sweeperguy
Active member
This is a true story. I know one of the guys
So as you a lot you already know*Ben,*Mark*and I had quite a Sunday night. We want to share this story to hopefully help show the importance on having the the right gear for emergency* situations. FAIR WARNING ON LONG BUT GOOD STORY.
Sunday morning we started riding Primrose Trail head at about 11:00AM,*Ben*and I met up with the other three riders heading up there already (Mark,*Adam*and Morgan). After getting to the top of Primrose, it was stuck fest 6000 up there. The snow was incredibly DEEP and WET as a lot who were up there can vouch. Was a long day of getting stuck and helping others get unstuck and quite an awesome experience in itself see. Good to see riders all helping each other out on an epic day. During our ventures,*Mark*was in the hills and found an untouched bowl. As any of us would, entered the bowl to tear it up but soon realized that getting out was going to be chore. He couldn't get back out the direction he came and soon found himself off the hills on Lost lake, He reached Lost Lake by heading down one of the longer chutes (closer to highway side than mountain side) which was big enough to where he was not able to ride back up. Many attempts were made but were unsuccessful. Even the slightest incline could be a challenge with how the snow was. At about 6:30PM I believe, 4 of 5 were met up at the top of Primrose regrouping after the long day. We barely were in range to have brief contact with*Mark*who got to an area where he couldn't get out. We didn't have good enough connection to actually know where he was exactly, so we started asking some riders out there if they had seen him. No one knew exactly where he was either, so*Ben*and I decided to go out and attempt to find him or get a better signal to talk to him. After about 45 minutes the weather front started to come in fast and visibility was extremely minimal. We still had not located*Mark*but were in a range to talk through BCA radios. We evaluated where we were at and the weather coming in and we both accepted the fact that we will most likely be spending the night after we find*Mark. After a slow decent down to the lake due to visibility being so low and us being cautious to not drop off an edge,*Ben*then advised the other two still waiting at the top of Primrose (Adam*and Morgan) to head home as well as giving them our coordinates to where we were at that time. After speaking with*Mark*over radio, we both saw a small island from where*Ben*and I were and where*Mark*was still at on Lost Lake and decided to meet there. After making our way there the weather front was at its strongest and could barely see in front of us. We got to the top of the island and found a patch of trees on the steep face and decided to dig a snow cave right in front of the trees on the face to help block the wind. With the help of*Marks military training, we dug about 8 to 10 feet straight in to the face, we also laid the bottom of the cave with pine tree branches to help separate us* from the snow to help stay warm during the night. In about the hour and a half it took to get the cave dug out and prepared it was very dark and still windy and snowing. We all were completely soaked due to the snow conditions and had limited extra gear. We had water and snacks but personally did not want to drink water due to how cold and wet I was and knew how cold the water would be. We ate the couple snacks we had and knew the night night was just beginning. We all were cold crawling in and did not get better throughout the night even though we were very close and had a space blanket covering most of us.*Ben*and I couldn't stay in the cave too long due to our body temperature was low and we were struggling. We both exited the cave and went the the sled we parked close to run it to help get our bodies a little warmer. We would run them till about 160 degrees and cycle laying face up then face down on the tunnel which would get pretty hot. This was a constant cycle of watching sled temperature and changing positions all night to stay warm,*Mark*stayed in the cave all night after we left and covered him with the space blanket. We were up just about all night monitoring sleds and trying to stay warm and give props to*Ben*on regular check ups to see if I was still doing ok during the night. At one point*Ben*and I tried to start a fire (around 4:00AM possibly) using some spare gas to try and get some warmth due to being so miserably cold and wet, but TWO lighters failed to ignite. YES TWO. Pretty demoralizing moment but we had to suck it up and get back to cycling the sleds to get some warmth on the tunnels. (On top of this miserable night the storm bought approximately 6 to 8 more inches of snow that we endured throughout the night). We did this all night till there was just enough light outside to get up and get out. At about 8:00AM we decided there was enough to get up and get going. Just getting the strength to get up and back in the deep and now new fresh snow was a hard mental game. Everything hurt, we were all soaked and freezing, and had to go get a sled unstuck off the bat. (much regret on my 137" choice at this point) After getting up and getting the rest of our gear on, as we were leaving, we heard*Dave*on the BCA radio and I cannot explain the level of happiness and relief that was felt* across us three. We then immediately started the ride back up the chute and eventually ran into*Dave,*Adam, John and*Richard. They met us with some dry clothes, warm fluids, and support to get out. Getting back to the parking lot we ran into multiple people coming out to help us and could not have been more grateful. We got out of our wet gear and changed into all dry clothes and started to get warmed up. We want to say thanks to everyone involved no matter how much they helped and the support from the page and people who also wanted to help. Goes to show the support AK shredders provides and says a lot about our community here.
After this whole ordeal all I could think of is what we wish we had so we could have been more prepared for the worst as well as the lessons learned for future rides. I wish we had;
- Water/Windproof matches - Mini to-go camping stove to warm fluids - Emergency dry food meal for the warm fluids to go with - Better flashlights - More options on spare gear - Better gear in general - Garmin In-Reach
This story isn't just a story to tell and I hope it resonates with some to help prepare for the worst. I cannot explain how miserable and long that night was and never want it to happen again. We were lucky enough to all be experienced in what we needed to do and kept our minds during the entire ordeal. I appreciate the outcome and experience that it brought and hope it will help others in the future to be ready for the worst. I can tell you 100% I will be doing a lot of shopping for all the right and proven good gear to have from now on. STAY TOGETHER. STAY SAFE. BE PREPARED. SHRED* SOME MOUNTAINS.
