Mountain must haves?

[lilduke]

Most everything has been covered,but going out with a tow rope and a few
experinced guys that really know an area is your best bet. It's harder to get
in trouble in your own back yard. Don't get me wrong it's good to be prepared for the worst.

Spare keys for your truck is good idea,,my dad lost his in the
snow bank at silent pass many years back on a bumpy ass trail(pre grooming days) truck and sleds spent the night in the bush....


Morphine would be a good one,,I saw this guy on Boulder in 97 bust both
his femurs. Slamed into a creek bed by the cabin...(sorry to say but pinning it around in the fog like an idiot)
It was too socked in to land a chopper, so they(paramedics) hauled him down the mountain on a tobogin, behind
a sled,,no groomed trail...that guy was in some pain...

Newbies riding busy areas like boulder is a good idea also,,you get in trouble
back there someone will probably find you. Head into the real boonies
where nobody goes,,you could find yourself in more trouble....

Oh and watch out for cliffs....Pay attention to the weather....Have some common sense.

 

[Web Mobile]

I looked under the seat of my '08 Xfire and seen abunch of holes in the seat base, so I weaved in a bunch of 14" HD tie straps. Another place for tape is wrapped up in the rear skid or bumper, you might need a shovel to find it, but it's there. What I would like to add is a sled jack to the side of the tunnel, but allas don't have yet, might make one out of a wire fence stretcher, or calf puller. Am looking for a good set of snowshoes, seen the RCMP us a set that is small with extenstions for deeper snow, any ideas on makes/models?

 

[Web Mobile]

Forgot about T3s, (not morphine, but easier to get) kept in bar bag.

 

[FatGuy]

a crazy carpet works good to put under a track when you really bung up skid.... makes towing a dead machine up hills ALOT easyier

 

[doostylz]

BUMP BUMP BUMP
Might as well keep this thread going always someone coming up with new items great for all of us. Thanks to everyone helping out the newbies and reminding the old dedicated. Got pretty much everything imaginable in my pack hope the new BCA will fit it. 2 things i didnt see mentioned. Rolaids ohh those beers from the night before. And 1 other important tool I have not mentioned is a small flexable magnet when straightened out its about a foot long. We all know where that bolt you cant put your sled back together without in any repair done up on the hill ends up down in the deepest darkest hole under your engine (happy fishing). Hope this helps someone out someday. Keep the ideas coming folks no matter how long we have all been riding specially if to long the memory goes or we didnt think of something. Happy riding.
2 more sleeps till heading to Revy again

 

[jaxondean]

a crazy carpet works good to put under a track when you really bung up skid.... makes towing a dead machine up hills ALOT easyier

I will second the crazy carpet thing. 4 of us worked for 4 hours to get my dead cat out of ground Hog at Blur River. Siezed Diamond Drive, so track wouldnt turn. I would of paid unreal money for a crazy carpet.

 

[OOC ZigZag]

Jetboil:d

 

[ferniesnow]

Jetboil:d

Nice. I used to carry a small Primus stove and some nested pots but since our riding is 99% in or around the trees, it is just some fire starter things.

I think my pack is 20# and that's not an air bag either. Maybe I have to go through it and make some choices and priorities!

 

[pipes]

here's what I have in my pack

 

[Kavaleen]

A good add is maxi pads of some kind they can pad broken limbs, stop bleeding, cover wounds, start fires they are lightweight and small very handy with some triangular bandages.

The most important is to take an Avy course. Check out ZacsTracs on line she also carries product that they use on their sleds.

"Your best tool in the mountains is your presence of mind"

Happy sledding.

 

[Kavaleen]

I gotch your back Rucky :d

Buy him a birthday gift certificate for an avy course! Tell him it's non refundable and must be attended before you will ride with him. Your best defense is a team that knows what they are doing!

 

[sscamaro_skwark]

how about some sunglasses & sunscreen for spring riding, my face blistered a couple years ago during april ride from sunburn, luckily I had sunglasses & tinted googles to save my eyes but I sure could have used some sunscreen/sunblock. My face burnt so bad I had a lot of trouble getting my helmet on & off the second day, & I passed on the third day of riding.

 

[OOC ZigZag]

Nice. I used to carry a small Primus stove and some nested pots but since our riding is 99% in or around the trees, it is just some fire starter things.

I think my pack is 20# and that's not an air bag either. Maybe I have to go through it and make some choices and priorities!

Now days I wear my snow pulse and 2nd pack straped to the sled with all the safety and survival gear sure alot easier on the back.:d

 

[Showtime]

Jetboil:d

Thats fancy...here's the redneck version i use.

