Every once in a while you find yourself in a position where your path is blocked by a seeming unmovable object. On a recent ride we found ourselves literally "up the creek."
Actually, we were stuck in the banks of a creek that meandered through a small meadow in a canyon. The walls of the bank basically dictated that the best direction was to jump an open span in the creek. So here's what went through our plan of action.
1- Get aligned to hit the open span at a 90 degree angle. If you hit the opposite bank at an off camber, there's a chance your suspension load will bounce you sideways back into the creek.
2- After you have given yourself as much packed snow as possible for track hookup, get on the highside of the sled and wiggle the chassis to make certain the track is hooking up and not just spinning down.
3- Once you feel your track hook up and begin to move you forward, grab throttle. You're making a commitment here so stay committed.
4- Shift your weight back to make the front end as light and elevated as possible. You don't want to nose the sled into the other side.
5- Keep on the throttle, maintain balance and stay committed. Trust your sled, trust your track. The other bank may bounce you a bit, so be ready to react and stay on the highside.
Committing to your plan is half the battle. But making a good plan with the situation you're in is the other half. Sometimes your options aren't good, and the consequence of a wrong action can put you into a worse situation than when you started. Make sure you think everything through so your end result is a good one.