There seems to be a lot of new guys in the deep powder getting stuck. Last Saturday at the Range, a group of riders had to be rescued. Not sure of the out come.
Stick one: You are in the really deep snow on the flat, straight ahead stuck. Snow over your hood.
Stick two: Climbing a really steep hill, not so deep snow, stuck straight up, dug in. You are afraid your sled will roll off the hill.
Stick three: Your sled rolls into a trench, 6 feet deep.
How do you get your sled out by yourself? How do you get it out with 4 people?
Stick one, pack the snow under your track as best you can from between the skis, stomp a runway in front, step on both skis to sink the front end a little and to give the track some bite. Throttle out, rocking side to side as necessary.
Stick two, depends on how deep it is, it's hard pack why would you get stuck? If it's a foot, that one gentle roll might quickly turn into 15 or 20 if it gets away from you. One to two feet, set the parking brake, stomp or dig to whichever side you are pointing towards, (or pick a side if you are goofy enough to bury it straight up and not turn out). Dig enough to give yourself a flat landing spot to pull your sled into. Pull gently from the ski and it should slide right onto your landing area. Release the brake and ride out. Three feet plus, one gentle roll and a ski pull should have you pointing downhill.
Stick three, the classic stuck in the bottom of the creek. Stomp or dig a flat runway before hitting the opposite wall and sidehilling/climbing out. You're going to need a good runway with some decent packed snow wider than your sled. The longer the better, this will help you get your speed up before cliimbing out. You don't want to come up short and just get yourself stuck on the opposite wall, that sucks. Depending on your sled the runway will be shorter or longer.
All of the above can be done by yourself. It helps on number one and three to have a buddy or two help stomp and to give a ski pull, but with enough of a runway you can get out by yourself. Number two's I like to do alone, not many guys can highmark past you and then stop the sled on a dime where you are stuck anyway. If it's that deep there's a chance of them starting an avalanche on you and your stuck sled while trying to stop.
Three buddys just complicate things, two inevitably end up laughing and talking more than stomping and pulling anyway. One or two good buddys is the best.
HC
