Spending the night

[maxwell]

mmmm nothing like warm kraft dinner in an unplanned overnight stay. Yes i cary one yes they work good! mine looks like the second one. all the pots and utencils form part of the carying container. so it takes up very little space and is actually fairly light

 

[Trukker]

I just pack Les Stroud with me…...

 

[Roy Maxwell]

A sat phone with global coverage and local heli company, local Search and Rescue and a good buddy who will spend half the night looking for you all on speed dial, a flare gun with at least 8 flares, and a GPS unit to provide coordinates to rescuers' wil minimize your chances of spending an unplanned night on the mountain. Typically if the night on the mountain is not planned people will be looking for your party and it sure helps to be able to have two way communication and the ability to fire off a flare into the sky every half hour. Never spent an unplanned night on the mountain but people we have looked for on several occasions would not have spent the night on the mountain if they had a flare gun and flares or a sat phone and GPS. Pretty hard to locate someone on a mountain in the dark.

 

[rsaint]

As Roy said communication and a way to pinpoint your location to get the hell off the mountain would be in my backpack with minimal survival gear spread out over the group. This is a very good thread on preparedness but for the average sledder in the mountains some of the lists are way out there, would like to see some weights of this stuff hanging off your back and trying to enjoy a days riding. Even some lists duplicate some things on the sled and one ones self. Im not sure where we are headed but just use commom sense and ride safe and sober.

 

[Highfly]

Someone posted that homemade alcohol stove with the cans, that would be awesome both for heating water to keep core temp up but boiling water would also help to keep the cave warm.

That was me. Supper easy to make, super light to carry and is very efficient. Jam the base in the snow so it doesn't tip over and it would pump out the heat. Store it all in a steel peanut tin and you have a little pot to boil water with.

 

[summit1974]

I just pack Les Stroud with me…...

you pack a book!?thats it………………………………….lol

 

[dvst8r]

Never had an unplanned winter stay over. I have been close a couple times, and have had fairly substantial hikes out leaving the machines behind.

So my big one is: Make a plan, ride your plan, and make sure someone responsible knows where you are going, and about what time you will be off the mountain.

 

[Shadam]

google earth the ****e out of the area the nite before so you have an idea of the terrain.

one thing that has really stood out for me is how many people get disoriented in white out or blizzard conditions. even in perfect vis people start argueing about which direction the trucks are ???

 

[maxwell]

google earth the ****e out of the area the nite before so you have an idea of the terrain.

one thing that has really stood out for me is how many people get disoriented in white out or blizzard conditions. even in perfect vis people start argueing about which direction the trucks are ???

YES! ive rescued a couple groups and sleds etc and usually they are SOOOO close to a main trail,cabin ETC. just another hundred yards and you would be on a packed trail walking distance to a warm cabin. but the steep deep trees sometimes force people to give up and stay the night. not always the case. but know exactly where you are and how far to the nearest exit etc. even in a whiteout.

 

[Beels]

As Roy said communication and a way to pinpoint your location to get the hell off the mountain would be in my backpack with minimal survival gear spread out over the group. This is a very good thread on preparedness but for the average sledder in the mountains some of the lists are way out there, would like to see some weights of this stuff hanging off your back and trying to enjoy a days riding. Even some lists duplicate some things on the sled and one ones self. Im not sure where we are headed but just use commom sense and ride safe and sober.

I completely agree. I try to carry enough stuff with me that if somehow I got separated from my group, I could last the night if I had to. Like you said, some of these lists are getting extreme and beyond the point of what most people can reasonably carry. IMO, warm and dry trumps all and should be the most important.

 

[Beels]

YES! ive rescued a couple groups and sleds etc and usually they are SOOOO close to a main trail,cabin ETC. just another hundred yards and you would be on a packed trail walking distance to a warm cabin. but the steep deep trees sometimes force people to give up and stay the night. not always the case. but know exactly where you are and how far to the nearest exit etc. even in a whiteout.

What I'm amazed by is how easily some people just flat-out give up. We had an episode in Cooke City one time where we followed some tracks into an area we knew to be a bit sketchy if the snow wasn't overly deep. Sure enough, get down there and it's a whole group of rental sleds and no idea where they were going and what they were going to do if they got there. This was noon-ish when we found them so we knew we had a good 5 hours of daylight left and everyone in our group were experienced enough riders to get ourselves out. Long story short, we had to go back out the way we came in and that included bouncing over downed logs and stumps. Just a major rodeo in general. A couple of these clowns we found were already pouting and figured they were going to spend the night by 3pm. All we told them is they could do whatever the hell they wanted, but we were getting out, one way or another and they better get to cutting firewood if they were planning on staying. 2 of us managed to ride out and headed back to town to let the rental places know where their missing sleds were. By the time they rode out there, all our guys were out and helping this other group get sleds out. The worst part of the whole thing is absolutely none of those guys thanked us at all.

