I know this is a little late but I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it.

Last Tuesday (1/29) we were riding the powerlines within the refuge and came upon a sled (Ski Doo MZX 800ho) upside down in the ditch along the trail. No one was around and it did not look like the site of a serious rescue. We then rode up to Norton for lunch and on the way back we passed the Jay Mt rescue utility vehicle headed south on the powelines. anyone know what happened??


The sled was on the opposite side of the trail on a corner in the ditch.

Not sure if we are talking about the same accident but last week there was a pretty bad crash somewhere in the same area.A guy riding on a REV drove about 60ft off the trail and hit a birch tree.The guy had a bloody nose and a serious head contusion.From what I heard it was on a long stretch of trail so why or how this happened is anybody's guess.Not sure what's going on up there but god damn there seems to be a lot of people wadding up sleds.Do we need safe walls like they use in Nascar?I'm convinced that less than 40% of the riders operating sleds have the skill level required to ride.I think the big issue is,Johnny has to keep up with Jimbob and if he can't he's looked upon as a p#$%y.So Johnny rides way over his head and you have the unfortunate results.

I agree with all of the above. Its up to the lead man to control the speed of the pack if there
are riders with less skill than others. You put Johnny up front, and he runs as hard as he can,
poor Jimbob will end up in a ditch every time. ANd if Jimbob was making a trail of snowdust,
chances are Skeeter will follow him right into the same ditch.

Scary. I see riders every weekend riding way out of their means.

Stay right, and be alert. Thats the best you can doo.

I don't often agree with you Snojockey, but here you are right on the money. I think there are too many of these guys on the trail. IE guys that travel too fast, try to show off for their buddies, or ride on sleds with too much power. I took my life into my own hands this weekend by riding Woodford and was followed by two groups on two different ocassions that came right up on my A$$ (I was going about 25-35 on a tight trail, branches were down, icy corners, etc.) and these guys passed me when I gave them the pass signal, and then tore off down the middle of the trail at well over 40. Oviously I followed them and the track were ALWAYS down the middle, corner or not.

I was at the Derby Line Amblance building on Sat. and they said there was a bad wreck in Norton last week. There was also one in Troy, but I dont know the details of it. I now Missisquoi and Newport responded to it.

My buddy called me up and told me about the one over by Troy and said is was bad i think 2 kids on a 2-up and some guy on a rev. He said the rev was totally destroyed and and a couple of them had bad leg breaks one had the bone showing through his skin he said. He said he had to get out of there or he was gonna throw up. The ambulance had just shown up.

Ya I heard severly broken legs. The DART helicopter had to be called in as well.

yup I ride with the guys I ride with because we all ride at an equal level and if theres newbies in the group we ride down to that level. I don't need to get somewhere at 70-80 miles an hour on narrow windy trails. I've got a wife and 2 kids at home so I'll happily do my 2-3000 miles at an average of 30-40 mph.

I am glad to hear that people here on HCS are not the "yahoos" that we speak of. I agree that people ride way beyond their limits and they don't seem to care that there are families out there trying to have fun. This is my 12 year old sons first year at riding his own sled and so far so good, no close calls. "knock on wood".

right there with ya legend700. Kids are more important to me than getting to my destination 1 minute faster by driving like a crazy man

I can't even count how many times a group of sleds is coming my way and the guy on the first sled gets all squirmly like he's suprised to see me coming the other way. He has his track locked up and the sled is fish-tailing like a mofo.

Sometimes you can tell the lead guy even wants to signal how many are in his group but he doesn't take his hand off because he's totally out of control as it is!!

I mainly ride with my 65 year old father so we usually don't get too crazy.But within the last year I have rode with another group of guys and these guys are blistering fast on the trails.There is a running joke between these guys that they have never been passed on any trail whether it's VT or Quebec.I can say from my personal experience they are 95% correct.by the end of the weekend ride with them I realized it's more of a pride thing.Im pretty sure there risks taken,close calls,destroyed sleds from fellas trying to keep up.I like to call it tunnelvision trail riding:riding corner to corner like you are the only ones on the trail and looking no further than your ski tips.In my case you just need to know "when to say when" and hang back let them go.My life,a strangers life,and more materialistic things like a job,mortage payments,car payments are more important than keeping up.By no means do I condone the behavior but it goes on all too often.

