Successful recovery but some advice for everyone....

[rampager]

Hey guys, most of you prob don't know me but if you ride a lot in golden area you may have seen me or whatever. I had a sled break last weekend back in east quartz and had to go back this past to retrive. I'm sure it's something a lot of guys have went thru. We got the sled out and it's not the focus of my post really.

On the way in I experienced a very fluke thing and just want to stress it to anyone riding in the mtns. I fell off sidehillimng in a seemingly innocent situation which rapidly turned into one of the scariest things thats ever happened to me. I had the sled roll onto me, pinning my leg awkwardly but worse the throttle stuck wide open and my tether did NOT pull free of the sled . My head was about 10" from the track and the exhaust exit even closer. Took someone about 7 seconds to get to me and I frankly consider myself lucky I "only" broke my ankle ( frankly am at hospital right now to find out for sure )

Bottom line guys wear your teather at all times and make sure it is short enough to work. I believe next season I will change mine to attach to my arm instead of my body . It was a stock oem tether .

Frankly it's a touch thing to talk about but just want to maybe drive home to someone else how fast something like that can happen from something so completely innocent


Cheers

 

[jhurkot]

Very scary. Glad you're ok.

 

[Bnorth]

Thanks for sharing. I still see lots of guys not wearing a tether or only while riding not on the trail etc. I used to be one of those guys but I wear mine to my wrist religiously now after all the horror stories I've heard over the years.

 

[maxwell]

i was a jacket tether guy, now its on my wrist for that reason, if it doesn't pull you at least have a chance to pull it with your arm if your pinned. Maybe, certainly increases your chances anyways.

 

[moyiesledhead]

My son thought that a few years ago. When the sled went over, the tether attached to his wrist got wrapped around the handle bars. Throttle jammed open, 4 stroke running wide open upside down puking all its oil onto the snow, engine only lasted one more ride after that. Not only was he pinned under the sled but his wrist was tied to the bars. No more wrist tether for this guy. Back on my coat away from the bars where I can rip it out if I have to.

 

[rampager]

My son thought that a few years ago. When the sled went over, the tether attached to his wrist got wrapped around the handle bars. Throttle jammed open, 4 stroke running wide open upside down puking all its oil onto the snow, engine only lasted one more ride after that. Not only was he pinned under the sled but his wrist was tied to his bars. No more wrist tether for this guy. Back on my coat where I can rip it out if I have to.

I'm sure it's one of those things you can't cover in every scenario but I was pinned in such a way that I couldn't move my arms enough to look for it, had a very significant portion of the weight of the sled on my torso and while I could breath it was hard not to panic and with paddles blasting by my face and the pipe screaming as well It made for a very scary moment I can tell you. Had I needed to muster the energy to "explode" physically to get the weight off me I would have risked having the track shred me as the sled rolled over me And this ignoring the other fact my ankle was obviously twisted pretty oddly as they have indeed confirmed its broken and I need some hardware . I think for me I want the sled off if my hands are 12-18" off the bars

 

[drew562]

I'm sure it's one of those things you can't cover in every scenario but I was pinned in such a way that I couldn't move my arms enough to look for it, had a very significant portion of the weight of the sled on my torso and while I could breath it was hard not to panic and with paddles blasting by my face and the pipe screaming as well It made for a very scary moment I can tell you. Had I needed to muster the energy to "explode" physically to get the weight off me I would have risked having the track shred me as the sled rolled over me And this ignoring the other fact my ankle was obviously twisted pretty oddly as they have indeed confirmed its broken and I need some hardware . I think for me I want the sled off if my hands are 12-18" off the bars

So glad to hear it worked out good for you. ch!t happens fast. I have one friend who died underneath the weight of a sled
I run my tether on my waist strap for my backpack. I wrap it twice and it is fairly short. Way less failures I found personally with this set up. It’s also low enough the trees don’t rip it off. The wrist wrap works good but can also hook and wrap the bar stopping you from pulling it. Technically it could wrap your hand to the bar in a super wrong situation

 

[Lightningmike]

Thanks for sharing. Glad to here you made it out. Definitely could have been way worse. Hope the ankle heals up quickly

 

[ferniesnow]

Yes, thanks for sharing and glad you weren’t too seriously hurt. Speedy recovery.
Different strokes for different folks; wrist or jacket hook and there seems to be problems with both. The Tech-air system seems to be pretty fool proof

 

[Grinder]

Think everyones seen this but....

