snowmobiler found dead on stevens pass

[rmkboxer]

I heard it on the news that they have been searching a missing rider that was riding with 2 others, and he was found under his brand new sled. it was a new polaris rmk 1st ride on it. my condolences go to the family and friends. but this is a reminder that you have to watch for your group when you are riding I know it is hard when you have a big group but with only 3 you should beable to keep track of your group. It just really bothers me that I see this happen to often. there may be more to the story that is not being told on the news.

 

[raysxc700]

thats sucks

 

[Mafesto]

he was found under his brand new sled. .

weird

 

[montanasledder]

if we got a big group we usually break up and are responsible to keep an eye on a few, this is sad.

 

[sldgy]

WOW, it would suck to have to live with that memory. Condolences to all that knew him.

 

[Freak]

crazy Id like to know what exactly happened. Sad.

 

[sky7051]

According to the news it appears the sled hit a tree and flip up, landing on him. Here's the story from King5's website.

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_012708WAB_missing_snowmobiler_SW.63c010dd.html

 

[94fordguy]

Wow

So where were the supposed "riding BUDDIES" during all this? I know the people I go with always keep a good eye out for each other.

 

[Fordman]

Reminds me of that guy who went off the bridge at Gold Creek last year....

 

[sky7051]

It is very sad to hear about what happened, but Fordguy and everyone else is right, we should always look out for our group. The people I ride with are always great about that, usually we have stops every 20 or 30 min just to make sure everyones running alright and not having issues, and everyone always watches for the one behind them, never getting down to groups of less than two. I'm sure this guys buddies are regretting what happened and kicking themselves for not looking back more, hindsight is 20/20. Just something that needs to be practiced and followed on every ride. Prayers go out to the families and friends of this tragedy.

 

[Rush44]

I don't understand how anyone can be missing for more than 20 minutes or so.... your crew should know that something is up.

 

[oonighttrain]

sad deal.. thoughts are with the family and friends..

im definately no sled pro but, like others have said, you should always keep your eyes out for guys riding with you.. especially because he was inexperienced..

 

[alrevedup]

I don't understand

Why was it his time to go? I agree about the importance of keeping an eye on your buddies and making it easy for your buddies to keep their eye on you.

I don't understand why, it is saddening and useless. If he ran into a tree, his buddies might not have been able to do anything for him even if they were only a couple of minutes away.

I can put a hundred pounds of gear in my pack, carry a spot, gps, cell phone and every other safety tool. And there are still no guaranties!

So many people are dying out there. I pray for all our safety. I tell myself "use your head" "ride smart". IMO, I can't ride worried about "what if". That is the way people get hurt. Tentitive riding is like going out unprepared.

This fellow was probably doing everything right, and still...........you and your family are in our prayers. God be with you.

 

[stuckalot]

I too have the same questions about what all happened, but to be fair until we know a little more of the time line, in 5 minutes a sled can cover a lot of trail, if someone goes off the trail a ways before they hit something, it could be difficult to go back and locate just where someone left the trail, especially if it were getting dark....

 

[AdrenalineAddict]

Everybody on this thread chastising this poor fellas riding buddies is making me sick. I've had the unpleasant experience of being trapped under my sled within 300' of my riding buddies and it took approx. 15 minutes for them to figure out something may be wrong. I managed to work my way out and was not seriously injured, although I did almost suffocate, but I did not think for one second it was their responsibilty to save my sorry azz. The old addage "s#*t happens" comes to mind. Keep an eye on your friends to whatever extent possible and have a good ride.

 

[sledjunkies]

weird

Not that weird to me. My Step-Dad was found the same way, right infront of the house. And he was no slouch either. Millwright for 30+ years. He came off the lake up the access, over the snowbank onto the road, something went wrong, maybe grabbed a handfull of throttle, spun around and flipped on him, killing him almost instantly. He was found more than an hour later by a neighbor. Sled still upright on top of him, running. Autopsy (sp?) report came back as instant suffocation. That's weird.

My condolences to his family and riding buddies...

 

[rmkboxer]

I did not put this on here to bash the guys that were riding with him, because there is probably something that we didn't hear. I posted this to remind people to watch for there buddies and to carry a beacon. I have just seen to many people die in the last few years and they were only about 10-20ft off the main road. and several hrs later they were found. big groups are harder to deal with. I always watch who I came with. I have ridden with guys who don't care about others they ride with and I do not ride with them anymore for my safety.

 

[RMKcowboy]

Dang, if it's not avy's it's something else. Sorry to hear about this, best wishes to the friends and family.

 

[DARKO]

The band wagon to point fingers sure is full on this thread, for all you know the guy ventured off on his own going to total opposite way, or maybe it was foggy as fug at the time, i've ridden tons in fog so thick you couldnt see someone 20 feet from you. Not saying this is the case, but it always makes sense to know some facts before ya start slagging people....... IE: 2 sides to every story.

 

[Mafesto]

The band wagon to point fingers sure is full on this thread, for all you know the guy ventured off on his own going to total opposite way, or maybe it was foggy as fug at the time, i've ridden tons in fog so thick you couldnt see someone 20 feet from you. Not saying this is the case, but it always makes sense to know some facts before ya start slagging people....... IE: 2 sides to every story.

hmmmmmmmmm
Getting your facts straight BEFORE talking crap......
BRILLIANT!!!!!!!