glad you and the boys made it out ok...our sport sure doesnt need any more exposure this season..
Christopher's Easter Weekend Rescue (or what not to do in a blizzard)
- Thread starter christopher
- Start date
M
get and store this on your sled...
Called a Bivy sack
I have one for each sled, they are MUCH stronger than normal space blankets...they are a little more, and a little bulky, but fit perfectly in the nose cone of the Nytro...
I too would like to say THANK YOU for sharing this! I'm VERY glad all turned out well for you.
Everyone I know who has been sledding for any length of time, usually has some sort of story somewhat similar to this at some stage of their riding. Things can go bad in the mountains at any time. It's what you do with that, and how you handle it, that determines the outcome. 4 of us almost spent the night 3 years ago. I can sooooooo relate to many things. While I had a fire going and was at that point collecting wood.......I was sure we would be staying. I had plenty of supplies for the hubby and myself, but not the two other guys (whom weren't prepared). Thankfully they were able to fix a broken suspension on one of those guys sled.......cobble it together with things I pack along *just in case*. Then getting out of the tree filled gully in the dark, and those other 2 not having headlights. All around bad deal.......but turned out good. It took every ounce of my being, in complete survival mode, to ride back out.......even once we hit the trail, it was hard to even hold on to ride. By the time we got back to our vehicles, we met folks whom were on their way to look for us. Rule of thumb for us, if we aren't back by dark, or haven't contacted those we left word with of where we were going, then send help (we have since bought a SPOT, but still use that rule). We have a call list of peeps we've put together, just in case. It's people we know and trust that will be on their way no matter what if they are called.....same as we would be for them.
Thanks for sharing this so that others may learn. I'm sure it would have been easier to just keep quiet (like most do), but instead you are helping others with this. That is admirable. Again, thank you for sharing this!
Everyone I know who has been sledding for any length of time, usually has some sort of story somewhat similar to this at some stage of their riding. Things can go bad in the mountains at any time. It's what you do with that, and how you handle it, that determines the outcome. 4 of us almost spent the night 3 years ago. I can sooooooo relate to many things. While I had a fire going and was at that point collecting wood.......I was sure we would be staying. I had plenty of supplies for the hubby and myself, but not the two other guys (whom weren't prepared). Thankfully they were able to fix a broken suspension on one of those guys sled.......cobble it together with things I pack along *just in case*. Then getting out of the tree filled gully in the dark, and those other 2 not having headlights. All around bad deal.......but turned out good. It took every ounce of my being, in complete survival mode, to ride back out.......even once we hit the trail, it was hard to even hold on to ride. By the time we got back to our vehicles, we met folks whom were on their way to look for us. Rule of thumb for us, if we aren't back by dark, or haven't contacted those we left word with of where we were going, then send help (we have since bought a SPOT, but still use that rule). We have a call list of peeps we've put together, just in case. It's people we know and trust that will be on their way no matter what if they are called.....same as we would be for them.
Thanks for sharing this so that others may learn. I'm sure it would have been easier to just keep quiet (like most do), but instead you are helping others with this. That is admirable. Again, thank you for sharing this!
This is what we had in our bags.
When I got back to my son, he had not taken this out of his pack.
Rather he had pulled out my heavy duty space blanket that I carry as a ground cloth.
R
Alls well that ends well
I'm glad you all made it out ok, sounds scary but i am surprised to be the first to bring it up.... This all could have been prevented by 2 little words..... "Arctic Cat" ;-) But seriously while harrowing at the time this is an experience we can all use as a reminder not to become too lax in our preparations, or overconfident in ourselves and our sleds.
I'm glad you all made it out ok, sounds scary but i am surprised to be the first to bring it up.... This all could have been prevented by 2 little words..... "Arctic Cat" ;-) But seriously while harrowing at the time this is an experience we can all use as a reminder not to become too lax in our preparations, or overconfident in ourselves and our sleds.
I know I am going to get beat up a bit for my mistakes, but I want to learn from this and be a better rider as a result, and maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes as well.
I carry 2 of those, and one Land Shark bag http://www.land-shark.com/Order-Main.htm
http://www.land-shark.com/ (Aaargggh, link thing not working correctly right now). I also carry 3 of the smaller thin foil sheets......just cuz. They are light, and could have many uses.
OK.
I am ready to be schooled.
