Snowmobile Stag Do

Had enough of tracks and mud? A snowmobile stag do swaps the go kart for a motorised sledge and the circuit for a snowy forest or mountainside. Snow at home means cancelled trains. Out here it means speed.

Most snowmobile trips are guided safaris. A guide leads the group in a convoy through the snow, with stops along the way for photos, a warm drink and a bit of grumbling about who’s going too slow at the front. It’s usually the stag. Make sure he hears about it.

Snowmobiling is mostly an abroad thing. The UK doesn’t get reliable enough snow, and that’s before anyone mentions the paperwork. Stag packages run across Europe, from ski resorts in the Alps to the snowy north of Scandinavia, where long safaris through forests and over frozen lakes are a big part of winter.

It slots nicely into a ski or snowboard trip as a half day off the slopes, which is handy if some of the lads are nursing bruises. It also works as the headline of a winter break if you pick somewhere with snow on the doorstep.

Some operators run evening trips too. A convoy of headlights snaking through a dark forest feels like the opening of an action film, right up until someone stalls.

It’s driving, which already gets half the group interested, and it’s in a setting most of them won’t have seen before. Snowy pine forests, frozen lakes, the lot. The machines are easy to pick up after a briefing, so nobody needs experience.

Some trips have you sharing a machine two-up, which means one lad drives and the other spends an hour criticising his driving from the back. Swap halfway and do it all again. Perfect stag do material.

• Licence. Some operators ask drivers to hold a full driving licence. Check, and remind the lads to pack it.
• Sharing or solo. Ask whether it’s one person per machine or two. Two-up usually costs less, but it’s more fun to drive than to sit behind someone.
• Warm kit. Operators usually provide overalls, boots, gloves and helmets. Bring thermals anyway. Sitting still in the cold at speed gets chilly fast.
• Booze. Nothing before driving, same as any vehicle. Celebrate afterwards with something hot and boozy.
• Damage and insurance. Check the operator’s cover and the excess. It can be steep if the stag decides to argue with a tree.

On a winter trip, snowmobiling sits well alongside a few days skiing or snowboarding, and a bob sleigh run keeps the speed theme going. Staying in the UK? Quad biking is the muddy cousin. There’s more on our stag do ideas page.