I'd have to say 9 times out of 10 its a group of Ski Doo guys that are the ones OUT OF CONTROL..... THE TRAILS ARE NOT A SNOW CROSS TRACK... There are kids, wifes, girlfriends, and friends out there on the trails.... SLOW THE F#*K DOWN BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEONE.... I have never had so many close calls like I have had this season... And I have been riding for 25 years......

STOP...Take a step back.Your profiling and generalizations of a certain segment of rider is way off base and lacks ALL credibility.Your whole agrument is based entirely on brand bias.They come in all shapes,sizes&colors.

Super Bowl sunday was the first ride that didn't happen to me. No surprizes. Fantastic riding and trail conditions.

A couple of weeks ago 2 riders came up on me going pretty fast. The first one had to keep his hands on the bars to stay in control, which is fine. But the second rider (holy shit) totally on my side of the trail trying to keep up. With a quick twitch of the bars he was back on his side of the trail. I was kinda pissed. About an hour later I passed them taking a break. I looked at them and shook my head and think they knew what I was saying.

I'd rather have someone keep there hands on the bars and stay in control, rather than try and give me a hand signal and head right for me, thats happened a few times.

"Your right they do come in all shapes and sizes". But in MY own experiences out on the trails 9 out of 10 times if sleds are riding out of control on my side of the trail, its been Ski Doo's.... NO brand bias.... I have also had Polaris and Yamaha's... Most of my buddy's say the same thing, and some ride Ski Doo's...

This may be because Ski-Doo is the number one selling brand.

This has been talked about before and I agree it does seem like the revs are on the wrong side of the trail more often. Is it cause there's more of them on the trail? or is it they feel there in more control and with a quick move be back on there side? No matter which way you look at it doesn't make it right.

This has been talked about before and I agree it does seem like the revs are on the wrong side of the trail more often. Is it cause there's more of them on the trail? or is it they feel there in more control and with a quick move be back on there side? No matter which way you look at it doesn't make it right.

OPPS SORRY DOUBLE POSTED....

The sled in the ditch was a ski doo 800 HO, my thoughts was the guy was going way to fast for the turn and dumped in in the ditch on the opposite side of the trail.

IMHO BMW going way to fast for the conditions, i hope the guy did not get hurt but i hope he wrecked his sled and learned to slow the Fu@k down.
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As fo the Ski Doo comments i know revs are very popular, but there are a ton of throttle jockey snowX wannibes out there on ski doos!!!

You know the type, Ski Doo gear from head to toe (maybe even their underwear) riding in a group of brand new ski doos. its a ski doo sauage party where all of the guys have something to prove......and that is bad news for anyone else on the trails.

that's just funny shit right there

Ditto on that ....and I ride a Ski doo

We ride fast where the conditions allow, but never out of control in the twisties. I actually have had less close calls with the junior Blair Morgans this year than the previous years, and I have way more miles to date than any other year.
When we had our ZR9s, we used to joke about it always being a Rev that was coming at us out of control, and I think it was because the early ones didn't handle well. Seemed like that anyway, I'm sure I'll get flamed for that, but even when there was less ski doos on the trail and more cats, it was the guys on the revs that scared me.
We ride at night more than ever now though. You can see the sleds coming and prepare. Actually, we can ride all night and only see a few sleds in a 150 miles. We'll ride til 2 am some nights. The only problem is the moose in the trail at night are harder to see until you're in top of them.

On a more serious note:

There was a bad accident in Troy yesterday. Looks like it was a head on the pipeline on the infamous blind hill. Father and son, both broken legs hit another rider and they were airlifted by DART to DHMC. It sucks to hear this stuff happen, please stay right everyone.

I've never actually been on the pipeline, but when I'm in the power lines and blind hills seem to be everywhere, I'm not only as far right as I can go, but I slow to about half my speed and stand up. The only way you would be left on a blind hill is if you are out of control! SLOW DOWN!

I hear them called wrong side revs

I have to agree. 95% of the sleds that come at me on the wrong side of the trail are REVs. and it ALWAYS seems that they have something to prove either on the trail, trailering down the highway OR in the bar at the end of the day. I guess I'll never ride a Doo as I can't imagine myself having their type of mentality.