 

[rsmorin1]

Think everyones seen this but....

I had not seen that, thanks for sharing. Bad sh!t happens fast!

 

[lilduke]

My friends brother got his arm ripped off by the track and thrown 100feet.

Glad it turned out better than that!

 

[Tchetek]

Yes, thanks for sharing and glad you weren’t too seriously hurt. Speedy recovery.
Different strokes for different folks; wrist or jacket hook and there seems to be problems with both. The Tech-air system seems to be pretty fool proof

I’ve had the phantom Teth-Air on a sled for for years and I do like it. But even with its default 1.5 second shut down with a flip over, A guy would shat their Pants if they were in the Op’s situation! There is always a situation for the stars to misalign!

But I heard somewhere that teth-air might need a need spokes person or something.., @rampager

 

[Quicksand]

 

[Teth-Air]

Hey guys, most of you prob don't know me but if you ride a lot in golden area you may have seen me or whatever. I had a sled break last weekend back in east quartz and had to go back this past to retrive. I'm sure it's something a lot of guys have went thru. We got the sled out and it's not the focus of my post really.

On the way in I experienced a very fluke thing and just want to stress it to anyone riding in the mtns. I fell off sidehillimng in a seemingly innocent situation which rapidly turned into one of the scariest things thats ever happened to me. I had the sled roll onto me, pinning my leg awkwardly but worse the throttle stuck wide open and my tether did NOT pull free of the sled . My head was about 10" from the track and the exhaust exit even closer. Took someone about 7 seconds to get to me and I frankly consider myself lucky I "only" broke my ankle ( frankly am at hospital right now to find out for sure )

Bottom line guys wear your teather at all times and make sure it is short enough to work. I believe next season I will change mine to attach to my arm instead of my body . It was a stock oem tether .

Frankly it's a touch thing to talk about but just want to maybe drive home to someone else how fast something like that can happen from something so completely innocent


Cheers

Thanks for sharing your story. Unfortunately I hear these stories several times per season and when I repeat them lots of guys poopoo it and say it would never happen to them. Glad you are okay.

 

[Teth-Air]

I’ve had the phantom Teth-Air on a sled for for years and I do like it. But even with its default 1.5 second shut down with a flip over, A guy would shat their Pants if they were in the Op’s situation! There is always a situation for the stars to misalign!

But I heard somewhere that teth-air might need a need spokes person or something.., @rampager

You should reduce the time to 1/2 or 1 second if you worry about 1.5 seconds being too long. I run 1 second. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[rampager]

I’ve had the phantom Teth-Air on a sled for for years and I do like it. But even with its default 1.5 second shut down with a flip over, A guy would shat their Pants if they were in the Op’s situation! There is always a situation for the stars to misalign!

But I heard somewhere that teth-air might need a need spokes person or something.., @rampager

While 1 or 2 seconds seemed like a lifetime id have taken that over waiting for my saviour to struggle through the 30-40 feet of deep snow to get to me which likely took 6-7 or more. Also at least knowing the stuck throttle issue wouldnt have been longer than 1-2 seconds would have been some nice peice of mind at the time. I was really in sensory overload dealing with both controlling my breathing with the weight, the pain of the leg being twisted as well as track and exhaust. Shy of being hacked up i think i pretty much had about the worst case scenario possible. I have discovered a bunch of other bruises and bumps since and my one forearm is all kinds of different colours, im wondeing if i did get a bit of track when the throttle first stuck as that was the arm closest.

the air system looks very interesting and ill be checking that out for sure.

Tibia and Fibula are fractured in a somewhat unusual way, according to Drs(not what you want to hear lol), but they are going to wait a week to decide to operate or not, might be a minor plus to avoid that at least.

Lots of reflection the past few days but hey sometimes we pay a bit to "live" life right??? Unfortunately I dont have too many "safe" hobbies to fall back on....(flying season done before it even starts unfortunately)

Stay safe

 

[Tchetek]

While 1 or 2 seconds seemed like a lifetime id have taken that over waiting for my saviour to struggle through the 30-40 feet of deep snow to get to me which likely took 6-7 or more. Also at least knowing the stuck throttle issue wouldnt have been longer than 1-2 seconds would have been some nice peice of mind at the time. I was really in sensory overload dealing with both controlling my breathing with the weight, the pain of the leg being twisted as well as track and exhaust. Shy of being hacked up i think i pretty much had about the worst case scenario possible. I have discovered a bunch of other bruises and bumps since and my one forearm is all kinds of different colours, im wondeing if i did get a bit of track when the throttle first stuck as that was the arm closest.

the air system looks very interesting and ill be checking that out for sure.

