HERO SNOW ???

[Billy Boy]

Had a similar experience last winter at Atlas Window Mountain area at Crowsnest.Was riding with a buddy of mine and his teenage son (who was out for the first time on a sled) we stuck to the main trails which are quite wide and groomed so it was easy riding for first time riders, we thought?? We took a side trip up to the base of Window Mountain and the young fellow seemed to handle it quite well so we decided to go back to the main trail and go into Deans Park area feeling that would be a fairly easy trip. Will coming off the trail from Window Mountain down to the main trail things went south real fast. The son was coming down the trail and instead of staying on the trail which parallels a lease road he jumps onto the lease road and his hand must of hit the throttle and of course the sled shot across the road up a 6 foot snow embankment and down the other side smack into a tree. To make a long story short the young guy was not hurt and the sled had minor damage to the front end but it scared you when you looked at where he landed, another couple of feet to the right he would have dropped another 75 - 100 feet into some rocks it gave you a very sick feeling. We had quite a challenge getting the sled out untill a couple of other sledders came buy and offered to bring there truck down the lease road and we were able to winch the sled out, if those fellows did not happen along we would of been there all night trying to get that sled out. That little incident shows how things can go wrong very fast we were very lucky it was not any more serious than they were!!!! Be careful out there!!!

Billy Boy

 

[devil]

i didn't hear most of the events from saturday till i was already home and read it here, i rode renshaw sunday and it was nice trail up and down and clear most of the day.

Speaking of riding within your limits though, i was the one saying No to people on sunday about attacking stuff i wasn't sure about, i may have the power, but not the experiance, yet. Maybe next year when i can afford to repair my sled i said, lol.

 

[ridenhigh]

Mar 15th Renshaw SAR rescue.
That was my best man you guys took off the hill. You all did an excellent job!
We really appreciate the work you guys and gals do. If possible can someone get me contact info for those involved in Martin's rescue. He would really like thank all involved.

I'll recap the day for those interested.
Mar 15th we rode up to 'Lucile' in the morning but due to mechanical problems returned to town for some sled work at RnR. We then headed to the Renshaw trail just to test the repairs and burn some fuel. This was at about 3:30. We had to pull off at km 19 and wait as there were way too many 'Darwin Award Contestants' racing down the mountain 2 and 3 sleds wide on the f#!*n corners. Once down hill traffic deminished and the visibility cleared we continued up the trail to have a bite to eat at the cabin and then come home. The visibility then got so nice up top that we decided to play a bit near the cabin. We were then ready to head down when Martin decided to take one last poke at the hill just South of the cabin. You all know what hill I'm talking about. He turned out just below the top and shot off a ledge with some little spruces on it. I'd say he touched down about 40 feet below. Some guys from Valemount had a better view and said he went end over end 3 times with the sled. Martin and the sled then separated and he was left about 2/3 of the way up the hill. We all raced up to him and dug our machines in. He was clearly in pain, consious but unable to talk due to pain. Once he could respond to our questions we found that the only problem was his hip. Completely dislocated.
We turned him on his side and 4 guys stabalized him while we slid him down the hill about 150 feet to a flatter spot at which we cold get him on a sled. We lifted him onto a sled. He held the mountain bar and another guy stood behind him and very slowly drove to the cabin. At this point it was about 6:00 and several riders headed down the mounain to get help. We were hoping for a chopper but not likely with visibility diminishing and the sun going down. We got him into the cabin and turned up the heat. We tried keeping him comfortable, warm and hydrated. Several hours later it was aparent that no chopper was coming and no messengers had returned from the bottom of the hill with news of a rescue. I then rode down to phone for help and see what was happening. I passed the groomer at about km 5. The operator told me he knew of the incident and was making as good time as he could. Thank you!
I then continued to my truck at the bottom parking lot, made my calls, refueled and packed up any supplies that would make the night more comfortable if we had to wait for an air lift in the morning. On my way up the hill I found extra tracks on the freshly groomed trail and knew that help was ahead of me. I caught the groomer at km 17 and continued to the cabin. At that point SAR was assessing Martin and the rest of us were planning on how to transport Martin in the skimmer. About an hour later the groomer arrived and we now had a smoother trail to drag Martin out on. We put a 2way radio in his mit so he could hit the call button if he needed to stop. A rider beside the guy pulling the sled had the other 2 way and would stop the show if he got a call from Martin. We only had to stop a few times in 27km. The driver of that sled pulling the skimmer did an excellent job!
Then to the ambulance, then McBride Hospital. Unfortunately the closest available doctor was in Valemount so off they went. They were not able to get his hip back in place in Valemount so they then transported him to Prince George where they got his hip back in place in no time. Over 12 hours had passed between popping his hip out on the hill and getting it back in at Prince George. We waited an extra day in McBride in hopes of Martin being released from the hospital so we could transport him home to Edmonton. At 8:30 Sunday night Martin was released after a CT scan confirmed he was able to travel by vehicle. We had a terrible blizard to drive through so we stayed one more night in McBride and returned home Monday.

