Riding off-trail, sled broke, how to get out???

[pos1]

My buddies and I were riding last weekend quite a ways off-trail. Not bushwhacking, but mainly logging roads, etc. We made first tracks all day, so there was no packed trail. The snow was actually pretty deep.

On Sunday one of the sleds broke down...but fortunately on a trail just blocks from a road crossing and only 6 miles from our starting point. So, we just double-backed, grabbed a trailer and all was good.

But, it did bring up a discussion about how we would have gotten out the day before when we were miles from a groomed trail. There is zero chance we could have towed a sled out, especially in that warm weather. Too deep and too many hills.

So, in an attempt to be prepared if it ever truly happens, anybody have any advice or real-life stories about how an out-of-towner gets a sled out of the woods that won't run? Would a groomer come and tow if they were paid? Or any other type of emergency service available? For discussions sake let's say it's 5 miles to the closest trail.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[groomerdriver]

In Alaska you pay a helicopter to come and get your sled out. It's true that "Yamaha's can fly"......he witnessed it.

 

[WisDoo]

Toe it out! We have done it many times in the Mountains and the terrain is less forgiving guaranteed! The do make a roll up like sled that straps onto the track so you have almost no friction for the tow out, also we have had to pull with 3 or more sleds at times to get up hills etc.

 

[ezra]

3g for a chopper ride .I have seen only 1 on the hook fly over but it gets done .
I have a bud in UP that has a old steel early 50s truck hood works well to tow out a busted sled when real deep.
I have also helped replace a jug and piston in the woods

 

[srt20]

Two years ago Cooke City MT, plenty of fresh deep powder.

We were around the back side of Sheep Mt, pretty close to the edge of the Wilderness boundary. Guess what, my sled seized up. Terrible spot to be, had to go up steep inclines with deep snow to get out. We decided it would be easiest to replace the bad piston on the mtn.

The next day opened it up and nothing was wrong with either piston. Great, bottom end. Well now we gotta figure out how to get back to town.
Tried the rolled up plastic sled thing, just didn't work to much snow and steep inclines. We had myself and 2 other guys, so one guy was just riding back and forth packing down a path, but we still couldn't get it up the first hill with the sled.

So, what me ended up doing was borrow a big plastic sled from a guy in Cooke and stripping as much weight off the snowmobile as we could. The exhaust was already off, so we siphoned gas out, took out rear skid, removed track and driveshaft, etc. We then turned skis around so they were on the spindles backwards. Then set the rear bumper of my snowmobile on the rear bumper of my rental snowmobile and tied the bumpers tight together.

I towed my snowmobile out backwards, my one bud towed the big plastic sled with all my parts in it, and the other guy towed out my rear skid behind his sled. It worked extremely well, in fact the guy towing the plastic sled had a harder time than I did towing my snowmobile backwards.

We did this over the course of a few days. We would work on it for an hour or two in morning and then go ride the rest of the day.

 

[whitedust]

No easy way I know of other than tow out by buds and get yourself out. There is a sheet like tow device but never used it. Breakdown in the outback a risk you take for pow pow.

 

[G]

Back in the day we used to travel extremely heavy. We all ran the same sleds - Pols. We would go for ten days and bring spare everything along. Complete motors, tracks, chaincases, skidframes - you name it. We also would bring a shop pickup with compressed air and a generator and a knipco and a little tent. This set-up came in handy quite a few times. The theory was that we were going on vacation and by God we were not going to be held up because of some little Japanese piston. I still hate Fuji motors.

 

[sjb]

Great thread. I have wondered the same thing. A few places we are at the hills are so steep we barely make it up with a bare sled, much less trying to pull a disabled sled and person with.

 

[thebreeze]

Sometimes you just have to battle it out. We have pulled down sleds out of plenty of deep valleys over the years. I now have a block and tackle, along with hundreds of feet of rope that I keep in my truck. Beyond that, we have literally pulled sleds foot by foot by hand for hours to get them out to a tow-able location. Just part of what you should be ready to deal with if you are riding in areas without poor access. In the U.P. you have two two options, Fix it, or pull it. You would be amazed what you can make happen with 3 guys, time and patience. A good block and tackle, with hundreds of feet of rope, and you are virtually unstoppable.

 

[Tracker]

My buddies and I were riding last weekend quite a ways off-trail. Not bushwhacking, but mainly logging roads, etc. We made first tracks all day, so there was no packed trail. The snow was actually pretty deep.

On Sunday one of the sleds broke down...but fortunately on a trail just blocks from a road crossing and only 6 miles from our starting point. So, we just double-backed, grabbed a trailer and all was good.

But, it did bring up a discussion about how we would have gotten out the day before when we were miles from a groomed trail. There is zero chance we could have towed a sled out, especially in that warm weather. Too deep and too many hills.

So, in an attempt to be prepared if it ever truly happens, anybody have any advice or real-life stories about how an out-of-towner gets a sled out of the woods that won't run? Would a groomer come and tow if they were paid? Or any other type of emergency service available? For discussions sake let's say it's 5 miles to the closest trail.

