Top of the World from Red Lodge
- Thread starter 50stang
- Start date
yeah, driving that in the late spring we had a storm roll in, couldn't imagine being up there when its all white... can't imagine trying to find your way around. its so massive and baren... with huge holes/cliffs
I don't think it is that far from where the road is closed by red lodge to top of the world. Is it ok to ride a sled on that part? I drove up that road by red lodge to where it was closed and there is a big sign that said no motorized vehicles. I assumed that means snowmobiles too. With all this being talked about. Why would they not groom that from the road closed to TOW. It would be good for the city of red lodge.
S
skidoorulz
Well-known member
Years ago when sleds weren't no where near what they are now, we used to ride from RL to Cooke. I am talking on John Deere's Kawasaki's and Scorpian's. Funny thing is I don't do it anymore. It can be a tough go and dangerous if you don't know your way around and storms come up with no notice and you can't see your hand in front of your face. I have ridden many miles dragging a foot just so I knew I was actually moving. I know several who have ended up spending the night up there after getting caught in a storm. I would not recommend it.
I could see if you were on old iron like that or maybe even if you were on a skidoo how that could be a dangerous trip. But on a cat it should be just a hop,skip and jump.
This is why it's not safe, even on a clear day!
It is to bad that they don't keep going all the way with the groomer. That would be awsome to ride out of red lodge. Would save us quite a bit of driving and backtracking to ride TOW. Is there any reason they don't?
The rider in the pic is on the road/highway. The drift wasnt there the day before, was the result of these dangerous storms people were talking about above. Would also like to point out that it is a long ways down off the left side, going to guess a 800' down maybe more.
Hence if you dont know the area and cant see you shouldnt ride this area.
Story about jim marshal (MN Viking)
Marshall's hard luck continued on that fateful trip in 1971, just after the end of the NFL season. A group of sixteen snowmobilers were organized for a trip along the snow-covered mountains of Montana and Wyoming (the trip would criss-cross them along the border of northern Montana and southern Wyoming). The idea would be that a semi-trailer would carry their snowmobiles to the first checkpoint- they would get out and ride their snowmobiles from one point to another, then meet back up with the trailer and load the snowmobiles and drive to another point where they would then get the snowmobiles out again and ride again. They were planning to do this about three times. However, during the very first thirty-five mile ride from Montana into Wyoming, they were caught in a blizzard! The group contained a Minnesota reporter, two members of the Vikings (Marshall and his teammate, Paul Dickson), a Minneapolis insurance salesman and his teenage son, a Yellowstone Park Ranger, a director of a school for problem boys, a grocer, a bank president, two photographers, two snowmobile mechanics and a husband and wife guide from the nearest lodge (the Red Lodge). The group encountered issues even before the blizzard became a major factor, as Marshall's snowmobile rode off of the cliffs they were traveling on. Luckily, the cliffs were sloped and did not just go straight down, so Marshall was able to grab hold of rocks before he slid 800 feet to the bottom. He climbed back up and continued the journey. The key problem in the journey is that the blizzard conditions ultimately split the sixteen people into four separate groups. This was a big mistake because it kept the mechanics apart from each other, so that when the awful weather eventually broke down most of the snowmobiles, the mechanics were unable to get to them to fix them. Now do note that this wasn't a mistake of planning, but rather a freak weather situation that split the group up - so it was no one's "fault," but it eventually led to most of the groups ending up on foot and, when it got dark, being forced to make camp in the wilderness. In one of those camps, Hugh Galusha, the 51-year-old president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, ended up dying from exposure. Marshall was in a group that was further ahead than most of the others. It was he, his teammate Paul Dickson, Bob Leiviska Jr (the son of the insurance salesman mentioned before) and Vern and Marilyn Waples, the aforementioned guides from the Red Lodge. The two gigantic football players had particularly difficult time walking in the snow, as while the teenager and the wife were able to walk on top of the snow, Marshall and Dickson sank into the snow every time they took a step. Leiviska found a patch of trees and they chose there to make their camp. The snow was about 10 to 15 feet deep in this area. Dickson had his lighter, so they began to make a fire starting with cash from Marshall's wallet, candy wrappers plus Marshall's checkbook and his billfold. The snow began to melt a bit, giving them a sort of cave-like environment. They kept the fire going with more cash and later with stripped bark and branches from nearby trees. After spending Saturday night hunched together, Leiviska and Marilyn Waples set out to get help (since they could traverse the snow easiest) on Sunday. After some time passed after their compatriots had left for help and with night growing closer, the men feared their chances of lasting another night, so they decided to try to set out on foot themselves. Luckily, after a mile or so of walking they discovered the rescue crews that had been sent out for them. In an interview with Sid Hartman, discussing whether his football training helped him survive, Marshall responded: It was more the lessons of determination and competition one learns in football that helped me the most. I never worked so hard in my life to stay alive. It reached a point where I thought it was virtually impossible to go on. Yet I was able to catch my second, third and fourth wind and go on another two or three miles when the going was the toughest. This is where football helped. - See more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/spo...a-blizzard-by-burni.html#sthash.d6t54KrR.dpuf