Thanks to all that helped! Martin is doing great and probably trying to forget the whole weekend.

But to recap on the topic 'Hero Snow', you couldn't be more correct.
The hill Martin shot up at the end of the day was very well set up and tracked up too. It appeared easy for him to get to the height he did which put him in a riding situation he wasn't acustomed too, an air born rocket descent. Ride within your abilities guys. Just because snow is set up and easy to climb on doesn't make you the himark king you always dreamed of being. Plan everyone of your climbs according to the conditions and don't push the limits 'at the end of the day'.

 

[rknight111]

Wow, what a writeup. Good job, and good job to all that assisted in this. Ride Safe.

 

[Grumpy Ukranian]

Hows the sled? I'm the guy with the smokin renegade. We had a great ride until the end of the day and my friend broke his wrist down in behind the second saddle. Next day he rode anyway, and we went into Lucille, it was awesome, first ones in fresh snow, groomed trail and not a track on the hill.

 

[Summitric]

GLAD TO HEAR HE IS OKAY.... BE SAFE AND RIDE WITHIN YOUR ABILITIES.

 

[bbtoys]

Thanks for telling your story. I am glad Martin is going to be ok. Had this happened early in the day his ride out would have been in a heli instead of behind my sled in a skimmer. We have no chopper pilots that fly at nite in the Robson Valley, so that last pull up the hill for the highmark of the day had better not turn to disaster, because the ride out behind me in a skimmer is no fun at all. I am sure Martin will be the first to tell you it is not the most comfy ride he has been on. Ride smart and that way you can ride your own sled out at the end of the day. Thanks to Rod the groomer for the quick response in getting to the top to smooth the trail out for us.

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

Great account of the event and thanks for posting it. Being one of the many people in McBride hearing bits and pieces of the story, it' nice to get it first hand.
Hope your beddy gets well soon.

 

[CdnWrangler]

Hello RidenHigh

An excellent accounting of the event with pictures. You insights at the end are extremely meaningful and I hope more people will ponder them, then take them to heart!!

Lastly, I believe you did a wonderful thing by acknowledging all those that helped Martin! In this fast-paced world, I am tending to believe these actions are taken fore granted all too often!!

Mar 15th Renshaw SAR rescue.
That was my best man you guys took off the hill. You all did an excellent job!
We really appreciate the work you guys and gals do. If possible can someone get me contact info for those involved in Martin's rescue. He would really like thank all involved.