 

[Ministik Man]

So what do the experts say you should have in your back packs/sleds

Check it out at ZACS TRACS AVALANCHE TRAINING website at

As most of it is a professional grade product we looked at purchasing 2 to 3 items per year to build up quality professional survival backpack that will last for many years but more importantly will WORK when needed.

Our group rides with the following - (Ea = Each person, G = 1 person in the group carries this)

JACKETS/BODY - Ea
- Barryvox PULSE Beacons - ea (you can see if the person has a pulse or not - so who do you look for first?)
- Wallet - (need a drivers licenes for RCMP - cash for trail passes - better on you than in truck in case of breakin at parking lot)
- Garmin Rhino 530 GPS - (GPS and Radio in one unit - best for locating stuck riders using the CONTACT / Polling feature which shows their stuck GPS Location)
- Klennex Packs - (For cleaning fogged goggles)
- 2 - C Tire butane pizio lighters ( 1 in each pocket)
- Compass
- 4 Hot Paws heat packs (8 hour type)
- Medications - (T3/Ibprofins or any others you need to survive for 2 or 3 days stay - Diabetics be prepared)
- Camera
- Cell Phone (For Emergency use - Turned off - may interfer with some Beacons)
- Truck Keys (Another person to carry the spare set)

BACKPACKS - Each
- Snow Pulse Avalanche Backpack- ea
- Probes - ea
- Shovels- ea
- Petzl TIKKA XP 2 Headlamps - ea - (use a headlamp as it always is focused where you turn your head and is hands free to work on things)
- Optimus Fuel & Stove Combo - ea - (If in the alpine there is no trees - can be used to warm up soup/tea/keep warm/night fire)
- Dried chicken noodle soup - ea - (Vacum packed in Plastic bag)
- True Flares -2 Pen Launcher Kits - ea - (8 flares per Kit (16 flares ea) and shoot 150' in the air and size of a cigerette box)
- Suunot Compass & Clinometer - ea - (We use Rhino GPS/Radios but carry a compassclinometer also as back up)
- Folding 7" Saw - ea - (If in a tree well you might have to cutt you way out so keep in your backpack not on your sled)(REmember they are a pull saw if you push you bend or break the blades)
- Roll of Toilet Paper in Ziplock Bag - ea - (Personal/goggle cleaning/fire starter/torch on stick soaked in gas)
- Large Orange plastic Grass bag - ea - (Signal marker / rain jacket / tent)
- Extra gloves - ea - (mostly for the fast ride out when the daytime gloves are wet and cold)
- Good Emergeny Whistle - ea - (non Metal) (Connected to the shoulder strap beside your mouth - so you just turn your head to blow the whistle)
- Multi Knife - ea - (Leathermans so they work when you need them...)
- Extra Hot Paws - (Vacum packed in Plastic bag)

HANDLE BAR BAGs - each
- 2 waters
- snacks/bars/trail mix
- 1 roll Geo Flag Tape yellow
- Other location for cameras

TUNNEL BAG - Each
- Waterproof Kayakers Bag - ea
- Survival Socks/belaclava/toque (Vacum packed in Plastic bag)
- Waterproof First-Aid Kits - ea
- 1 Sam Splints - ea (With 4 guys you have 4 splints - hopefully more than you need)
- Pieps Double Blvy Sac - ea (these are 100% better than a foil wrap from Ctire - can double as a stretcher/2 man wind blind/protect against hyperthermia)
- Snobunje "D" handle - ea - (If you can not roll it over to get unstuck then will need a couple of bunjes to pull it out)

GROUP/LEADER SLED - 1 Person
- 200' 3/8 rope C/W pulley block (pull dead sleds up hills/creeks - survival tent/teepee) (Vacummed bagged in Plastic to keep it tight together and out of moving parts)
- Muff Pot - (Hot lunch Cooking smokies/wieners while riding
- Wiener Sticks
- Extra Took Kit / some bolts/ Duct Tape / Yellow vinyl tape
- Micro Fleese blanket - (Survival/Accident blanket Vacum packed in Plastic bag)
- bottle of Ispopropoline Alcohol (gas line antifreeze in a used soup can hose clamped to sled frame)
- 1 liter of Injector Oil (in frame bracket/clamp)
- Real rear bumper to pull from not the factory aluminum foil bumper.

 

[01Sharp]

Zip ties- they weigh sfa and are handy for fixing pretty much anything.

 

[mountainbigbull]

If you guys are looking for some of this stuff like the dry bags and the mini stoves and don't want to go MEC (please don't') Bass pro shops just north of Calgary has all that stuff. They are also an Arctic Cat dealer for quads (not that I'm an AC guy but you get the idea) They also sponsor NASCAR instead of BS Caribou studies!