Tibia and Fibula are fractured in a somewhat unusual way, according to Drs(not what you want to hear lol), but they are going to wait a week to decide to operate or not, might be a minor plus to avoid that at least.

Lots of reflection the past few days but hey sometimes we pay a bit to "live" life right??? Unfortunately I dont have too many "safe" hobbies to fall back on....(flying season done before it even starts unfortunately)

Stay safe

Oh buddy! I’ve done the fib tib combo, if they are debating surgery I would push for it!

They probably aren’t debating what’s best for you, probably what’s best for the hospital schedule or the surgeons holidays! I’ve had experience on both sides of that situation.

My foot was pointed backwards. Bottom Half of the ball broken off the inside and 6 inches up on the outside bone.

Lots of screws and a few plates. I was Walking with no cast in 3 weeks. I find without the surgery you are casted for so long that your muscles and ligaments get screwed from not moving for so long. Seems to take way longer to rehab.

 

[rampager]

Oh buddy! I’ve done the fib tib combo, if they are debating surgery I would push for it!

They probably aren’t debating what’s best for you, probably what’s best for the hospital schedule or the surgeons holidays! I’ve had experience on both sides of that situation.

My foot was pointed backwards. Bottom Half of the ball broken off the inside and 6 inches up on the outside bone.

Lots of screws and a few plates. I was Walking with no cast in 3 weeks. I find without the surgery you are casted for so long that your muscles and ligaments get screwed from not moving for so long. Seems to take way longer to rehab.

apparently the issue is the only "displacement" is about 2mm on the one bone, they say there's good arguments for both routes, but wanted to wait a week to see if the bones stay in place and can bridge that gap on their own. I didn't get the impression they were pushing me one way or the other but just genuinely didn't yet see the justification to cut into me. He did say it appeared i had good bones so f! everyone saying this is cause im getting old LOL

Believe me I'm not done doing stupid stuff yet in life so will make sure to do whatever gives me the best chance to recover not just as fast as possible but with the least loss of function etc

 

[Modman]

My son thought that a few years ago. When the sled went over, the tether attached to his wrist got wrapped around the handle bars. Throttle jammed open, 4 stroke running wide open upside down puking all its oil onto the snow, engine only lasted one more ride after that. Not only was he pinned under the sled but his wrist was tied to the bars. No more wrist tether for this guy. Back on my coat away from the bars where I can rip it out if I have to.

Body or wrist, don't matter really, one-off bad ch!t can happen with it attached to either but 99% of the time, if its atttached, it will do its job. There's always gonna be the one time that it gets wrapped on the bars and sends the sled into the trees, or its attached to the hip and the guy can't reach it. Biggest thing is that you wear it and you will likely be golden for your whole sledding life. Got lucky when I was younger and almost lost a sled from a big climb into some thick lumber, didn't wear my tether back then and the sled rolled, got out of reach and just ran slowly enough away that I couldn't grab it before it lurched over the edge. It tagged the only 3" tree in 100 yards and then broke and spun the ski spindle backwards which caused the ski to stick in and stop it.

Wore it a lot after that, and always on climbs but not always all the other times, until 1 day a couple years later, we stopped on the trail heading down at the end of the day and my uncle had a full mod chassis with a Cat motor in it. It was a deep day and he was having trouble with the magnetic throttle safety switch where he got some ice in the cable and it froze. He had a tether on it but it was not connected to him and he was standing beside it to pull it over (had very high compression and it usually didnt light first pull), he yanked the cord and the thing fired and was stuck at WFO, it took off immediately down the trail, hit the snowbank and went around a shallow corner about 250 yards out, launched off the trail and hit a fir tree square between the skis. Hit so hard it compressed the skid rails into a loose "S" shape. Insurance adjuster figured it was north of 100 mph when it hit. If there had been someone coming around that corner, it would have been fatal for them no doubt. Pretty much wore it religiously after that for others safety as much as my own. Saw it again many times at races as well, they make them mandatory in the pits for a reason, seen way too many run away sleds.

Biggest thing is to wear it.

Rampager - hope you feel better soon.