12/26 & 12/27 Monte Cristo

[Augie]

I went to Powder Mountain on 26 Dec. The winds were probably 30 mph in the parking lot and scheduled to increase throughout the day. I decided not to play with those winds and drove to milepost 36 by the Ant Flat snowmobile parking lot. The road to Hardware Ranch is still open and I then drove about 1/2 mile to a well covered spot. I arrived at 11:00 to winds of about 15mph they slowly increased to about 20mph but it never snowed. Kited till 3:30.
I came back the next day @10:00 and the small amount of snow that had fell overnight had really done a great job of covering of the remaining sagebrush. Winds were 12 mph to 20 mph at the end of the day.The riding area is huge!!! I was only staying within about 1 1/2 miles of my truck but had fun racing some snowmobiles. I left at 2:30 and it was snowing hard.
I didn't indicate the wind direction (S,SW) for both days because it really doesn't matter there. The place is so huge you can always find the right spot if the wind is blowing. The problem is that it isn't always blowing because the altitude is low (7500 feet). Usually this is in advance of a storm. Someone with a snowmobile could just gain altitude and find new riding areas up on Monte. I did run into a beginner kiter who was up there snowmobiling and he wants to explore. Anyone else?
Anyone want to try a Powder Mountain to Ant Flat run? I would suggest snowmobile support.

[lesvierra]

Auggie, I'm up for some exploring. We are heading up there next week or so with some sleds and someone who knows the area. Hoping to sniff out ALL the goods. I heard it was only about 20 minutes by sled to Powder Mountain. I can only imagine what else is out there. Like you said if you have a sled there should be somewhere that is happening with wind. We need to compare notes. Let me know when you head up there again.