Put yourself in my position.
Go back up to the sequence of events.
You are there with the boys, and it's now 3:15PM.
From that moment forward, what would YOU have done differently ??
good on ya for owing up and doing your best to prevent this from ever happening again.
When someone lifts my pack they usually go WTF do you have in this thing......my answer is simple....MY LIFE.
OK, Here is what we had in each of our packs on Saturday.
Avalanche Probe
Avalanche saw
Backpacks
Beanies
Camera
CASH
de-fogging / de-icing wipe for goggles
Extra-Keys
Garmin Hcx530
Gloves, Lightweight Spare
Goggles, Spare
Map
Personal Locator Beacon
Shovel
batteries, lithium spare
Camelback Pack, INSULATED
Candle
Chapstick
Compass
Firestarter
Flashlight, head mounted.
Folding Saw
Hard Candy
Heat Packs, Large
Heat Packs, Small
Lighter
Mirror
Mylar Blanket, heavy duty
Mylar sleeping bag, Bivy Sack
Orange Surveyor's Tape Roll
Para Cord
Pot, to melt snow
Sierra Cup
Storm Proof Matches
Stove, esbit w/tabs
Strobe Light
Tarp
Toilet Paper
Whistle
That was all that will fit in our back packs.
This summer the sleds get tunnel bags on them, and the following items are to be added.
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Not trying to be mean or take pot shots at you.
But your first mistake was leaving the trailhead with riders that would not be able to help you out. I often get grief for being picky about who I will ride with, even being accused of being kinda snobby,. But the truth is if I can't count on you to save my life in a time of need then your just dead weight to me. I hold myself to that same standard.
Understood.
Can't argue with that.
But that is why I asked you to start at 3:15 :face-icon-small-hap
T
Let me start by saying that I am glad that you and the boys are alove and well.
Now you are starting to learn why most of us don't ride Yammi's. Weight matters. Even with the weight, you really need to learn how to get a sled unstuck! There are very few times and situations where my boy and I cannot get a sled unstuck. I may be 6'1" and 230, but my boy is 5'5" and 130. Rolling a sled over on its side, and often a full barrel roll will get a sled out of a grave in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours. I find it hard to believe that you had 3 sleds and spent that much time to get even the one that was not stuck turned around!!! 2 barrel rolls and a sled with be turned 180 degrees from where you started. You really need to learn more sled skills before heading back into that kind of country. We are seldom in cell coverage most anywhere that we ride. Calling for help is not an option short of riding out out of the mtns and getting in the truck to get to cell coverage and THEN calling for a chopper to get an injured rider out. I cannot imagine calling s+r for a simple stuck situation. A stuck should never become life and death. Have the gear to spend the night, and learn how to deal with a stuck sled. Or tank in you case.
Again, I wish you no harm and glad that things did turn out well. But you have alot to learn about riding sleds and judging your abilities and staying within those boundries to keep you and those with you safe.
Now you are starting to learn why most of us don't ride Yammi's. Weight matters. Even with the weight, you really need to learn how to get a sled unstuck! There are very few times and situations where my boy and I cannot get a sled unstuck. I may be 6'1" and 230, but my boy is 5'5" and 130. Rolling a sled over on its side, and often a full barrel roll will get a sled out of a grave in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours. I find it hard to believe that you had 3 sleds and spent that much time to get even the one that was not stuck turned around!!! 2 barrel rolls and a sled with be turned 180 degrees from where you started. You really need to learn more sled skills before heading back into that kind of country. We are seldom in cell coverage most anywhere that we ride. Calling for help is not an option short of riding out out of the mtns and getting in the truck to get to cell coverage and THEN calling for a chopper to get an injured rider out. I cannot imagine calling s+r for a simple stuck situation. A stuck should never become life and death. Have the gear to spend the night, and learn how to deal with a stuck sled. Or tank in you case.
Again, I wish you no harm and glad that things did turn out well. But you have alot to learn about riding sleds and judging your abilities and staying within those boundries to keep you and those with you safe.
Great list of stuff but if you don't know how to use it properly it is all worthless.
When you seperated the group (basic S&R no no) you left two teenage boys alone who did not possess the knowledge to take care of themselves. Which was evident by something as basic as how to properly us a space blanket to keep warm.
If I read correctly help was on the way? The one boys father?
