!!!!!! sledders lost near silver city !!!!

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t660redrocket

New member
All they need is a few extra guys to get the sleds. Only 2 guys riding the back country makes it difficult to get out deep powdery spots or if it broke through the ice. I was riding the Ottawa forest roads west-SW of there with our group and found myself in a 10 foot deep creek bed. Snow OVER MY FREAKING HEAD!!! It took all 6 guys to roll my sled up and out. I would have been screwed if I were with just 1 other guy. The scary part was getting the next 5 guys after me through the same thing so we could get out. Sure is fun though!!!!!
 
snowdance

snowdance

Member
Thankfully this story has a good ending. We were up in Rockland Saturday- Tuesday and I recall thinking Sunday night, how somebody wouldn't survive long out in this weather. Still can't believe they did. The good that comes from this is it hit close to home. Our group rides mainly off trail. It brought the awareness factor up and made us assess what we carry for survival gear. Hopefully many can learn from this and avoid a similar situation.
 
W

wideopenlemans

New member
Good guess

wideopenlemans said:
My thoughts are there were trying to get to South Boundary road and got stuck in little iron river. Just a guess. From where they were found. Lost lake trail has wood planks in some areas to cross creeks/wash out areas. All was stay on the trail and leave the powder for me thanks.
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Around 11 a.m. Sunday, the two left on their snowmobiles for Silver City and decided to go off trail by" Little Iron River." They said they’ve ridden in backwoods many times before and felt confident they could dig themselves out if needed. But about 1 p.m., they found themselves in deep snow and deep trouble.
"
Ridding down a river is not always the best choice."
 
I

indybru

Member
wowchad said:
X2
I don't know where you possibly keep all that extra gear but I'm looking into the SPOT today!
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Very informative with a happy ending. I would like to thank Srobak & Snohawg for the tip on Spot On.

I just bought one from the Best Buy in Lake Zurich ,Il it was on clearance for $39. now I have to check into the activation service.
I also have ridden by myself on trails but I can see this would have other uses like hiking, etc. I guess my trail maps could be used to start a fire, I need to get water proof matches.
 
D

dblshock

New member
Ridding down a river is not always the best choice."[/QUOTE]

Right, in the end I'm glad their o.k., but clearly they were very careless and distressed themselves and others because of poor choices in bitter cold remote conditions...Probably not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
 
L

larboc

New member
anonomoose said:
So that this thread isn't lost now to a simple recovery; I think that some valuable information could be put out right here and now-- that could save YOUR life if you pay attention to it.

I will start:

Always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. Not doing that is just crazy with a hat on.

Always, take something you can use to start a fire. A good lighter is a must have. Instead of using dollar bills to light a fire, grab something that will easily light and stay light even if a bit damp. A small zip bag with some of those paraffin fireplace starters is a good start.

If you think that wading around in zero temps trying to find wood, getting sweaty and snow down your boots will help you get back to your job on tuesday, better think again. This deep snow makes gathering wood for a fire much more difficult than a campfire in the summer or late fall.

Birch bark if you can find it is a great fire starter and should be something everyone learns from experience.

This is survival training with a twist on it. Practice doing this once per year and see how tough getting a good fire going really is. Learn from it. Fire means...staying alive at night. While a small hose for drawing out some gas sounds good, it means a very quick fire and one that probably won't stay light for long.

Obviously the beacon signal would be worth the cost if you can afford it and a good cell phone so you can send a text if you are in sight of a cell tower could improve your odds of getting help to you.

Food....candy bars, health snacks, p/j sammiches all could be very important if you break down in the bush and know it will take a day or two to walk out.

Some sort of tarp, thinner is fine as long as it can keep you dry and wind off.

A good survival saw and shovel could be important too.

Remember nobody wants to spend the night camping without the right tools --- cold and wet. Better to plan and not need it than to need it and not have planned for it.

The life you save might be your own.
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-my tips from experience lighting winter bush fires...

One note on gasoline fires, you are absolutely right, but you can fashion a "gas candle" that will burn for over an hour with a beer can. Just fill a beer can to the TOP with gasoline and light it. It will burn like a powerful candle for a long time, plenty of time to get even the wettest kindling started. (You remembered beer didn't you?)

For kindling, look for blow down hardwoods. Usually they will splinter and it will be above ground and dry.

Those pocket chainsaws work really well too. I carry one in my tool box and in my pocket during deer seasons.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ea93/

Throw a few of those gas station lighters in your tool box, they are cheap and more dependable than matches.
 
A

anonomoose

New member
larboc said:
-my tips from experience lighting winter bush fires...

