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On the topic of gear...
... yeah, it's worth the money.
On a dirt bike, in the summer... bike fucks up, or you wipe out huge and end up stuck in the woods. Chances are you'll be banged up a bit, but if you can walk, you can probably make it out pretty easily. If you're in a more populated area, someone will probably even ride by.
On a sled... you're in the snow, so you're probably a little wet.
Temp can drop well below freezing at night. (Out riding in January, the temp hit -50°F in town through the night... gelled up all the diesels in the lot, and about half the gassers didn't want to start.)
You'll need fire. Know how to make that, and carry a few different ways to start fire. Remember you've got a 10+gallon tank of gasoline on the sled.
First aid? Hope you know it, and have some equipment with you.
Water ... well, you're surrounded with snow. Carry a metal avalanche shovel, start a fire, and you can make water.
Communications? Way up in the backcountry, cellphones don't work that great. I carry a two-way radio with amateur and emcomm repeaters programmed in. There's a couple of systems I can almost always hit with my handheld.
GPS's are great tools, but carry and know how to work a map and compass. Seen more than one person get lost because they didn't understand how to interpret what their GPS was telling them.
Safety gear ... most everything can be classified as "safety equipment" when it really comes down to it. $300 for a gore-tex jacket ... that'll keep you warm and dry through the night? Worth it if I'm stuck on the mountain. Same goes for pants.
Armor ... I wear a vest w/ shoulder pads, knee guards, elbow pads, helmet/goggles, and good snowmobiling boots with ankle support. It's the reason I've made it to work the following monday on more than one occasion.
Then education on how to use what you have. Practice with your gear. I'm first aid certified, licensed radio operator, and basic avalanche certified.