 

[moyiesledhead]

Also....our group has a general rule....well more of a guidline 'cuz we don't always follow it....but we try to be within walking distance of the truck by mid afternoon, which is not far in deep snow. Still playing, but not so far back that we can't walk out if we have to. Started that after my sister took my daughter and nephew too far, too late one afternoon and had to be rescued after getting 2 out of 3 sleds stuck somewhere they couldn't get out of.

 

[barefooter]

Lot's of good stuff here.

Rowdy - best thing you can do is practice. Spent my university days in SAR.

My daughter - who is now 17 - and I used to take a day over Xmas and do everything. Lighting a fire in different situations. Keeping dry and drying out. Making a shelter. You name it. My dad did it with me as a kid as well. I come from a family of outdoorsman, so it was all second nature. I actually started reading a few books on survival techniques. First, it was something I was interested in so the reading was easy. Second - I learned a few things that I didn't know before. If you try them out before you are in an emergency situation, they will come easier.

Myself - I love going winter camping. Spent many a weekend in a lean-to or tent up in the woods. No other people. etc.

As for a stove - I keep one of these. The solid fuel tablets work amazingly well. I actually spent a week up in the Territories canoeing and had to use one of these when the main stove crapped out. They weigh just ounces and melt water like nothing.
http://www.amazon.ca/Folding-Camping-Stove-Tablets-Emergency/dp/B000Y9EZMQ

My best story on winter survival was sledding with Burandt. me and my buddy were playing in the trees, and Chris had taken the rest of the group over a ridge. It was getting dark, and they had been gone for a couple of hours. When it got dark we could finally see headlights and realized they were stuck on a high ridge and we radioed them. Chris figured they were spending the night. So we got down to making a fire, had a lean to together from spruce boughs, used the survival blanket for a heat reflector, things were pretty cozy. I broke out the emergency provision of Crown Royal cause I thought we weren't going anywhere. After a few shots, they showed up unexpectedly. We had to sit around the fire for a couple of hours with Sahen until we sobered up enough to ride. Good thing we packed the extra pizza pockets!!

 

[lilduke]

Hey great topic guys and gals!! I haven't ever had to spend a unplanned night yet, so I was just wondering for those that have, what situation and mistakes led to you having to spend a night on the mountain and what did you learn (besides what else to bring) ie: how not to have it happen again

 

[~Rowdy~]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their insight, tips and tricks. It's absolutely given me things to think about and reaffirmed my need to spend a controlled night on the hill as a test. The more I can learn the better it is for me and the groups that I ride with. So thanks again everyone.

 

[whitegold]

I spent a night in the mountains a bunch of years ago... toilet paper is a must... with a bit of gas it makes for a great fire starter! The foil blankets got used to keep the water off of us. We rode down a ravine to get out of the wind and then climbed up the side of it to a large tree with a stump beside it... we built a fire on the stump using the toilet paper and gas... then using a saw we built a shelter and using branches built a bed.... but it snowed like crazy over night and the fire which kept us warm also melted the snow that fell on our roof, so the blanket that we used to cover ourselves kept the water off of our bodies. I often think back that we probably should have just used the blanket right on the roof to prevent the water from melting on top of us. I don't really want to do it again to see if it would work better tho...

 

[SLEDBUNNYRACING]

For the fire started we carry Tampons, amazing how once dipped in fuel they start a nice flame for long enough to start a fire.


Sent from my phone ---- is anyone listening ?

 

[giddyup]

i have been watching this thread , im always looking for a more stream lined way to keep my pack up to date, one think i carry is a road flare, i vacum pack it, i think the road flare burns at an extream high heat, i think something like 1300 degrees i was told, i have used them a few times, makes lighting a fire fast , you can light a fire with wet wood with a road flare, takes up very little space

giddyup

 

[moyiesledhead]

one think i carry is a road flare,

Now that right there is an awesome idea! They stink, but who cares if it gets a fire going.

 

[Pistonbroke]

Also....our group has a general rule....well more of a guidline 'cuz we don't always follow it....but we try to be within walking distance of the truck by mid afternoon, which is not far in deep snow. Still playing, but not so far back that we can't walk out if we have to. Started that after my sister took my daughter and nephew too far, too late one afternoon and had to be rescued after getting 2 out of 3 sleds stuck somewhere they couldn't get out of.

Same rule in our group: no major adventures will be initiated after 4 pm!