Boondockers Snowmobiling Movie

Scrubbing Speed

Last weekend I chased Shane Kynaston and Rick Barker through some of Utah’s most technical backcountry.

Shane Kynaston spent most of the past two seasons dealing with a broken leg and torn knee, but he is back with a vengeance. Just like Andrew McCarthy says, he got old way before he got tired. At 41 years of age, he still leaves younger riders in the dust, or trees as the case may be. Shane may be giving the biggest jumps to the young guns these days, but he is one of the finest technical riders on the planet.

Me, Shane, and Rick set out not expecting much in the way of powder. A little way up the trail we realized that we were in for a nice surprise. Despite several days of warm and dry weather in the valleys, there was still plenty of good snow to be found in the mountains. The combination of settled powder and a sizable base made for ideal conditions to explore new areas. The day was spent riding trees, boondocking tight canyons, and jumping everything in between.

We managed to make it through canyons and creek bottoms that I might have said were impossible on a snowmobile a couple years ago. I feel bad for the unwary rider that might attempt to follow our tracks into some of the country we were in. Between mandatory sidehills and drops, ridiculous descents, and plenty of tight trees – this definitely wasn’t beginner terrain. Around here, if you see someone sliding sideways through the trees down a steep face, they’re just scrubbing speed! Plus, if you are going to hit a tree it’s better to take it rubber side up.

-Dan Gardiner

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