Be careful out there...Not always this lucky

[Twig]

Me and some buddies were riding Vale for 3 days during the weekend of Dec.12/2014
The third day of riding was mostly in the Goats ridge bowl and morning glory.
We were playing in the fresh snow and staying away from the big open face climbs but after we saw guys climbing over and over I thought I'd give it a go on the new sled.
Must of been at least 15 pokes at this hill before I even went on it.
Long story short is just 10 mins after I climbed the hill we came back to it and realized the whole hill had slid from edge to edge. Would of been a way different story if it had caught someone in it's path.
I'll try to get the video on here of the hill just before the slide.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rJKGDTBsXIw

 

[maxwell]

Ya...no one should be on that hill ever no matter the conditions. It ALWAYS comes down in different spots many times per year. Dangerous hill for sure I was in there yesterday and saw the break like that was a big one!

 

[JMCX]

I see you highmarking around a guy stuck on the hill.

 

[sledneck_03]

I see you highmarking around a guy stuck on the hill.

Yah thats a black eye

 

[maxwell]

I see you highmarking around a guy stuck on the hill.

Good eye. Yikes

 

[smc]

when i first got into back country snowmobiling i did some pretty dumb things, much like what is shown in this video, and way worse. now i ride past big open faces like that and make informed decisions. clearly you boys need to make better choices on what slope/area is a good idea to ride. live and learn.

 

[ACP]

when i first got into back country snowmobiling i did some pretty dumb things, much like what is shown in this video, and way worse. now i ride past big open faces like that and make informed decisions. clearly you boys need to make better choices on what slope/area is a good idea to ride. live and learn.

And then hopefully Live

 

[maxwell]

probly the most dangerous aspect of that particular hill is the fact that it has a 50ft deep gulley (terrain trap) the full length of it as you can see the rider taking almost ten seconds of the video to get to the bottom of it. guess where you end up in the event of a slide. its easy for me to critique this now but 10 years ago i would have been on that same hill and thought nothing of it.

 

[JONSHOW]

I see you highmarking around a guy stuck on the hill.

Yikes...

 

[snopro]

Its funny how peeps forget the bad hills over time. For about 2 years after the big Boulder Mountain/Turbo Hill slide everyone stayed away from that hill. Now on any given day they are all over that hill like fly's on rotten bacon. Tick tock.....

 

[ferniesnow]

Yep, I see it all the time. A lot of people are infatuated with climbing and showing everyone how high they can go and justify the might turbo. Most of the time without a history of where they are riding, what the snow conditions are like within the snowpack, and not a real concern for the safety of themselves and others (as evidenced in the above video).

With the way the sleds are advancing and the availability of monies, I can only see it getting worse instead of getting better. Maxwell made a great point regarding his experience and how his riding has changed with wisdom and real life experiences.

 

[tex78]

Straight up hill climbs are boring



Deep tree riding is more fun, better snow, and way safer for avys




Trees can hurt sled and rider mind u, just don't look at them lol then u won't hit them


With the way the snow pack we have this year, is going to totally change how and where we ride ( me and the people I take around )

 

[LennyR]

