Trip Report
Trip Report from February 2024
The beating heart of the Wild West is alive as ever in the remote mountain ranges of Nevada. Deep powder, big faces, and steep lines reside with limitless potential—they are seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
In February 2024 we took a journey an hour north of Elko into the Independence Range with our good friend and longtime snowmobile guide Kyle Wieben of SledNV, Nevada’s premiere snowmobile guiding company for both snowmobile and snowmobile-ski tours. Kyle, a bonafide ‘sledneck’, started SledNV a few years ago as a way to make a lifestyle out of something he thoroughly enjoyed. It reminds me of the cliche that if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. SledNV is a major embodiment of this philosophy and a super fun one at that.
“The reason I got into this is just so I could share my passion.” – Kyle Wieben
So this time, instead of skis, we brought our powsurfers.
Last year we had a hell of a time riding snowmobiles in the Ruby Mountains with SledNV but this year Kyle had something new up his sleeve, taking us to a zone called ‘Chicken Creek’ in the Independence Mountains. Most of the drive up, I was like, “Where are these mountains he’s talking about?” since we were driving into absolute no-mans lands that looked more like ranches and hills than any sort of mountain range. But rest assured, Kyle knew what he was up to. We pulled off the deserted highway, loaded up the snowmobiles, and began riding toward a snowy range that got bigger and bigger as we cruised closer to it at 40 mph.
Before long, it became apparent: this was a big, alpine playground he was taking us to. Because of blizzard conditions on the first day, we didn’t go up high but stayed in the sub-alpine forests and rolling hills and drainages, powsurfing while it was nuking powder. The winds were violent and freezing cold but Kyle knew a sanctuary of aspen trees that we could powsurf even though we could hardly see. It was challenging, but we were able to find some soft snow and make it work. After a while the blizzard intensified, so we went back to Elko, had dinner at the Coffee Mug, and hit the sauna. All in all, it was a great day.
The next day started mostly cloudy and gradually cleared. It had snowed several inches and the snow was good up high. We powsurfed open hills, rocky chutes, snowy forests, bowls, and almost everything in between. On one of the last runs of the day—the best run—the sun popped out fully while it was setting, turning the snow a peachy orange color as we powsurfed down it. It was a surreal experience.
We got so many face shots that day—on the powsurfers and on the sleds. Getting shuttled at full speed in Kyle’s ‘Wallaby Pouch’ was an added bonus. It was all so fun that by the end of it, we didn’t want to go home. But it was getting dark and we had to. By the time we got back to Kyle’s trailer, the stars were out in full. There’s nothing like coming back after a long, gorgeous day in the mountains to a pitch-black, star-studded sky in the middle of nowhere. Looking up at the beautiful sky, tired from the hard-charging day, I felt at home in the cosmos.
Another amazing aspect of the trip besides powsurfing in the middle of a big mountain range that virtually no one knows about is how much we got to practice on the snowmobiles. I can confidently say that by the end of the trip, I got A LOT better at riding sleds. Kyle taught me the art of the ‘powder turn’ on a snowmobile, which entails leaning your weight fully to one side as you gun the throttle and get thrown into powder as you hold onto the snowmobile while going fast. That was insanely fun. I have buddies who post videos of themselves making powder turns on snowmobiles, but I never thought I’d be able to make one myself in as little as my fourth day ever riding one. That was due in part to Kyle’s excellence with snowmobiles and diligent patience as an instructor.
By the end of it, I was totally hooked on snowmobiles. It’s true when they say that the first four to 10 times on a snowmobile is for learning, and then after that, you’re hooked. With as good a guide as Kyle and as fun of terrain as SledNV is permitted to take clients it was more like only two to three times for me to be addicted. Just be ready to ask Kyle to unstuck your sled from super deep powder, it happens a lot.
The terrain Nevada has to offer is just as good as anywhere in the Lower 48 except that the only difference is there is likely not a soul around for miles. For the whole two days we were out in the Independence we saw exactly zero other people. And the lines were not dinky little runs; they were big, proper ski descents. I see so much potential throughout Nevada for exploring ski and powsurf lines and I can’t wait to get back out there. You just kind of need a snowmobile to do it as so many of these amazing zones are miles away from any sort of established trailhead.
And for those multi-sport guys or predominately skiers who don’t know much about snowmobiles, my advice for you is to not be afraid to give riding one a try. They are wicked fun and you can get the hang of them pretty quick. I didn’t know jack about snowmobiles but after a couple of days of riding powder in Nevada on one, I can truly say I’ve found a new sport that interests me. That’s really hard to come by these days as an adult.
I never would have thought Nevada had so much fun skiing and riding and that snowmobiling could be so fun until I gave SledNV a try. Now, this has likely become a yearly tradition for me; a pilgrimage of sorts. To go out to the boonies with friends and snowmobiles in search of powder and good times and to find exactly that. So thanks, Kyle. I can’t wait until our next adventure and for all the people in my life that I will hopefully one day introduce to snowmobiling as you did me. That is forever worth more than anything I could ever buy.
To learn more about SledNV and book a tour for the upcoming winter, visit the SledNV website.
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