FALL/WINTER2016
MLCM
57
words :: Vince Shuley
Exploring the backcountry happens in
stages. First, it’s ducking the boundary rope
and following your friends to a pow stash.
That evolves into exiting the resort gate in
full touring regalia. Then one day, you’re
bushwacking back to the car under the glow of
a headlamp, wondering how a cruisy day trip
somehowmorphed into a 14-hour epic. As the
desire to explore bolsters, so does the need for
longer andmore arduous approaches to remote
backcountry objectives.
On foot, those uneventful approaches—mostly
on logging roads—can eat up critical travel time.
But if the self-propelled purist is ready to accept
the noise and exhaust fumes of a snowmobile,
they can spend less time sweating andmore
time shredding. However, the prohibitive cost of
sled-assisted touring keeps it a pipe dream for
many backcountry skiers and snowboarders.
Dan Cudlip saw this problem as an opportunity.
At the start of the 2015/16 winter, Dan already
had an impressive list of local backcountry
peaks and couloirs under his belt but like most
burgeoning backcountry enthusiasts he wanted
to travel deeper into the Coast Mountains. The
trick was how to do it on the budget of a frugal
ski bum. The solution? Assembling a team of
like-minded self-propelled dirtbags to invest in
a backcountry sled co-operative.
“I got the idea during that sh*t snow year
[winter of 2014/15],” recalls Cudlip. “I was
able to do a bunch of trips into areas I hadn’t
explored before by driving up the (snowless)
logging roads. I knew if I wanted to return to
those zones, I’d have to get a sled.”
After scoping out a decrepit Polaris RMK
600 at the campground where he worked
andmaking the owner a fair offer, Cudlip
offered three friends a unique investment
opportunity—help him get the sled
running and he would rideshare members
into remote backcountry zones. All three
friends went for it.
Every motorized toy needs hauling, so with the
limited budget he had, Cudlip picked up a 2006
Ford Ranger that had seen better days, but
according to themanual, met theminimum criteria
for carting around his 11-year-old snowmachine.
“I ruined that truck in one season driving fully
loaded up and down the Duffey [Lake Road],”
says Cudlip, nowwise to the pitfalls of cheaping
FOUR
DUDES:
ONE SLED
IT’SLIKERIDESHARE,
INTHEBACKCOUNTRY
BACK
YARD
Cudlip offered three friends a unique
investment opportunity—help him get
the sled running and he would rideshare
members into remote backcountry zones.
Load 'emupboys. NICTEICHROB
