Sled-access Speedriding

By: Liz Dengler

In the autumn of 2022, my trusty van (Hustla) died on me. I don’t mean the starter or the sparkplugs went bad—I mean, the engine broke. To be fair, there were 243,000 miles on the thing; she owed me nothing. Still, I lived in a van for over three years, but even after my partner bought a house, I still spent an inordinate amount of time cruising around in my tiny wheeled home. I was heartbroken, so I made the difficult choice to spend the money to replace her heart; but, thanks to production and shipping delays, it was months before she was running again. So, I tucked in, ready to tackle a winter without wheels in my partner's house at 10,200 feet (3,110 meters).

I spent the entirety of the previous March in France speedriding but hadn’t been at all since—come winter of 2023, I was itching to get back on the snow with my little wing. Unlike in Europe, no resort in the United States allows this activity inbounds. Luckily, there is plenty of terrain to speedride in Colorado; however, the best skiing and only legal speedriding areas are far back in the mountains. You could, of course, skin back to the sites, but skinning at that altitude is time-consuming and can leave you exhausted, meaning you may only be able to run a lap or two before the day’s winds pick up. 

In preparation for winter in this remote alpine town, my partner bought two mountain snowmobiles to enjoy the mountain terrain come snowfall. Though I am not much of a motorhead, I couldn't deny the intrigue of using the sleds for backcountry access.

I was initially nervous, having not been indoctrinated in the ways of the mountain sled. Sure, I’d ridden a few snowmobiles in Antarctica. But ridding across crevasse-ridden glaciers and massive snowfields somehow feels entirely different from rallying through trees, up hills, and into avalanche terrain. With goals of getting a bit of speedriding in before heading to France for our annual speedriding trip, we started getting out. 

My partner gave me a few lessons, but to this day, I am TERRIBLE at riding a sled off-trail properly. However, I got practiced enough that we could start heading to some “nearby” spots ideal for short and safe laps. There is a massive community of people in Colorado that ride snowmobiles, and, as such, there are extensive networks of maintained (both groomed and ungroomed) trail networks. Luckily, one of the best speedriding sites is also the base of a huge snowmobile recreation outfit and has a series of groomed trails. Zipping along these makes for fast, easy, “Liz-sledable” laps from the LZ back to the top.  

The laps in the mountains of Colorado are short, but it was great fun to get out after nine months away from the snow. The first speedriding flight of the year is always exciting. Since I don’t foot-launch anything smaller than my 14m wing, returning to my 10m Level Fizz in the winter requires a bit of a brain adjustment. Even though a 10m wing is generally considered large by riders who frequent the Alps, it's ideal for launching at 12,000 feet (3,657m).  

Pilots in the States dream of lift access like in the Alps, and yet, with the sleds, it wasn’t far off. Turnaround times were fast (as long as someone other than me was driving); with a stuff sack and a quick toss of the towrope, you can be towed up the hill in about a minute. We’d launch from the summit, rip over other snowmobiles riding the groomed track, and navigate the slope to the LZ.

With cornices, trees, and craggy mountains, the scenery was stunning. When the wind rotated, we simply switched to the other side of the pass, where the slope angle was lower, and we could get in several snowy turns before launching. 

Lap after lap, sled-access speedriding was a great way to reconnect with the wing/ski combo and get some much-needed practice before France. My partner and I got out multiple times before leaving for our trip. I (sort of) learned how to ride a sled, we explored new terrain, and had several beautiful days of speedriding. I can’t say it rivals the slopes of Val d’Isere, but the snow was epic, the laps were quick, and the company was outstanding.

There’s nothing quite like exploring your home terrain in a new way, and I’m looking forward to the adventures we’ll have this coming winter. By the end of this winter, I expect I’ll know a bit more about riding a sled and speedriding this gorgeous terrain.