One note on gasoline fires, you are absolutely right, but you can fashion a "gas candle" that will burn for over an hour with a beer can. Just fill a beer can to the TOP with gasoline and light it. It will burn like a powerful candle for a long time, plenty of time to get even the wettest kindling started.....
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I am amazed at this statement. I assume you have done this yourself, once or twice??

My experience with gasoline is that it burns very fast and hot and then it is gone. I am ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS careful around gasoline...life experience enough said.

If this is true then, it is worth repeating and showing a clip on Utube. I would like to see this process. In an emergency, that process could be a game changer. You will always have gasoline on a snowmo trip.
 
L

larboc

New member
kb97z said:
Aint that awesome...gotta love JD..Glad these two fellows made it out..sharp or not does not matter...I don't back country but I'll never forget that beer can fire
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It works slick. I never cut the top off of the can, probably makes it burn longer/cooler. And if you fill it up all the way, you are less likely to get a pop when you light it.
 
R

ranlam

New member
kb97z said:
Aint that awesome...gotta love JD..Glad these two fellows made it out..sharp or not does not matter...I don't back country but I'll never forget that beer can fire
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I will never forget that beer can fire either, lol.

I was apart of the search and rescue team, snowshoeing down the river with a porcupine mtn. state park employee (dnr) for six hours straight following there tracks. Im very impressed with the technology the Air Force used to triangulate there approx. whereabouts, which allowed us to get on there tracks right away in the morning. I was with the group that also tried that night on sleds but it was just to nasty and this river is very technical, the water is not deep enough to freeze with the 4 feet of snow on it, very narrow with steep valley walls, and fallen trees. The river is also very winding, as the crow flies it was only suppose to b a 4 mile walk but really it was about 6-8 miles, very deceiving.

All in all they survived, im happy and impressed because they had nothing but each others words and encouragement. Im sure they learned a lesson to carry maps/compass and some kind of firestarter for next time.

I thought the state police did a good job coordinating the rescue. The Porcupine State Park people are the best, and i was proud to be apart of there efforts.
 
U

united

Active member
Good post. Glad to hear. Thanks for the effort.

QUOTE=ranlam;357603]I will never forget that beer can fire either, lol.

I was apart of the search and rescue team, snowshoeing down the river with a porcupine mtn. state park employee (dnr) for six hours straight following there tracks. Im very impressed with the technology the Air Force used to triangulate there approx. whereabouts, which allowed us to get on there tracks right away in the morning. I was with the group that also tried that night on sleds but it was just to nasty and this river is very technical, the water is not deep enough to freeze with the 4 feet of snow on it, very narrow with steep valley walls, and fallen trees. The river is also very winding, as the crow flies it was only suppose to b a 4 mile walk but really it was about 6-8 miles, very deceiving.

All in all they survived, im happy and impressed because they had nothing but each others words and encouragement. Im sure they learned a lesson to carry maps/compass and some kind of firestarter for next time.

I thought the state police did a good job coordinating the rescue. The Porcupine State Park people are the best, and i was proud to be apart of there efforts.[/QUOTE]
 
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Deleted member 10829

Guest
ranlam,

Thanks for your efforts as part of the search and rescue team. Someone had posted that you should be out there as you know the area pretty well, and sure enough you were!

Cheers to ranlam!!
 
S

snobuilder

Well-known member
mspease said:
ranlam,

Thanks for your efforts as part of the search and rescue team. Someone had posted that you should be out there as you know the area pretty well, and sure enough you were!

Cheers to ranlam!!
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SKOL Ramlam!
Thanks for the inside story beyond the emotoin the TV focused on.
Thanks to this site for great tips on what to carry.
I got a beer can torch burnin in the litterbox warmin my feet right now....LOL...screw the propane nazis!
 
8

800etec

Guest
Thank you Ranlam and everyone else for your efforts and willingness to help,this ended very good.
 
L

larboc

New member
ranlam said:
I will never forget that beer can fire either, lol.

I was apart of the search and rescue team, snowshoeing down the river with a porcupine mtn. state park employee (dnr) for six hours straight following there tracks. Im very impressed with the technology the Air Force used to triangulate there approx. whereabouts, which allowed us to get on there tracks right away in the morning. I was with the group that also tried that night on sleds but it was just to nasty and this river is very technical, the water is not deep enough to freeze with the 4 feet of snow on it, very narrow with steep valley walls, and fallen trees. The river is also very winding, as the crow flies it was only suppose to b a 4 mile walk but really it was about 6-8 miles, very deceiving.

All in all they survived, im happy and impressed because they had nothing but each others words and encouragement. Im sure they learned a lesson to carry maps/compass and some kind of firestarter for next time.

I thought the state police did a good job coordinating the rescue. The Porcupine State Park people are the best, and i was proud to be apart of there efforts.
Click to expand...

Nice!

How/did they get the sleds out yet?
 
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