Mountain must haves?
- Thread starter polcat
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Scotty
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You got to be kidding... "getting home safe and sound" maybe, but on the end of a rope :d:d:d
WOW....To a new rider all the stuff these guys are talking about sounds like a massive amount to pack. Dont be alarmed though...go to a buddies place and look first. With a back pack and sled bag it does actually all fit and you dont need a trailer!!LOL Good Luck!
senorjeem
Active VIP Member
Take some Bum Buffer....or else you'll be wipin yur butt with a cotton poly blend. Helps for fires as well. On a more serious note, if you are new to this, don't underestimate the need for quality gear. A great number of us are wearing Klim gear for a reason. If you get all sweated up wearing lesser quality gear, and then do have to spend the night, you will be battleing hypothermia, as soon as you stop moving. Can't stress the need for gear that breaths, and is tough. Klim seems to have this sewn up. If you can't, or won't pay for that kind of gear, do yourself a favor, and pack a small drybag with a small amount of dry undergarments. Oh, and HAVE FUN!!
senorjeem
Active VIP Member
Seen it mentioned in here a couple of times in a joking kind of way, but a 10 or 12 foot long 1" wide towrope will not only pull out a (insert whichever brand you like to slag) but will help in making a shelter.
W
woodies
Guest
raid the wifes tampon supply!DIP in gas tank, great fire starters.also nose bleeds hehe!just hide from your buddies lol
Summiteer
Active VIP Member
I read somewhere of a guy that just got a couple of small pieces of aluminium and sandwiched a thumbwarmer element between them, wired to plug and there you go, heated handlebar bag.
Shredder
Active VIP Member
I also carry an LED headlamp in my backpack. Comes in real handy when you're trying to do something in the dark that requires both hands.
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Thanks eveyrone ,alot of good ideas there, I'll go out today and pick up some of this stuff.Hoping to be able to go to Mcbride or Valemont 2nd weekend of december anyone headed that way on that weekend?
WOW....To a new rider all the stuff these guys are talking about sounds like a massive amount to pack. Dont be alarmed though...go to a buddies place and look first. With a back pack and sled bag it does actually all fit and you dont need a trailer!!LOL Good Luck!
Better too safe then sorry! I've been stuck places I don't care to be and my packing has got me out. Last was on a hike middle of winter. It was -20 when we started and little snow on the ground. It was to some caves in the winter. Once in the caves we slightly lost track of time and outside weather. Once outside the caves we found it was dark, probably -25 of colder and 6-8 inchces of snow has fallen. We were 12 kms from the trucks and about 1km of 30+ degree inclines.
I've never been tested so much for physical exhaustion. We made it back simply because we had food for energy, and enough gear to keep us warm at -25-30 with a strong wind and heavy snow. More than a few times I thought I couldn't do it but kept moving my legs. To think, this was only 12 km's, not 150 km's.
For this reason, and many others I carry a heavy bag with survival gear and warm clothes. If it pays off once it was worth it for the full year. If I have to plan a multiple day hike out in -30 I could probably do it.
Unfortunatly I spent I night out last winter. Fortunatly search and resuce & Kelowna Snowmobile club members came to the rescue the next day and we were out with our machines by afternoon. Looking back we were well prepared for rookies, I can speak to what you need when you get stuck overnight, not necessarly how not to get there in the first place! Must haves include: 2-3 different ways to make a fire, shovel, leatherman, a flare gun, saw,flashlight, hand warmers, space blankets, an extra hat (trust me you dont want to wear your helmet for 16 hours to stay warm). I would throw in a couple candy bars & dry soup mix and a a pot or can.(we would have liked to warm up from the inside too) . It might sound like a lot of stuff, but its not. The fire was so important to stay warm but also for our spirts, to have light and warmth important for our mental health for the night. I would not have wanted to just sit in the dark and cold all night. We were comfortable and able to ride out with our resuce team the next day. I will be reading the thread to make sure I dont have to use all this stuff the next time in the first place. I could go on znd on, but will stop at this.
ZRrrr
Active VIP Member
Probably would have been smarter to overnight in the cave. Neat story though. Glad you made it to tell us.
Well, you think it's "only" 5 or so and dark out. So the temp can't get much cooler right? Then, after about 1hr into the hike we were down the tough part so returning to the caves wasn't necessarily an option. We were mostly sliding down and not "hiking", so going up would have been dangerous for sure.
We should or could have re-evaluated the situation, but in a warmer cave and only 12 km's it doesn't sound like much till you actually start trenching through 10-12 " of fresh snow and steep inclines. Once commited there was no turning around. We kept pushing eachother to keep going. One would get ahead and so the person following would have to keep up. Sucked when your legs were burning, weak, and wanting to collapse, but it worked!
Let me tell you, the feeling of finally seeing the trucks through the heavy snowfall was great!
ZRrrr
Active VIP Member
Awesome story! Have a couple similar myself. Funny how the mind always wants to go forward. Hey, sometimes pushing yourself like that is how you learn limits. Glad it all worked out!!
I use to work in a forestry reserve SW of Calgary years ago checking cows. Anyways one October day was out riding and after I had checked a bunch of cows in this one Block is was time to head back to cow camp. Well a really thick fog set in I could no longer see my land marks to get my bearings, I was lost!!. I try the old let the horse just walk but on this day it was a new horse to the mountains, and has a real issue with river crossing. I let the horse wander around for almost 2 hours and the bugger brought me back to where I started from.
At this point all I had with me was a knife, Nutri-Grain bar,my ropes, and a half bottle of pepsi. Needless to say was not prepared to spend the night...but at this point had no chioce. Pulled the saddle of the horse, hobbled him, made up a long line. I had nothing to start a fire, my saddle blanket was soaked with sweat, but the pad was fine. So I slept the night with the pad covering only my torso.
The next morning it cleared around 9-10am I headed back to Cow camp just as the other's were catching there horses to saddle them. I remember the one guy saying wow your up and at it early...lol.
That was a lesson for me, now weather out riding horse, hunting, hiking, or sledding I always take a few things that makes the odds better for staying out in the back country and surviving!!
Take from this what you will but never underestimate the mountains, the weather changes so fast, it could bite you in the A$$.
At this point all I had with me was a knife, Nutri-Grain bar,my ropes, and a half bottle of pepsi. Needless to say was not prepared to spend the night...but at this point had no chioce. Pulled the saddle of the horse, hobbled him, made up a long line. I had nothing to start a fire, my saddle blanket was soaked with sweat, but the pad was fine. So I slept the night with the pad covering only my torso.
The next morning it cleared around 9-10am I headed back to Cow camp just as the other's were catching there horses to saddle them. I remember the one guy saying wow your up and at it early...lol.
That was a lesson for me, now weather out riding horse, hunting, hiking, or sledding I always take a few things that makes the odds better for staying out in the back country and surviving!!
Take from this what you will but never underestimate the mountains, the weather changes so fast, it could bite you in the A$$.
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