Christopher's Easter Weekend Rescue (or what not to do in a blizzard)

[mtnpull]

Glad you guys made it out ok and hope you learned more than a few lessons.

I am not surprised the S&R guys didn't want a free meal. If I was dragged away from my family on Easter for someone with no more than stuck sleds the last thing I would want to do is waste more time with those people and away from my family.

I understand this statement all to well. Having a rental fleet at the trail head for the last 5 years I have had to go out and get stuck sleds or lost sledders on Christmas, New Years, the last night of work after working 5 days straight without seeing my family. Even sometimes having to drive up (1 1/2 hour drive one way) on my days off to go rescue a stuck sled. Every time I have to suit up it sucks and I DON'T want to go. No doubt I still treat the folks professionally and kindly, but the last thing I want to do when I get back is hang out. I want to go home and relax. Nothing against the peeps, just had enough. The difference between me going out after lost/stuck renters and S&R going out is I charge a fee for my services.

 

[christopher]

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.

Will add the extra blades, thanks for the suggestion.

Splitting up was a hard call on my part.
It was still early.
There were several hours of light left, and my distance traveled was pretty short.

It was a calculated risk at best.

As for getting the sleds unstuck.
If we had used all the available time we could have freed 2 of the 3 sleds.
Without additional manpower I simply do not see how I could have unstuck my sled with the three of us.

Perhaps that is the real lesson in this whole mess.
Always ride in a group that is capable of a major extraction/self rescue???

But I do have the rope, and carabiners were on the list, and now I will add a couple pulleys.

Sitting here now, looking back on it, with that gear I MIGHT have been able to pull the sled up and backwards! That might have just worked.!!

 

[CatWoman]

The whole point is to learn from this. We ALL learned someplace. Your parents may have taught you (like theultrarider), or you learned by someone else's mistakes (not everyone's parents rode/ride).

If we were perfect, or if no one ever made mistakes in the past, we wouldn't be carrying the gear/size of packs/tunnel bags/etc that we do now.

It's very easy to armchair quarterback anything in life. Being in the actual situation is different.

I spent time on S&R, also 10 years volunteering with our local ambulance. I had MANY interrupted meals, holidays, family get togethers, etc. Those whom volunteer their time to do this, do it because they care about others and want to help them. No, I didn't care for the 2 am drunk calls.......but I never regretted any of the other calls where my helping made a difference in someone's life. That's what I signed on for.

Edit: Some of the friends on my call list are S&R members.

 

[christopher]

Understand.

Not to be a jerk here, but that gets back to know and respecting your own abilities. 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 friends. Up here, that is what friends 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 remember 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.

Major learning experience, and a large serving of Humble Pie.

 

[BossRev]

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.

100% TRUTH right there. I'm the same way. I will not just ride with anybody and do only limit myself to the peeps I whole heartedly trust with my life.
To many things can happen on the hill any given day, it is important that you are with peeps that can manage any situation tossed their way.

Every time I ride with my crew the thought of "we might be staying the night" runs through my head. It's just the type of terrain we ride in that warrants those kinds of thoughts. It's also the adventure and adrenaline rush we seek that takes us into those situations. But the key factor is knowing and trusting yourself and the peeps you are with.

Keep the kiddie rides for the warm and sunny days.

Glad all are safe.........stuck on the trail. I can't help but LMAO!!

 

[CoyoteGirl]

I applaud you for having the guts to post this on here, KNOWING that peeps are going to beat ya up!

Many have only learned about backcountry safety through mistakes.... and through mistakes many of us have picked up more and more information/tips/tricks.

 

[m8magicandmystery]

wow...an experience to guide you for future endevours..one without serious consequences...thanks for sharing for we may all be in the same situation or not... well prepared....and remember often in these situations...the will of God will not lead you where the Grace of God will not keep you safe..

 

[PGTDragon]

I do not think I would spend much time beating up on myself or eat too much $hit for the ride, the bottom line is that everyone is alive and well, so in the end you made correct choices, the BEST choices? who knows, you did what you thought was best at the time and everything worked out. The bottom line is we all learn something every time we go out and sometimes learn something here (more often than not) and you learned a few things this weekend, all in all, not a bad day in the end. I usually end up learning the hard way and so far, have been smart or lucky enough to have things work out. The fact you are willing to share and ask for advice is more than most of us would do (this includes myself, most of the time) so good for you. Now go buy a Powder Jack if you are going to keep that heavy sled, it alone will get you unstuck 90% of the time with very little effort spent, and get the Harmon one it works best.