I'll recap the day for those interested.
Mar 15th we rode up to 'Lucile' in the morning but due to mechanical problems returned to town for some sled work at RnR. We then headed to the Renshaw trail just to test the repairs and burn some fuel. This was at about 3:30. We had to pull off at km 19 and wait as there were way too many 'Darwin Award Contestants' racing down the mountain 2 and 3 sleds wide on the f#!*n corners. Once down hill traffic deminished and the visibility cleared we continued up the trail to have a bite to eat at the cabin and then come home. The visibility then got so nice up top that we decided to play a bit near the cabin. We were then ready to head down when Martin decided to take one last poke at the hill just South of the cabin. You all know what hill I'm talking about. He turned out just below the top and shot off a ledge with some little spruces on it. I'd say he touched down about 40 feet below. Some guys from Valemount had a better view and said he went end over end 3 times with the sled. Martin and the sled then separated and he was left about 2/3 of the way up the hill. We all raced up to him and dug our machines in. He was clearly in pain, consious but unable to talk due to pain. Once he could respond to our questions we found that the only problem was his hip. Completely dislocated.
We turned him on his side and 4 guys stabalized him while we slid him down the hill about 150 feet to a flatter spot at which we cold get him on a sled. We lifted him onto a sled. He held the mountain bar and another guy stood behind him and very slowly drove to the cabin. At this point it was about 6:00 and several riders headed down the mounain to get help. We were hoping for a chopper but not likely with visibility diminishing and the sun going down. We got him into the cabin and turned up the heat. We tried keeping him comfortable, warm and hydrated. Several hours later it was aparent that no chopper was coming and no messengers had returned from the bottom of the hill with news of a rescue. I then rode down to phone for help and see what was happening. I passed the groomer at about km 5. The operator told me he knew of the incident and was making as good time as he could. Thank you!
I then continued to my truck at the bottom parking lot, made my calls, refueled and packed up any supplies that would make the night more comfortable if we had to wait for an air lift in the morning. On my way up the hill I found extra tracks on the freshly groomed trail and knew that help was ahead of me. I caught the groomer at km 17 and continued to the cabin. At that point SAR was assessing Martin and the rest of us were planning on how to transport Martin in the skimmer. About an hour later the groomer arrived and we now had a smoother trail to drag Martin out on. We put a 2way radio in his mit so he could hit the call button if he needed to stop. A rider beside the guy pulling the sled had the other 2 way and would stop the show if he got a call from Martin. We only had to stop a few times in 27km. The driver of that sled pulling the skimmer did an excellent job!
Then to the ambulance, then McBride Hospital. Unfortunately the closest available doctor was in Valemount so off they went. They were not able to get his hip back in place in Valemount so they then transported him to Prince George where they got his hip back in place in no time. Over 12 hours had passed between popping his hip out on the hill and getting it back in at Prince George. We waited an extra day in McBride in hopes of Martin being released from the hospital so we could transport him home to Edmonton. At 8:30 Sunday night Martin was released after a CT scan confirmed he was able to travel by vehicle. We had a terrible blizard to drive through so we stayed one more night in McBride and returned home Monday.

Thanks to all that helped! Martin is doing great and probably trying to forget the whole weekend.

But to recap on the topic 'Hero Snow', you couldn't be more correct.
The hill Martin shot up at the end of the day was very well set up and tracked up too. It appeared easy for him to get to the height he did which put him in a riding situation he wasn't acustomed too, an air born rocket descent. Ride within your abilities guys. Just because snow is set up and easy to climb on doesn't make you the himark king you always dreamed of being. Plan everyone of your climbs according to the conditions and don't push the limits 'at the end of the day'.

 

[ridenhigh]

Hows the sled? I'm the guy with the smokin renegade. We had a great ride until the end of the day and my friend broke his wrist down in behind the second saddle. Next day he rode anyway, and we went into Lucille, it was awesome, first ones in fresh snow, groomed trail and not a track on the hill.

The sled did great. It is a 700 Dragon so it has those side panels covering the clutch. That Panel cracked, the windsheild was ripped off and the bars got bent but we bent them back right away. All in all we were impressed at the beating the Dragon took. Hopefully that doesn't give him piece of mind to try this again....
Hero Snow, Hero Sled,.....just need a Hero to ride it.

 

[pano-dude]

wow, dislocated hip is serious.
Major issues if no blood circulation and or internal bleeding.
SAR never get enough credit for the job they do.