Any advice would be appreciated.

when we need to extract a sled from boonies I usually use a child's toboggan like one of those orange ones or those roll up flat long sleds. tie it to undercarriage to stay put. I have also used logs in an Indian leantoo fashion but a kids sled really slides good.we have also just pulled it close to a road and then bury it with snow to return later with trailer. I have used both towing methods. one ski tied to one side, and two skis behind on either side. I prefer the 2 skis tied for speed and stability and when a lot of people are present. the one ski out west method I rarely use. roughly 25 miles are my two longest tows

 

[fredster]

There is a 99% chance the groomer will NOT pull you out as the insurance does not allow for it. My club hauled a disabled sled to an intersection once on the back of our drag and we were told very clearly to never do that again.... Same goes for stucks (sled, car, truck whatever) we cannot use the groomer as an extraction vehicle. It sucks, but that's the way it is.

 

[Tracker]

haha that reminds me BREEZY up by fish creek road when we went off into a ravine we Egyptian block and tackled her up to trail from 40 feet below. about 5 or 6 guys each side. one, two, three, heave. 3 inches at a time

 

[pos1]

Awesome discussion. thanks for the feedback. I like the sled idea. Going to make sure I start throwing the kids sled in the truck on future trips. Block and tackle also a great idea. in general, no easy answer. But I'll take the risk any day vs. groomed trails.

 

[srt20]

I've never had to get a machine out of a ravine yet. But if and when I do, the first method I'm going to look at it using a running sled as a winch.
Tie rope to broken down sled. Tie other end of rope around running sled track at top of ravine. Running sled is also anchored to a tree. Give running sled a little throttle and rotate the track while rope wraps around the track like a winch. Pulls dead sled up ravine.

Beats the heck outta pulling 3" at a time by hand.

 

[mezz]

I've never had to get a machine out of a ravine yet. But if and when I do, the first method I'm going to look at it using a running sled as a winch.
Tie rope to broken down sled. Tie other end of rope around running sled track at top of ravine. Running sled is also anchored to a tree. Give running sled a little throttle and rotate the track while rope wraps around the track like a winch. Pulls dead sled up ravine.

Beats the heck outta pulling 3" at a time by hand.

I would like to see that happen.......-Mezz

 

[G]

I would like to see that happen.......-Mezz

The probability of disaster is high.

 

[sjb]

I've never had to get a machine out of a ravine yet. But if and when I do, the first method I'm going to look at it using a running sled as a winch.
Tie rope to broken down sled. Tie other end of rope around running sled track at top of ravine. Running sled is also anchored to a tree. Give running sled a little throttle and rotate the track while rope wraps around the track like a winch. Pulls dead sled up ravine.

Beats the heck outta pulling 3" at a time by hand.

I would be careful of this. Buddy tied his atv to a tree and winched out another very stuck atv. Twisted the frame on the pulling atv. And I would think the atv's frame is stronger than a snowmobile frame. But I like your thinking!

 

[towtruck]

Two years ago Cooke City MT, plenty of fresh deep powder.

We were around the back side of Sheep Mt, pretty close to the edge of the Wilderness boundary. Guess what, my sled seized up. Terrible spot to be, had to go up steep inclines with deep snow to get out. We decided it would be easiest to replace the bad piston on the mtn.

The next day opened it up and nothing was wrong with either piston. Great, bottom end. Well now we gotta figure out how to get back to town.
Tried the rolled up plastic sled thing, just didn't work to much snow and steep inclines. We had myself and 2 other guys, so one guy was just riding back and forth packing down a path, but we still couldn't get it up the first hill with the sled.

So, what me ended up doing was borrow a big plastic sled from a guy in Cooke and stripping as much weight off the snowmobile as we could. The exhaust was already off, so we siphoned gas out, took out rear skid, removed track and driveshaft, etc. We then turned skis around so they were on the spindles backwards. Then set the rear bumper of my snowmobile on the rear bumper of my rental snowmobile and tied the bumpers tight together.

I towed my snowmobile out backwards, my one bud towed the big plastic sled with all my parts in it, and the other guy towed out my rear skid behind his sled. It worked extremely well, in fact the guy towing the plastic sled had a harder time than I did towing my snowmobile backwards.

We did this over the course of a few days. We would work on it for an hour or two in morning and then go ride the rest of the day.

that's a great story- I'v heard of guys marking location and leaving the sled till summer when they felt they had no other options

 

[robmountainking]

We have a old alum boat with the seats removed, we have tossed a sled in there more than once and pulled them out. Works great on rivers that have questionable spots, you can skip small open areas of water maybe longer just have not tried.

 

[durphee]

I have heard of people using a winch and achoring the winch to a tree instead of using the sled. We ATV a lot and thats the method that has worked if the ATV is really, really stuck. Although when on the sled they don't carry it with them they have to go back for it and only need it when its a large hill or other obstacle.