIGHT – THE PRIDE IS BACK AND CAT IS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION

Thanks, @Jerr2Star - it sounds like the West Yellowstone demo was a success, then. I have my fingers crossed for the rest of the demos! Arctic Cat Demo Day at ERX - February 17, 2024 RIDING THE BRAND NEW CATALYST 858!!!

Oh, c'mon now. People need to poop somewhere!