STAY RIGHT and SLOW THE F@CK DOWN!

Moose are real, my buddy hit one Sunday aft in Groton, the moose came out between two sleds right in front of him, knocked the moose down, the guy got knocked off the sled, which proceeded into a tree, wrecked. He and the moose walked away but its a lesson in "unforeseen obstacles"

not for nothing, there has been way less idiots this year, and thats good, but most of the ones we have come across this year are wearing orange or green...not saying we didnt see ski doo riders outta control, but this year the O+G colored sleds seem to be taking the lead in stupid so far.

I am not brand loyal or biased. I do not agree that its 90% skidoos. So far this winter close call with an older guy on an Apex on the wrong side of the trail, a couple of out of control riders on new Arctic Cat crossfires, and Yes, a group of new skidoo revs riding out of control in corners, and finally, while stopped at one point saw to guys racing each other side by side through the trees on new polaris machines. Come on, when will people just learn in general to stop this, at the least you are going to hurt yourself, but someone else behaving on the trails and injuring them is another story, or a family with kids out, etc...JUST SLOW IT DOWN. respect others, respect the property, stop giving the sport a bad name. JUST SLOW DOWN

Did a nice loop Sun with a friend that is pretty new to the sport. The only sled I had on my side was up between Norton and IP. Bright green older AC trying to keep up with newer sleds. The bright green was my saving grace, it was a tight trail in the woods with moderate snow. Saw him coming and went up on the bank, only about 2 inches to spare. Luckily I was riding in front, my friend is a new rider that weighs about 100lbs and would have had a hard time pulling up onto the inside bank of a corner without rolling. Thinking about tucking a billyclub into my left boot to educate these idiots when they come onto my side.

i ride a yamaha and i run tons of people off the trail. the guys on revs are quickest at getting out of my way. everbody telling people to slow down. aparently none of the yahoos that ride on the wrong side of the trail are on HCS, every single person on here claims to safe and curdius riders who are always on the correct side of the trail. such total bs. I can understand someone who is riding fast needing a little extra room, what i cant stand is someone going 15 miles an hour with no f%#@n clue that other sleds are coming from behind,they ride right down the middle of the trail, and are totally shocked when they meet another sled.
I go out in the groomer a lot when we have snow in chittenden county, the edges of the trail are never ridden, feild, woods, whatever, doesn't matter always one sled wide right down the middle. ask any groomer operater they will tell you the same thing. so all you preachers who ride nice and slow on your own side can shut the hell up, you are all full of shit.

It's all good as long as your COURTEOUS when operating the groomer.Last thing we need is a dude "all fired up"and running people off the trail in a Piston Bully....lol

Glad to hear you're so proud of running tons of people off the trail. Chittenden county must be proud.

let me get this straight...you are proud of the fact that you run other sleds off the trail? I agree that people need to become more aware of those sleds behind them, but for safety's sake, I'd rather come up on someone doing 15 and then pass safely than to have a person flying out of control trying to keep up. Slow people don't bother me because they won't kill me; the yahoos, and I guess you would throw yourself into this elite group of morons, will.

you mised my point

i was trying to make few points. You guys are so up tight you cant pick up on sarcasim.

1) the fact that any one would say that 90% of the out of control riders are on ski-doos is such bs. maybe in quebec where 90% of the sleds are ski-doos.

2)everybody is guilty of riding on wrong side of the trail at some point or another.

3)most people don't go out with the intent ruining other peoples rides.

4)the people going fifteen miles an hour are in the middle of the trail, so wether or not you are going fast or slow you can still cause an acident on a blind corner. and it not just blind corners i can't tell you how many times i have met sleds coming down long hills with there brakes locked up sliding down the hill side ways scared as hell without clue of what to do. I would rather they let of the brake and coast by a little faster at least they might be able to stear.

5) every time some one gets passed or meets some one going fast they assume that the person is not in control, just because someone is riding faster than you does not mean they are out of control

A tire buddy sounds like agood idea. BETTER YET A SWITCH ARCOSS THE SHEILD will get there attion .