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HCS Snowmobile Forums > Snowmobile Forums > Other Snowmobile Forums > Safety and Accident Reports

Walt

Mar 17 2005, 07:40 AM

QUOTE(Walt Ermansons @ Mar 11 2005, 10:44 PM)

I was actually up for the first time back in January for a week with my wife. Went to Munising and we had a great time. I was so impressed that I wanted to get back with my steady riding partner, my son in law. Well we got back up there this past Sunday and planned to saddle bag from St. Ignace all the way to Copper Harbor and then back. Planned on doing this over the next 5 days, Mon. thru Fri. Went for a little 70 mile spin Sunday afternoon after we arrived just around St. Ignace. Although Sunday was warm, the trails were great except for some wet spots on the rail road grade just leaving town. Monday morning we start our big trip. Overnight temps had dropped and trails were icy. Well about 140 miles into the trip just north of Seney I ran into some bad luck. Traveling at a pretty good clip and now snowing heavily, I hit a frozen hump with my right ski which thru the skies and handle bars hard left and rolled the sled. I went sailing and took a very hard tumble. I gathered myself together while the son in law did the "duct tape the sled back together" routine. We decided to press on. Got as far as Christmas, MI and decided to call it a day. 202 miles. By now I was starting to really hurt. By morning I was so stiff I couldn't hardly move. Everything hurt. I knew there was no way I could proceed. Decided to ride back to St. Ignace. Thank God most everything was groomed flat and had a nice cushion of fresh powder. Still that was the most painfull, long ride I've ever had. That and I was totally bummed out. Got back to the truck and decided to go stait home. Another agonizing 8 hour drive.
Here it is Friday and I am still very sore and stiff. Totally sucks. In almost 30 years of riding, this was the first time I ever hurt myself. Just goes to show you never know. Sled will need a new hood, windshield, tail light and kill switch. Again a bummer but just a material thing. All in all I was very lucky. Just the fact that it had to happen on this trip on the very first day really depresses me. Conditions right now ( except for that one clump, LOL ! ) really couldn't be any better. Get up there and enjoy but be carefull. You just never know.
Walt

Here is part of a thread I had up on the Michigan forum last week from my U.P. trip last week. Long story short, trails were 99.9% awesome. I had to find a frozen hard clump on the right side of the trail that I thought I would just cut across. Wrong. Threw the skis and handle bars hard left and threw me very hard off. Rolled the sled. It happend so fast and just surprised me so bad I just couldn't believe it. What a dumb, freak thing. Here it is a week and a half later and I can still hardly move. Makes you really think how lucky I was. People break necks just falling off a horse and such. I was probably doing about 40 mph. I think back about all the times (and we all do it ) I've flown down roads or trails balls to the wall. If that would have happened then...... I've relived this mishap a hundred times already. Sometimes shit just happens but you can bet that next season I will be even more defensive and thinking about the speed that I'm traveling at. You just never know when you might be coming off that thing.

Nick

Mar 17 2005, 08:41 AM

Walt,

I know what you mean. You just NEVER know when something like that could happen. I am glad you were not hurt too bad and I hope other read this an take a second to reflect.

Nick

Spaceman

Mar 19 2005, 09:03 AM

Hope your feeling better Walt. :div20:

thesweeper09

Mar 19 2005, 12:21 PM

yea.. its amazing how much can actually go wrong just ridin... hope your feeling better

Kevin

Mar 19 2005, 07:21 PM

Since misery loves company, I'll share my story... We were heading east from Gwinn to Chatam a month ago (5 of us). There were a few inches of fresh fallen lake effect snow and it was real cold. I knew the visibility was real bad so I told my son to hang back and take it easy. We continued on the straight grade at probably around 55 mph give or take. Somehow I got momentarily distracted and when I once again looked down the trail I saw the my son had locked his brakes up and put it into a skid. It all happened very quickly but I locked the brakes and in order to avoid hit him hard from behind I went around him to the right (obviously I didn't heed my own advice in staying far enough back). By now I realized why he locked the brakes -- it was a stop sign. Anyway, I hit the bank but it wasn't flat so I shot out into the road already tipping to the left. When I hit the road my sled rolled on to its left side and skidded a few feet. (I busted the hood, left side belly pan, and windshield). No more than 100 yards away and coming toward me was a guy driving a snow grader (plowing that road). If he had been 100 yards ahead or if I had been 15 seconds behind where I was I would have shot right out into him so I was real lucky. Anyway I felt fine until that night when my shoulder got real sore with sharp pains when I moved it in certain ways. Now, a month later, the pain and soreness still hasn't totally gone away.

Walt

Mar 19 2005, 08:48 PM

Thanks for the well wishes guys! I would like to tell you that I feel much better, but I don't. Been trying to prep the big boat for the season and it has been terrible. I still can hardly walk. Pain was to the point I broke down and went to the doctors yesterday. He put me on stong anti-inflamatory dope and mucsle relaxients. Man, this is really starting to get me down. Doc says it's just going to take lots of time. Something I don't have. Boat goes in next weekend and I have trips scheduled a couple of days after that. I keep telling myself

but it ain't workin.

ZLZEBUB

Mar 24 2005, 09:54 PM

those are called SNOW COOKIES

Airtime006

Dec 30 2005, 12:41 PM

In New Hampshire we call them "Snow Snakes."

zr800o1le

Mar 22 2006, 01:57 AM

Snow Turtles. Pop there Head up at the Last Minute to "Bite" You. :banghead:
THe Antiinflamitorys will work along with a Hot Bath Before Bed.
Hope the Bod heals Up and you Feel Better.
ZR

bigpoppa05

Nov 30 2006, 07:14 PM

im glad snow is soft for the most part

machz1

Nov 30 2006, 07:26 PM

QUOTE(bigpoppa05 @ Nov 30 2006, 08:14 PM)

im glad snow is soft for the most part

its a good thing you felt the need to respond to a thread thats a year and a half old :div20: :frech32:

jasonmxz

Jan 26 2007, 09:43 PM

My little incident happened in january 2001. We were riding in southern teir(NY) at a buddys cabin. It was all fresh powder on this one hillside that he owns and we were just out playing in the drifts. Well I found a 7-8' drift on the side of this hill. I launched off and the track of the sled landed directley on top of a buried tree stump. Earlier in the season we put 6' markers on all the stumps on his property. Apparently someone wanted this one. It resulted in broken vertabre in my back (L5-L7 for all you guys that have back issues) Severe nerve damage and a totaled sled. I was in ICU for 2 days then a reguler room for another 4 weeks. Then 18 months of horrible phyiscal therapy. Still to this day if I sneeze wrong it drops me to me knees! The lesson of this story is no matter where you ride or how good you think you are SHIT HAPPENS. We rode this hillside for years and still do. Respect the machine and the land you ride on.

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