Breakdowns in the backcountry?

[Backcountrypro]

This might go down as the dumbest post of the New Year but here it goes. I am a very nervous/anxious person. I love to ride snowmobile in the backcountry and I am a decent rider. I spend a copious amount of time working on my sled getting it ready for our weekend trips to the mountains. My sled runs great and it hasn't faltered once in three season (09 Summit X with RK Tek 860R). My trouble is once I am in the backcountry I can't get the thought of breaking down out of my head. The area we ride is very remote and the thought of having to drag a dead sled out is driving me nuts. If I could just relax, push the sled and myself to the limit without constantly worry about blowing a engine or hitting something I would have a blast. What do the rest of you guys do? Do you not worry about breaking down in the backcountry? Once I can get past this stupid fear I will have a blast riding again. Thanks.

 

[polaris dude]

the thing that helps me is having the faith in the people I ride with to at least get me out no matter the circumstances. Even if we have to double out and leave the sled over night, and typically you can almost always get the sled out with 2 or 3 other sleds, but chit thats assuming your not able to fix it out there yourself. Most breakdowns you can run into town, grab parts, and go back out the next day and fix it.

 

[bgreen776]

First thing you need to do is accept that some day you'll have to leave a sled in the woods and come back for it later. If your anxious, get a good insurance policy, it makes leaving one behind a lot easier. Then make sure you carry gear that's appropriate for the terrain and weather. Being prepared to spend the night in the cold is key to enjoying my time in the wilderness. I've forgone turbo's and big mod sleds so I could afford good/great gear.

 

[sled-fiend]

Carry a sat phone or means of communication, a gps and all the stuff needed to spend a night out in the back country. Also leave a list with someone that has your vehicle info, sled make/model/color, where your going and phone numbers for the people u ride with's significant others. In the event that you don't make it home, this will make things easier for those who may need to look for you. That will take care of your worst case break down scenario. Hey, it might not even be you that breaks down, maybe your buddy will and that may cause you to have to spend the night out or tow a sled out too. Noone wants too but it's a reality of backcountry riding. I've had to spend the night out before and the worst part about it was not having the proper forms of communication to let everyone know we were fine and just waiting until morning to try and get out. Have fun out there!!

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

lol... i ride a sled that lets just say, has its fair share of issues come up now and again. i only ride with a group that I am VERY comfortable with. i have enough tools in my pack to dissasemble my entire sled(motor included), rope, saw, etc etc, you can almost always hobble something together besides major motor failure. and even then, i dont worry to much, i know the people im with and to be honest, even if i had to leave my sled, i know i have a group that would come back asap with me to fix or drag the sled out if the day was running short and i couldnt be done with one.

I honestly wouldnt ride a sled that has so much goofy **** going on and is so likely to break if i wasnt with a group i trusted.

 

[sled-fiend]

And just to add to my above post, it was a brand new stock 09 m8 (very reliable in most cases) that led to our overnight excursion. So no matter what you ride it's always a possibility.

 

[wildcard28]

Hello trust me if you are a anxious and worryfull person I KNOW!!!! exactly what you are going thru I have had an anxiety disorder for about 10+ years , a few years ago I was so scared I couldn`t hardly even travel far from our city cause my first panic attacks happened out of town so I couldn`t get it out of my head and still do to this day a bit that if I was to get to far away that fear and anxiety would return, Man its a terrible feeling, if you are having probs with this then the the right doctor could help you with this prob it did me,

Now I am going into the backcountry and riding in the mountains and I am excited to go and not scared and traveling all around our area on trips with the wife and sledding, one thing that helps is I am comfident in my sled and confident with my friend I ride with he really knows the areas we ride actually better than me that actually makes me anxious out there but alot of it is overcome by adrenaline and just having fun makes you not worry about it, 2nd to last ride out last season we were far back at the play spots we usually go to and my buddies mod tripple sled lost waterpump and we got extra water from luckily there was alot or rideres in this area that gave us water enought to get the sled back up to the main road then we towed it back with mine, Man I tell ya I was worrying to weather we had to leave his sled or was going to not even make it back that night, that made me more anxious than I had been in a while but I just had to force myself to relax and we made it back, we would of left the sled if it was to take to long or way after dark before we got back, ours wife wouldn`t think the worst cause we didn`t make it back that night.

Anyway, go have fun think calm and face your fears and push your limits but be smart about it, and realize there is risks in everything you do and things can happen,

I actually carry alot of survival stuff in my back back, for survival purposes and that actually helps alot in the worry knowing I am a step forward to the elements having a well prepared supplies and gear for a possibly stay overnight in the woods, which for myself is the biggest that scares me to I have some emergency medicine just in case I need a bit extra calming help.

P.s. if you are having trouble with anxiety problems and worries don`t be embarresed !! if you are if your not then sorry but you can pm me and I can help you out since I know exactly what its like, My riding friends know I`m anxious and there modivation and help actually calms me in the backcountry to.

By the way the fear you feel is Not stupid it is ever so real and I`m sure you know exactly what I`m talking about. Its very overwhelming

Good Luck, Wildcard

 

[eludnu]

And no matter how prepared you think you are to spend a cold night in the backcountry, your buddies won't be, so make sure the dry backup gear you carry is too small for them to fit into.