So as you a lot you already know*Ben,*Mark*and I had quite a Sunday night. We want to share this story to hopefully help show the importance on having the the right gear for emergency* situations. FAIR WARNING ON LONG BUT GOOD STORY.
Sunday morning we started riding Primrose Trail head at about 11:00AM,*Ben*and I met up with the other three riders heading up there already (Mark,*Adam*and Morgan). After getting to the top of Primrose, it was stuck fest 6000 up there. The snow was incredibly DEEP and WET as a lot who were up there can vouch. Was a long day of getting stuck and helping others get unstuck and quite an awesome experience in itself see. Good to see riders all helping each other out on an epic day. During our ventures,*Mark*was in the hills and found an untouched bowl. As any of us would, entered the bowl to tear it up but soon realized that getting out was going to be chore. He couldn't get back out the direction he came and soon found himself off the hills on Lost lake, He reached Lost Lake by heading down one of the longer chutes (closer to highway side than mountain side) which was big enough to where he was not able to ride back up. Many attempts were made but were unsuccessful. Even the slightest incline could be a challenge with how the snow was. At about 6:30PM I believe, 4 of 5 were met up at the top of Primrose regrouping after the long day. We barely were in range to have brief contact with*Mark*who got to an area where he couldn't get out. We didn't have good enough connection to actually know where he was exactly, so we started asking some riders out there if they had seen him. No one knew exactly where he was either, so*Ben*and I decided to go out and attempt to find him or get a better signal to talk to him. After about 45 minutes the weather front started to come in fast and visibility was extremely minimal. We still had not located*Mark*but were in a range to talk through BCA radios. We evaluated where we were at and the weather coming in and we both accepted the fact that we will most likely be spending the night after we find*Mark. After a slow decent down to the lake due to visibility being so low and us being cautious to not drop off an edge,*Ben*then advised the other two still waiting at the top of Primrose (Adam*and Morgan) to head home as well as giving them our coordinates to where we were at that time. After speaking with*Mark*over radio, we both saw a small island from where*Ben*and I were and where*Mark*was still at on Lost Lake and decided to meet there. After making our way there the weather front was at its strongest and could barely see in front of us. We got to the top of the island and found a patch of trees on the steep face and decided to dig a snow cave right in front of the trees on the face to help block the wind. With the help of*Marks military training, we dug about 8 to 10 feet straight in to the face, we also laid the bottom of the cave with pine tree branches to help separate us* from the snow to help stay warm during the night. In about the hour and a half it took to get the cave dug out and prepared it was very dark and still windy and snowing. We all were completely soaked due to the snow conditions and had limited extra gear. We had water and snacks but personally did not want to drink water due to how cold and wet I was and knew how cold the water would be. We ate the couple snacks we had and knew the night night was just beginning. We all were cold crawling in and did not get better throughout the night even though we were very close and had a space blanket covering most of us.*Ben*and I couldn't stay in the cave too long due to our body temperature was low and we were struggling. We both exited the cave and went the the sled we parked close to run it to help get our bodies a little warmer. We would run them till about 160 degrees and cycle laying face up then face down on the tunnel which would get pretty hot. This was a constant cycle of watching sled temperature and changing positions all night to stay warm,*Mark*stayed in the cave all night after we left and covered him with the space blanket. We were up just about all night monitoring sleds and trying to stay warm and give props to*Ben*on regular check ups to see if I was still doing ok during the night. At one point*Ben*and I tried to start a fire (around 4:00AM possibly) using some spare gas to try and get some warmth due to being so miserably cold and wet, but TWO lighters failed to ignite. YES TWO. Pretty demoralizing moment but we had to suck it up and get back to cycling the sleds to get some warmth on the tunnels. (On top of this miserable night the storm bought approximately 6 to 8 more inches of snow that we endured throughout the night). We did this all night till there was just enough light outside to get up and get out. At about 8:00AM we decided there was enough to get up and get going. Just getting the strength to get up and back in the deep and now new fresh snow was a hard mental game. Everything hurt, we were all soaked and freezing, and had to go get a sled unstuck off the bat. (much regret on my 137" choice at this point) After getting up and getting the rest of our gear on, as we were leaving, we heard*Dave*on the BCA radio and I cannot explain the level of happiness and relief that was felt* across us three. We then immediately started the ride back up the chute and eventually ran into*Dave,*Adam, John and*Richard. They met us with some dry clothes, warm fluids, and support to get out. Getting back to the parking lot we ran into multiple people coming out to help us and could not have been more grateful. We got out of our wet gear and changed into all dry clothes and started to get warmed up. We want to say thanks to everyone involved no matter how much they helped and the support from the page and people who also wanted to help. Goes to show the support AK shredders provides and says a lot about our community here.
After this whole ordeal all I could think of is what we wish we had so we could have been more prepared for the worst as well as the lessons learned for future rides. I wish we had;
- Water/Windproof matches - Mini to-go camping stove to warm fluids - Emergency dry food meal for the warm fluids to go with - Better flashlights - More options on spare gear - Better gear in general - Garmin In-Reach
This story isn't just a story to tell and I hope it resonates with some to help prepare for the worst. I cannot explain how miserable and long that night was and never want it to happen again. We were lucky enough to all be experienced in what we needed to do and kept our minds during the entire ordeal. I appreciate the outcome and experience that it brought and hope it will help others in the future to be ready for the worst. I can tell you 100% I will be doing a lot of shopping for all the right and proven good gear to have from now on. STAY TOGETHER. STAY SAFE. BE PREPARED. SHRED* SOME MOUNTAINS.