I would have made the biggest fire you had ever seen..even if it meant pulling the gas cap on my sled and tipping it over and lighting the POS on fire. Stayed with the boys and made sure I knew for a fact that they were safe by sitting right there with them and waiting it out.
But like I said the key is making the right decisions that prevent you from getting into the situation in the first place.
Noboby is perfect....we all make mistakes. Its how we deal with them and the lessons learned that makes the difference.
I am sure you and your son have a new found respect for just how easily things can go sideways in an instant.
Thanks again for sharing your misadventure. We can all learn something here.
AGREED.
I dearly wish I had taken some pictures of the stuck sleds.
My sled was "wedged" between the mountainside and the drift.
Tail up, nose down, rolled to the side in a hole.
The nose was in the next drift, and the hole was perhaps 3-4 feet wide.
There was no where to roll.
The rescuers got it out by brute force, and by creating the extra space needed to turn it. With many hours of digging, I could have made the space to turn it. But I was simply not strong enough to pull it up and backwards to begin the process.
When we stopped working on it, the middle sled had been turned about 90 degrees backwards. Another hour, and I am pretty sure we could have had that one turned around and ready to go, But it was at that point we decided to work on the 3rd sled, as there was no way the 2nd sled could get past the 3rd one. The 3rd sled was the key to getting anything moving, so we focused in on it exclusively.
Again, I wish I had thought to take some photos to show the narrow channel all the sleds were running in. It would help to visualize it.
All that said, someone with better riding skills probably could have pulled it off and never gotten stuck in the first place.
Glad you are safe and all is well. I would add extra blades for the folding saws, having spent the night out more than once you have to cut a lot more wood for fuel than you would think. In one night at -16 degrees F we went through two full 20' trees cut down to 18" logs. Glad we had two saws with extra blades as they tend to bend and sometimes break. Secondly never split up, had something happened to you, and it can, the two kids would not have done so well, stay together. Third you should have been able to get your sleds unstuck, carry gear to do so. I always carry 6mm Perlon rope, 3 lightweight climbing pulleys, large locking carabiners and webbing, at worst you rig a block and tackle and pull your sled out. If no trees are handy, bury your shovel after building an exit ramp with it and use it as a pull point, invest in a real shovel not a plastic POS. If you can not pick your sled up and move it around by yourself carry a powder jack, anyone with a Yamatank should have one. At any rate glad you and your party are safe and well.
T
Understand.
Not to be a jerk here, but that gets back to know and repecting your own abililities. Even now, there are lines or places that I just don't run. Not worth the risk if things go wrong. I have no doubt that you will learn from this. My biggest beef I guess is that s and r was called and not freinds. Up here, that is what freinds are for and not some government agency. Second, our kids are taught a young age (kitty kat days) to get their own sleds unstuck. After about the 3rd time they come in the house for dad to come get them unstuck, we say no.... You figure it out or you are done riding!!! It is amazing just how creative they will become at this point. I remeber pushing my sled home once when I yet again ran out of fuel. Actually I wound up taking the belt off and turning the secondary clutch hand over hand for a couple hours to get it the last 1/4 mile home.... Lesson was learned. I do hope that by posting your story that it will save someone else from ending up where you did. And once again, I am glad that you had a happy ending.
That was clearly the biggest risk I took of the day.
S&R was telling us that the weather conditions down below were MUCH worse than they were on the mountain, and that was causing lots of delays, and had completely stopped some of their members from even getting out of their homes in the Ashton area.
Knowing that rescue was coming, but that it could be anywhere from a couple hours to many hours away, it seemed prudent to do as much self rescue as possible while the weather allowed. If I failed and got stuck, I was pretty confident that I could walk back to where the boys were. Chances are good that I could have just put him on the sled and sent him down the mountain right off the bat. But I thought I could increase his chances of success by pre-running it for him.
I had given the boys a 30 minute window in which to sit tight and wait for me. If I wasn't back in 30 minutes, then they were to dig in and ride it out. While I was surprised to come back 25 minutes later and see them just laying on the side of a big Drift, out of the wind, but not really well protected, I can't say that they had totally blown it either. That 30 minutes bought them time to sit and rest after some very strenuous work. The real question is what would they have done at minute 31??
In either case, I am going to take him back up there and make sure he knows how to dig a proper snow cave so there won't be any doubt in his or my mind.
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