Yellowstone/Togwotee/Wyoming Range
- Thread starter marty700
- Start date
polarisrider1
New member
You can rent everything you need. I have aquired my gear a pc. at a time. We actually had Tog. Mechanics replace a torn track on a sled last night while we ate dinner.
It was relatively easy to adjust to the longer track for trail riding - you just have to go a lot slower. At 60 mph, I thought I was going to lose it. The long track really shimmys. It took more effort to learn how to handle the sled in deep snow or on steep grades. You get the hang of it and a good guide can help you a lot. Some things seem counter-intuitive and take practice, like side-hilling. It was a lot of fun and the ability to float through powder at the "top of the world" was spectacular.
We brought our own gear - which I would highly suggest. Your trail riding gear might be a little heavy, but you can strap a backpack to your sled with bungy cords to store any layers you take off during the day. You will defintely be working harder (and sweating more) than you're used to. The rental clothing is lame and their helmets are next to useless (we saw several groups "suiting up" at the rental shop).
As for beacons, at the risk of taking hits from every boondocker on this site, there are two schools of thought. Each one is valid. On the one hand, if you're going to use an avalanche beacon, you really need proper training in avalanche response. I'm not talking about some lame one or two hour session. Everyone who uses a beacon becomes a first responder. On the other hand, if you follow a guide who is committed to avoiding areas where there is a significant risk of avalanche, you won't need a beacon. Our guide was one of the most highly regarded backcountry guides operating out of Jackson. Everyone knew him. Watching him ride was as much fun as riding ourselves. His philosophy was simple. He'll study the terrain and the conditions, the looks of the cornices, the "feel" of the snow setting up, the exposure of the "faces", etc... and he'll keep us out of danger. Lets face it, the guide has your life in his hands in numerous ways - including the way he deals with avy risks. On several ascents into some fresh-looking bowls, our guide turned us around and headed back down, explaining that the avy risk was too high. You can certainly rent beacons, they don't cost a lot. But I thinks its a bad deal to have one on your body without knowing (really knowing) how to respond to others who are trapped in an avalanche. [Let the bashing begin .. I won't respond.]
Yes, the 49er was an inexpensive motel. However, it was very nice. I wouldn't call it a cheap motel. Just compared to the resorts out there, it was inexpensive. I wish I knew the nightly rate, but I never found that out as the rate was included in the tour price.
Awesome. Hope you tipped him!
marty700-
I am not going to bash you, but I can not sit idle and let such poor advice be in this thread.
First off, an avalanche beacon should be REQUIRED gear for traveling in avalanche country. ANY avalanche expert will tell you that. Putting your entire safety in a guide who may or may not really know that much about avalanches is just not wise. Just because someone rides in avalanche country every day does not make them an expert in avalanches. Plus any real expert in avalanches will tell you that there is no real expert in them. Plenty of avalanche forecasters have themselves been caught in an avalanche.
Plus there were several persons caught in avalanches this year who were traveling with a guide, including at least one fatality (not necessarily a Togwotee Guide). There is proof right away that you should never put your life entirely in one safety measure, especially if it totally involves human interpretation of something.
I also think you have the wrong idea about how the new beacons work. They do not take hours and hours of training to understand how to use. Most simply work by giving you a stronger signal the closer you get to the buried beacon. Old ones were more complicated, but still were of much more use than nothing at all.
It would just make me sick to my stomach to think that someone would read your comments and decide to forgo a beacon and then get trapped. Once you are trapped, no one is going to find you in time without you wearing a beacon.
-John
I am not going to bash you, but I can not sit idle and let such poor advice be in this thread.
First off, an avalanche beacon should be REQUIRED gear for traveling in avalanche country. ANY avalanche expert will tell you that. Putting your entire safety in a guide who may or may not really know that much about avalanches is just not wise. Just because someone rides in avalanche country every day does not make them an expert in avalanches. Plus any real expert in avalanches will tell you that there is no real expert in them. Plenty of avalanche forecasters have themselves been caught in an avalanche.
Plus there were several persons caught in avalanches this year who were traveling with a guide, including at least one fatality (not necessarily a Togwotee Guide). There is proof right away that you should never put your life entirely in one safety measure, especially if it totally involves human interpretation of something.
I also think you have the wrong idea about how the new beacons work. They do not take hours and hours of training to understand how to use. Most simply work by giving you a stronger signal the closer you get to the buried beacon. Old ones were more complicated, but still were of much more use than nothing at all.
It would just make me sick to my stomach to think that someone would read your comments and decide to forgo a beacon and then get trapped. Once you are trapped, no one is going to find you in time without you wearing a beacon.
-John
I knew I shouldn't have said anything about the beacons.
You misunderstood me. I'm not saying don't use a beacon. I'm saying don't use a beacon unless you know how to respond to an avalanche. Operating the transponder is easy - responding to an avalanche requires training.
I know "experts" are killed on occasion - a ski-patroller was killed at Jackson Hole this year. He was in-bounds and had just dropped nine charges on a cornice. Also, look at what happened at Revelstoke. Hundreds of people were involved in an avalanche, but over a thousand heeded the warnings and stayed home. I'm sure avalanche beacons saved many lives there - because there were people there who knew how to respond. I'm also sure more people were saved because they heeded the warnings and stayed home.
What would make me sick would be for people who are inexperienced in the backcountry going out there and renting a beacon thinking that they are somehow now safe, without any knowledge about what to do in the event of an avalanche. And I don't mean just using the transponder. I think its better if they hire an experienced guide and avoid ANY area with a significant risk, following the warnings and advice. If they want to rent or buy the beacon, they should really invest in the backcountry training as well. I'm sure my views are in the minority.
You misunderstood me. I'm not saying don't use a beacon. I'm saying don't use a beacon unless you know how to respond to an avalanche. Operating the transponder is easy - responding to an avalanche requires training.
I know "experts" are killed on occasion - a ski-patroller was killed at Jackson Hole this year. He was in-bounds and had just dropped nine charges on a cornice. Also, look at what happened at Revelstoke. Hundreds of people were involved in an avalanche, but over a thousand heeded the warnings and stayed home. I'm sure avalanche beacons saved many lives there - because there were people there who knew how to respond. I'm also sure more people were saved because they heeded the warnings and stayed home.
What would make me sick would be for people who are inexperienced in the backcountry going out there and renting a beacon thinking that they are somehow now safe, without any knowledge about what to do in the event of an avalanche. And I don't mean just using the transponder. I think its better if they hire an experienced guide and avoid ANY area with a significant risk, following the warnings and advice. If they want to rent or buy the beacon, they should really invest in the backcountry training as well. I'm sure my views are in the minority.