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Thurs 1/15/09 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySWnOTOp_zE
The fracture line was actually 20' above me and I didn't know what was going on behind me and didn't have the time to look. Before I went up I looked the hill over and decided to come down at an angle to my right (hills left) out of the full fall line. I only went fast enough to keep control and not sink into the snow and give me time to find my line. I did go to the right to drive out at the side of the slide but it is like swimming across a fast running river, you work with the current and pick at spot farther down. Don't try and go straight across, keep your sled level with the surface, don’t try and turn too sharply across the face, you could catch a ski or a wave could hit you from the side which could upset the s/m and maybe flip it over or bury it. If you look at the very end of the descent, to the left you see the slide ahead of me. If I would have come straight down or to the left I would have hit a wall of 10'-15'. I didn't want to wait the wave out because of not knowing what was behind me.
I have read everyones comments so far. I have over 40 yrs of continous snowmobile experience, 35 in the N/W Wyo area. I have operated a snowmobile tour business teaching thousands of people to operate a snowmobile for 18 yrs. I have made two instructional snowmobile riding programs for TV. I have served as an expert witness in two snowmobile accident court cases one involving 2 deaths. For 10 yr period I averaged 7000 mi a yr on a snowmobile. I owned and operated a snowmobile dealership for 16 yrs. I have personnally been involed in 3 avalanches in the 35 yrs of riding in the mountains. I have had a close friend die in a avalanche.
With all that being said, I posted this thread to inform and make aware of the potential risk we all take when we go into the mountains. We did have survival gear with us. I have never observed a significant slide on that hill face in 20 yrs of riding it. That particular mountain face area is over a mi long and I didn't see any slides along the whole face and I saw plenty of s/m climbing tracks on the hill faces on way up to that spot. I knew that the avalanche forcast for this area that day was considerable and I made a bad choice in hind site but most of the time we ride in Jan and part of Feb the forcast is moderate to considerable.
I thought about editing out the comments and talk in the video, It was adrenaline and relief talking and nothing else. My wife (she was the buddy on the other s/m I was waiting for before I started my climb) and I take s/m riding safety very seriously. I didn't have to post this and I know I will take criticism from some of you but it needed to be posted. Maybe this will save somebodys life
The fracture line was actually 20' above me and I didn't know what was going on behind me and didn't have the time to look. Before I went up I looked the hill over and decided to come down at an angle to my right (hills left) out of the full fall line. I only went fast enough to keep control and not sink into the snow and give me time to find my line. I did go to the right to drive out at the side of the slide but it is like swimming across a fast running river, you work with the current and pick at spot farther down. Don't try and go straight across, keep your sled level with the surface, don’t try and turn too sharply across the face, you could catch a ski or a wave could hit you from the side which could upset the s/m and maybe flip it over or bury it. If you look at the very end of the descent, to the left you see the slide ahead of me. If I would have come straight down or to the left I would have hit a wall of 10'-15'. I didn't want to wait the wave out because of not knowing what was behind me.
I have read everyones comments so far. I have over 40 yrs of continous snowmobile experience, 35 in the N/W Wyo area. I have operated a snowmobile tour business teaching thousands of people to operate a snowmobile for 18 yrs. I have made two instructional snowmobile riding programs for TV. I have served as an expert witness in two snowmobile accident court cases one involving 2 deaths. For 10 yr period I averaged 7000 mi a yr on a snowmobile. I owned and operated a snowmobile dealership for 16 yrs. I have personnally been involed in 3 avalanches in the 35 yrs of riding in the mountains. I have had a close friend die in a avalanche.
With all that being said, I posted this thread to inform and make aware of the potential risk we all take when we go into the mountains. We did have survival gear with us. I have never observed a significant slide on that hill face in 20 yrs of riding it. That particular mountain face area is over a mi long and I didn't see any slides along the whole face and I saw plenty of s/m climbing tracks on the hill faces on way up to that spot. I knew that the avalanche forcast for this area that day was considerable and I made a bad choice in hind site but most of the time we ride in Jan and part of Feb the forcast is moderate to considerable.
I thought about editing out the comments and talk in the video, It was adrenaline and relief talking and nothing else. My wife (she was the buddy on the other s/m I was waiting for before I started my climb) and I take s/m riding safety very seriously. I didn't have to post this and I know I will take criticism from some of you but it needed to be posted. Maybe this will save somebodys life
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