I agree with a lot of these thoughts , without knowledge or prior experience in areas people should either stay off some of these hills or look to the riders with experience in those areas . And if you're going out there, have proper training, gear, knowledge, common sense and a healthy respect and fear of mother nature. And take the proper things with ya , like water, extra food, rope, first aid supplies, fire starter, condoms, etc etc.
We know the area we ride in and I can tell you which hills have slid , how often, where and which have never slid, just like maxwell says he knows which hills have slid often , he obviously knows which hills have never seen let go.
And if you choose to never climb, good on ya, me, I really like it. And Tex if all the hills you climb you go straight up, either your idea of hills is different than mine or you run about 500 HP, cause as was evidenced in the video, a lot of guys weren't able to climb straight up, and if messing up a turn out and planting it on a steep SAFE incline after maximizing your machines ability , or even if you make a good turn out under power doesn't get your adrenaline pumping, you're built different than me and a lot if my friends. And when you are successful , on a steep SAFE hill, I've watched a lotif knuckle dragging a$$kickin tough guys sit at the top workin the stones into position , to ride it back down, cause that ain't always boring either.
I listen to all the guys ranting about how one machine is totally dominant and was so much better than another machine, way better power better clutching, better track, better color better storage blah blah, then these same guys are the ones sayin they don't ever climb, with their 174 3 inch, lightweight new mountain sled, Well how the hell do you know it's better, cause all the tree ridin crap high lites the rider more than the sled. Where you guys like ridin, the trappers have been riding that stuff with their Bravo and Skandic for years, they work awesome in the trees checking the traps. And I hardly even look at most of the videos anymore cause if I see one more sled riding back and forth between the trees over and over, I'm gonna hurl, maxwell must know all the trees in his videos by name he runs over the same ones on every video, show us some hill climbing , SAFE, that's where you'll see whose HP is working whose clutching is weak, who just needs a little more sack.
And, I'm scared $hitless of avalanches, I don't take chances that I can control, I don't climb on a hill I'm wary of or have no knowledge, I don't climb or let anyone else climb over someone stuck. And yes , there is always a chance that the worst can happen, but if you take all the precautions you can, that's all you can do. Hell you guys that never stop deeking in and around trees, holy you could get your eye poked out or fall in a tree well or Bigfoot could grab ya, there danger everywhere.
And yeah I know it's not cool to say these things cause the old guys are so smart and run the show here, but tough, if you don't wanna climb don't, but if you enjoy it like I and I'm sure a lot of others do , to compare and compete and challenge yourself, then learn to do it safely and fly at it. If it's a cloudy day, we play in the trees , if it's a bluebird day we head above them, always keeping safety at the forefront of our minds. And for the guys saying point and shoot is boring, my thoughts, your hill is to small, cause its a he'll of a lot more of an adrenaline rush than seeing how close I can ride to every tree in the forest.
My thoughts ,, bash away.

 

[Jorgy]

Does no one learn from the past? Just last year that guy died pulling the same climb you did just slightly more to the left. I cant remember if it was the guy climbing that was caught or someone below. Conditions were the same about 20-30 sleds had been up before, As Maxwell mentioned huge terrain trap at the base that extents the entire face and is about 50 ft deep. Guy was buried about 18 ft down...was recovered by Search and Rescue the next day (I think) took them two hours to dig them out. The fact that people continue to test their luck(and yes it is all luck because it slides multiple times every year) blows my mind.

 

[800HMX]

probly the most dangerous aspect of that particular hill is the fact that it has a 50ft deep gulley (terrain trap) the full length of it as you can see the rider taking almost ten seconds of the video to get to the bottom of it. guess where you end up in the event of a slide. its easy for me to critique this now but 10 years ago i would have been on that same hill and thought nothing of it.

Yes, a dangerous hill especially with the trap at the bottom. In the late 90's we dug a fellow out (avid experienced snowmobiler on a climber). He was buried more than 10ft down. Just when beacons and avy gear started. Lots of help on the hill. We dug him out with no injuries. We always stay away!

 

[sledneck_03]

Straight up hill climbs are boring



Deep tree riding is more fun, better snow, and way safer for avys




Trees can hurt sled and rider mind u, just don't look at them lol then u won't hit them


With the way the snow pack we have this year, is going to totally change how and where we ride ( me and the people I take around )

Ive never climbed anything that looks like that let alone seen a hill that looks like that. always in the damn trees. i use to get stuck in the meadows all the time on my dragon so i wouldnt venture too far into the trees let alone climb anything. lol, now my pro lets me go into the trees with my more experienced group and now when i get stuck its a stuck

 

[Twig]

I see you highmarking around a guy stuck on the hill.

Actually buddy tried climbing just after me on his snow bike....

 

[Kyle91rs]

Is this the hill I went up and over the top?? Looks like it..... Safe to say I'll never lay a track on that one again...

 

[maxwell]

Is this the hill I went up and over the top?? Looks like it..... Safe to say I'll never lay a track on that one again...

Sure is!

 

[Mike270412]

You were a little farther to the right.

Is this the hill I went up and over the top?? Looks like it..... Safe to say I'll never lay a track on that one again...