OUT
The remaining creek bottom was enjoyable and went smooth given the technicality, with only a few minor delays (i.e. Shane sinking in the river crossing at the bottom, but that's a whole other story...). That evening I posted a photo of Ryan’s sled hanging from the waterfall to social media and was somewhat surprised to see that the predominant reactions were ones of excitement and/or curiosity about the complete story. Within our riding crew, the few guys that could not make it for the retrieval expressed a level of regret rivaling what I would expect on missing the deepest powder day of the year.
So much of the love we have for snowmobiling is really about the adventure, the camaraderie, and the incredible mountain landscapes...the actual riding is just one piece of the experience.
P.S. – Be prepared! I would be irresponsible if I did not leave a few words of caution: We were fortunate that we had proper survival equipment, dry gear (thank you Klim!) and plenty of food. Additionally, the hike out was only four miles and the members of our group were all in good shape. Finally, and stating the obvious, don’t drop into canyons you can’t get back out of if you don’t know whether there is a way out… or pack a belay setup.
To see this and more adventures from the Boondockers crew, pick up a copy of Boondockers 13 or check out www.boondockersmovie.com.
Photos by Nick Reedy