Honestly though, if you want to dial down your fear factor, join your local winter search and rescue team. You will learn a ton in training, and also by being part of the rescue team, you'll learn quite quickly from the mistakes of others and how best to prepare for the unexpected.

 

[AZ800]

Or go spend a night in the woods when your sled ISN'T broke down.
Not anxiety, but just wanting to be prepared........
When me and my buddy were fairly new to mtn riding we ended up searching for a guy one day who didn't make it out alive. Got us thinking, so we took off one night up the hill a ways with what we nornmally took with us (brought extra booze incase it was a comfortable night then party!).
We both rode pretty prepared anyway, tools, xtra socks, gloves, food, several ways to start a fire, etc.
Found out you can make it relatively comfortably, was below zero that night. Tarp helped a bunch to keep from getting your @ss wet, saw or hatchet, bring both, and just when you think you got enough firewood, cut 4x more!
After that I wasn't wound up about having to spend the night on the mtn.
Now a bad injury would be another story. I pack some good pain pills too just in case.

 

[EagleRiverDee]

It's been said already but I'll go +1 on having good riding partners that you can depend on and carrying tools and survival gear. The people I ride with would figure out how to tow a dead sled out if it could be done but also several of them are mechanical whizzes and could fix a lot of problems on the trail (and have). I carry survival gear also, and means of communicating in an emergency including a McMurdo FastFind PLB. Between the experience of the group, the solidity of our friendship (meaning, I know they won't bail on me when I need them) and the gear we carry, I always feel pretty confident things will go fine.

 

[m8sandman]

be prepared, survival equipment is half the stuff i carry. have never had to use it but knowing its there and knowing how to use it gives me comfort. my favorite areas to ride are ones that few people know about and very few can access. roadless areas with no phone reception so we all know once we leave the trail we're pretty much on are own until we get back. its fun and exciting as heck, but we all realize we're taking our lives in our own hands and take it seriously. we all know the risk and accept it. bad things can and have happened and each other is all you have. you've got to be able to count on your riding buds to stick it out no matter how bad it gets. i'd do whatever it takes to get us out together and they'd do the same. knowing the peeps your with are confident in thier abilities and will stay calm in a bad situation is extremely important.

 

[Backcountrypro]

Thanks for all the great advice. This thread turned out way better than I thought it would.

 

[2XM3]

good dependable riding partners and insurance.....lol

 

[Himark]

Good eqpt. and good riding friends with you. This is the reason I ride newer sleds not saying they dont go down but your medigate your risk.
I dont worry about it to much but it is a thought if my sled is having some quirky moments for sure. But I have seen a sled highmarking in a impossible valley to climb out of (for most part) take out primary on a rock. Couldnt pull sled out so just pulled motor and took it out in parts with enough pals. Once you have seen that the rest is fairly minor.

 

[hcrider]

as said time and time again, good riding partners, spot, survival gear and practice 2 up riding with buddy in deep powder. 2 up on a sled in deep powder is no easy task without a bit of practice. be prepared to stay the night out in the woods and you should be fine.

 

[snowmobiler]

your not alone in the woods.bigfoot is out there watching.

 

[skibreeze]

I've been riding for almost 15 years and we've had to tow sleds out alot. I also had to ride 18 miles out with a broken leg and another time with a blown MCL in my knee. Being prepared with tools, gear, and good riding partners, you will usually have what it takes to handle most situations. Your fear is like my wife's fear of flying, IMO.

 

[tudizzle]

Never think about the worse while riding.

Positive visualization of my line keeps me going in the right direction..until that one FN tree leaps out and screws my day.


Then its up to you and yours to make things right. And that is when you turn to your group and find out who your friends are. If you have done everything right and have a little luck...they are all your friends and will do whatever it takes to make everything good.

Ride with a strong well rounded group and you can get out of any situation.

And as a good friend you limp back to your rig and send the rest off to enjoy the day....until the next guy comes limping back in.


If all else fails....of course carry enough gear to hunker down for a day or two and have the knowledge to survive under the harshest conditions winter could throw at you.



SLedding is the best team sport I have ever played.

 

[Backcountrypro]

Thanks again for the advice. I do ride with a great group of friends, one of the guys is a physician assistant and it is great to know that we have his medical knowledge when needed. I just have to learn to relax and just go for it from now on. If the worse happens deal with it then. Thanks again.....

 

[2XM3]

Another important thing (thats a sensitive subject..lol) is that I try not to ride in areas that I know are way over my ability to get out of, and we also are very careful as a group not to go where we know our least skilled rider would have a major problem getting out of.
We often will get to a place thats really tricky and always stop and let the newbie know whats ahead and our opinion of it as nobody wants to have someone really get hurt/broken when we knew it could have been avoided.
This is why we tend to be really pickey of who rides with our group, not being a$$es but a older,less mantained sled can have a huge issue, or the "cowboy" mentality (read EGO) of some riders I want no part of. We are all out for a good challanging safe ride, not 8 hours of work getting someone home (not that we have not done that...lol)
Can't tell ya the times i've watched a rider having problems sidehilling a small ridge only later to see the same rider have a go at a hard chute and of course wad it up....after years of motorsports activity the one thing i;ve learned is leave your Ego at home when in the backcountry...lol imho