Missing riders in snowy range 2/21/11

[jester18]

Lost snowmobilers

I wish I was closer to help! I hope all are found safe and sound.

 

[tmk50]

That's probably the one. It was headed north on "C" by the wilderness area and there are some cabins south of there. It's going to take some serious work to get it out. I might be able to free it with my cat's winch but would have to anchor the back of my cat to a tree to do it. Even then, a chainsaw may be your biggest friend....

Is it just stuck off the trail or is it hung up on something? My dad was up there until yesterday (they left at noon I think) and they rode in that area and didn't mention anything. I guess I'll look next time we are up there and if that cat is still there I'll leave our name and number on the windshield to see if they want some help to try getting it using my dad's cat. I don't know if we have a chain/cable/rope big enough though....

 

[Mtn-Track]

Is it just stuck off the trail or is it hung up on something? My dad was up there until yesterday (they left at noon I think) and they rode in that area and didn't mention anything. I guess I'll look next time we are up there and if that cat is still there I'll leave our name and number on the windshield to see if they want some help to try getting it using my dad's cat. I don't know if we have a chain/cable/rope big enough though....

Looks the right track dropped off the edge of the trail and started to spin the nose downhill as it went over the side. It's jammed up tight against some trees at about a 45* angle, the back about 10' off the edge of the trail. The slope is steep and in the position it's at the cat will be little help in trying to get itself out.

I feel for whoever owns it and glad they were able to get out OK. I had the sinking feeling that it was a SAR cat out looking for the lost sledders and they had to get saved themselves. The groomer said it was a real mess up there on Sunday night for visibility so he didn't take the chance.
Sounds like he made the right choice, even though the trail out of Albany REALLY sucked. Even so, if you see these guys THANK THEM FOR THE JOB THEY DO FOR US! They have their fair share of mechanical and weather issues too....

 

[OCDsledder]

I agree that Tech can and will help save lives! As one of the Volunteer searchers yesterday we relied heavily on our Garmin Rinos. The ability to poll each others location was worth every dime! The visibility near the Glacier and Sheep Lake Area was near 10' at times. With out the polling/mapping feature we would have been separated from our own groups.

Another thing that would hep S&R operations is leaving a fact sheet with loved ones. Make and models of sled, what gear you have and colors. Anything that can be used to help the searchers know what they are looking for. Often times the people calling in the lost sledders know nothing about what the lost people have with them.!

We started searching about 11:00 am yesterday. We went from the Glacier north to Golden Lake. It was bad. The only information we got was a red Polaris in one group and a yellow machine in the other group. Leaving a list of machines and their color would really help. Also, leave a list of what every one in the group wears, as far as color. That way if someone is separated from their machine and from the group we would have an idea what to look for.

 

[tmk50]

We started searching about 11:00 am yesterday. We went from the Glacier north to Golden Lake. It was bad. The only information we got was a red Polaris in one group and a yellow machine in the other group. Leaving a list of machines and their color would really help. Also, leave a list of what every one in the group wears, as far as color. That way if someone is separated from their machine and from the group we would have an idea what to look for.

Maybe FRS channels if your group rides with radios too? I guess that you could always just put your radio on "scan" when doing a search, but if you knew the exact channel it would cut down on the chatter from any other channels that might be being used by others.

 

[newmy1]

Maybe FRS channels if your group rides with radios too? I guess that you could always just put your radio on "scan" when doing a search, but if you knew the exact channel it would cut down on the chatter from any other channels that might be being used by others.

Any SPOT message should also include your channel if carrying a radio.