Has it ever been done?
 

Imagine riding the Divide in January and February on a Moonlander.

You better pack your snowshoes. Bikes are limited by snow depth and consistency, and during most mid-winter months snow depth exceeds operational limitations in most of the high country.

I had a chance to try one out in relatively shallow, heavy snow conditions, about 12-16". I could ski faster, with a lot less effort, but it was fun.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...d3c83a0006.jpg

I can imagine that would be a lot of hard work. What about riding a touring fatbike on a frozen river? Maybe the Red River of the North: Fargo to Winnipeg, flat and downstream all the way.

^ That sounds amazing and beautiful... I think I may have a new goal. Though a north-south running river may be more suitable due to cold winter headwinds.

Apparently during the late spring, they plow one lane of the McKenzie Pass, then more or less allow bikes up there without cars.

I got up there in June last year, but not up to the snow line. It was nice doing the mostly car-free hill climb. Perhaps I'll try it a bit earlier this year.

Of course, hopping the gate and going up there while it is snowing might not be too bright.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=426852

I ski the Divide in Colorado weekly. Snow conditions on the Divide itself are usually pretty terrible because of the wind, mostly blown clear above treeline. Cycling up there would be possible in spots on good weather days, and there are two or three of those every month.

There's deep powder deposition on the lee (east) side, often with extreme avalanche danger. Skiing in that powder, I'm often up to my knees or deeper, meaning the pedals on a bike would be foundering in it. I see plenty of fat bike tracks on popular trails already packed by snowshoers and snowmachines, but they don't go far off into the untracked powder.

Part of southern New Mexico would be possible, and maybe across the Red Desert in Wyoming, again given decent weather when the wind drops below 40 knots or so.

I guess Surly needs to make a bike that's half snowmobile half fat bike. :)

My wife and I have done the Old McKenzie a couple of times, but usually the weekend before they open it to car traffic. The weather is nice and the car-free roads have little or no snow on them. It is a great training ride prior to a tour.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...8ae2be89f8.jpg

It is a great ride, especially the downhill!

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...d986788e87.jpg

Nice pictures.
I didn't quite make it to the top last year as I did the ride starting west of Walterville, and it got too late.

The mountain is less climbing, and more downhill if you can swing doing starting on the east side, and heading westward.

Just thinking back. In the spring of 1990, I decided to head up to Mt. St. Helens in the old AMC Hornet. Much of the roads were clear, but I ran into snow drifts. A few of them were ok, but I eventually got my car stuck in the middle of one, and had a lot of shovelling to get out again. Now I avoid the drifts.

Anyway, I could imagine going biking in a place with lots of dry pavement, but the occasional snow drift to discourage the rest of the traffic. Plow into it on the bike if one wishes, or walk the 20 yards and head off again on the other side.

You did it the hard way:) Yes,we cheated. We rode from the east side, which is less climbing and shorter. My excuse is needing to stop at the great bakery in Sisters!

I did that once... but it was many years ago, and in the middle of the summer.

Went riding with family and friends along Century Drive.

Everyone else headed home while I camped overnight, then headed up to Sisters, then up over the pass, and zippity down the other side (during my younger years I don't think I knew what brakes were). Finally after dark I was picked up around Leaburg.

all this talk of riding in snow made me recall as a young teenager xc skiing in the woods with my dad and others, going close to a big old pine tree and finding out how the snow right under them that slopes down inwards towards the tree is much less dense than out in the open.....slid into it and couldnt even get up it was so soft. You move and you sink deeper.

I've had the offer to go ride a fatbike on a trail sometime, and I guess that would work well, but any softer and fluffier than that and it certainly doesnt seem it would work at all.

I have climbed both slopes. Descending the west slop can get hairy. That was part of Cycle Oregon in '02. Despite warnings from the ride organizer to be careful in the switchbacks, several people, including one tandem team, overcooked corners and ended up in the woods. No one was seriously hurt.

That could have easily been fatal on some of the corners. I recall looking way down on some of the switch backs and seeing more than one switchback what looked almost like straight down. I have only ridden McKenzie Pass eastbound and the descent was fun but required much less caution going that way. It is an interesting ride.

On the original topic... I think I'd rather go XC skiing or snowshoeing at that time of year if going into deep back country snow.

It looks like it's already been done.

I saw one of these the other day. It looks like it's meant for on-piste travel. The track and ski would have to be a lot wider for any kind of powder flotation. I couldn't imagine climbing in powder on it.