 

[OuraySledder]

Just wanted to ad a little more constructive critisism

The first thing I ever learned in an avy class, and I think it applies to weather conditions as well, is to be flexible with your plan for the day. Don't let the powder bug bite, turn around the second you think you are in over your head. I personally would have turned around much sooner.

I wholeheartedly agree with the notion of saving "kids" days for perfect weather. Sounds like a good learning experience for them but at what risk? I am also VERY particular about who I ride with, not to mention where and when.

Spend some time riding with someone experienced so that you can learn some new sled extrication techniques. While I am sure it looked bad, you need to know how to get yourself out of anything, period. It is just a matter of how much digging you have to do. Three people with shovels should have been able to do it. I would not have left a sled and walked, that is a recipie for disaster. Second the good call on the powder jack for the Yammi.

I think I would have at least started a huge fire for the boys. It would have been a good lesson, even if you were only going to be gone a short time. It could have saved their lives. I personally would not have left my kids for a second without having done at least that.

Sounds like some lessons were learned. It could have been tragic, and I am not sure I sense you understand just how tragic it very nearly was. You are incredibly lucky to have reached someone by phone. It all could have been avoided though using the first rule, live to ride another day.

 

[christopher]

I do not think I would spend much time beating up on myself or eat too much $hit for the ride, the bottom line is that everyone is alive and well, so in the end you made correct choices, the BEST choices? who knows, you did what you thought was best at the time and everything worked out. The bottom line is we all learn something every time we go out and sometimes learn something here (more often than not) and you learned a few things this weekend, all in all, not a bad day in the end. I usually end up learning the hard way and so far, have been smart or lucky enough to have things work out. The fact you are willing to share and ask for advice is more than most of us would do (this includes myself, most of the time) so good for you. Now go buy a Powder Jack if you are going to keep that heavy sled, it alone will get you unstuck 90% of the time with very little effort spent, and get the Harmon one it works best.

You are the 2nd person to say that today.

A powder Jack MIGHT have helped.
Aren't there two competitors making those, one an original and a follow on??

http://www.powderjack.com/ ????

http://snowjacker.com/ ????

Back to the old adage..
"Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance."

 

[tudizzle]

don't make another mistake....this is what your looking for THE original

http://snowjacker.com/

 

[christopher]

don't make another mistake....this is what your looking for THE original

http://snowjacker.com/

Bought and Paid for.
Should see it next week.

 

[PGTDragon]

The snowjacker.com site is the better one or the original one, you would be amazed at what you can get yourself out of with one. Between a powder jack, 3 pulleys and some rope I popped myself out of an 8' deep creek bed that I failed to jump in an epic fashion, while riding by myself on a "ride the trail to tune the Turbo day" again sometimes I just have to learn the hard way.

 

[christopher]

Several people wrote to me saying the same thing.
Get the SNOWJACKER and NOT the powderjack.

So I went to his sight and just ordered one.

I am trying HARD to learn from this and NOT make the same mistakes again.

Hunting for small lightweight mountaineering pulleys next.

 

[Spur]

Quote:
"Now you are starting to learn why most of us don't ride Yammi's. Weight matters."

That's the dumbest statement I've read on here in a while. LOL.

Knowing the skill level of those involved I'm fairly confident this would have happened even if these guys were riding XP's.

 

[Snowlover]

Something else that could help move 2 people and 1 sled in difficult terrain: At least in my personal experience.

Have a person stand on each side of the sled instead of one in back of the driver. It may seem odd, but with a little time/practice, 2 of you can make it down a difficult trail much easier than trying to drive/balance/lean as the driver and for the passenger, it is much easier to help manage the sled instead of trying to hang on to the drivers butt, while he try’s to maneuver the sled

That will help you get two people down the trail much easier and faster then walking.<O</O

 

[tudizzle]

yep the only way to ride double..one on each running board. Even in the deepest snow you'll have no problem.

May be hard to tell but two people riding the first sled in this vid....5 ft of fresh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md7Xg0kfBfM

 

[rockdog2112]

Holy ****! You're famous. Glad you are okay. What an adventure.

 

[christopher]

Holy ****! You're famous. Glad you are okay. What an adventure.

Around here that would make me Infamous !

 

[tudizzle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIGtHhAfe8w