Marshall's hard luck continued on that fateful trip in 1971, just after the end of the NFL season. A group of sixteen snowmobilers were organized for a trip along the snow-covered mountains of Montana and Wyoming (the trip would criss-cross them along the border of northern Montana and southern Wyoming). The idea would be that a semi-trailer would carry their snowmobiles to the first checkpoint- they would get out and ride their snowmobiles from one point to another, then meet back up with the trailer and load the snowmobiles and drive to another point where they would then get the snowmobiles out again and ride again. They were planning to do this about three times. However, during the very first thirty-five mile ride from Montana into Wyoming, they were caught in a blizzard! The group contained a Minnesota reporter, two members of the Vikings (Marshall and his teammate, Paul Dickson), a Minneapolis insurance salesman and his teenage son, a Yellowstone Park Ranger, a director of a school for problem boys, a grocer, a bank president, two photographers, two snowmobile mechanics and a husband and wife guide from the nearest lodge (the Red Lodge). The group encountered issues even before the blizzard became a major factor, as Marshall's snowmobile rode off of the cliffs they were traveling on. Luckily, the cliffs were sloped and did not just go straight down, so Marshall was able to grab hold of rocks before he slid 800 feet to the bottom. He climbed back up and continued the journey. The key problem in the journey is that the blizzard conditions ultimately split the sixteen people into four separate groups. This was a big mistake because it kept the mechanics apart from each other, so that when the awful weather eventually broke down most of the snowmobiles, the mechanics were unable to get to them to fix them. Now do note that this wasn't a mistake of planning, but rather a freak weather situation that split the group up - so it was no one's "fault," but it eventually led to most of the groups ending up on foot and, when it got dark, being forced to make camp in the wilderness. In one of those camps, Hugh Galusha, the 51-year-old president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, ended up dying from exposure. Marshall was in a group that was further ahead than most of the others. It was he, his teammate Paul Dickson, Bob Leiviska Jr (the son of the insurance salesman mentioned before) and Vern and Marilyn Waples, the aforementioned guides from the Red Lodge. The two gigantic football players had particularly difficult time walking in the snow, as while the teenager and the wife were able to walk on top of the snow, Marshall and Dickson sank into the snow every time they took a step. Leiviska found a patch of trees and they chose there to make their camp. The snow was about 10 to 15 feet deep in this area. Dickson had his lighter, so they began to make a fire starting with cash from Marshall's wallet, candy wrappers plus Marshall's checkbook and his billfold. The snow began to melt a bit, giving them a sort of cave-like environment. They kept the fire going with more cash and later with stripped bark and branches from nearby trees. After spending Saturday night hunched together, Leiviska and Marilyn Waples set out to get help (since they could traverse the snow easiest) on Sunday. After some time passed after their compatriots had left for help and with night growing closer, the men feared their chances of lasting another night, so they decided to try to set out on foot themselves. Luckily, after a mile or so of walking they discovered the rescue crews that had been sent out for them. In an interview with Sid Hartman, discussing whether his football training helped him survive, Marshall responded: It was more the lessons of determination and competition one learns in football that helped me the most. I never worked so hard in my life to stay alive. It reached a point where I thought it was virtually impossible to go on. Yet I was able to catch my second, third and fourth wind and go on another two or three miles when the going was the toughest. This is where football helped. - See more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/spo...a-blizzard-by-burni.html#sthash.d6t54KrR.dpuf
It was published in Popular Mechanics Nov. 1971 page 84. Ordeal on Beartooth Mountain
http://books.google.com/books?id=SNgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84&output=html_text&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2
I am trying to get permission from Hearst to post the article at the TOW Safety Shelter.
http://books.google.com/books?id=SNgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84&output=html_text&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2
I am trying to get permission from Hearst to post the article at the TOW Safety Shelter.
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It was discussed many times. On both sides of the boarder.
The thought of marking the trail from Stockade Lake to the WY/MT border via Loosecamp, Gardner or Christmas Lakes were an option. The problem marking this questionable trail, is the wide open country. Markers would need to be only a few feet apart to assure riders could find the trail a majority of the time. Flat light in this part of the world is as unforgiving as a white out. If one or two markers were missing, in a row, it could mean the difference of life or death. All responsible and associated agencies determined the amount of S&R calls that would be attributed to this trail along with the public safety factor took it off the drawing board. To many inexperienced riders would think it would be "doable anytime" without considering the conditions or consequences.
I have had a number of riders stop at the sheriff"s office in Red Lodge to let us know they have made it off the mountain in "good weather". I can give you first hand experience on what that mountain can throw at you anytime and in a very short amount time.
Here are a couple pictures of the boys in trouble on Gardner head wall in good weather. How would anyone like to do this when you can't see your ski tips? Look at the sleds behind the shoveled out bench. Not steep here? Plus a couple thousand feet to the bottom.
Hope this answers your questions.
Thanks for the detailed response. I appreciate it.
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Oh yeah... I'll look and see if I still have some 990 parts... I know the 995 and the 990 were the same top end stuff. I am trying to recall... was the case and crank different? I think the 990 was narrower and used a Polaris case. Still I think I have a full bottom end c/w crank. If I do, I'll give it to you and you can trade it or use it. Just pay the shipping. May even have some CPI pipes kicking around for it.
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