>>994633 cont'dSo we got everyone back to town that night. The two of them were going to leave the next morning, so they extended their hotel reservation and let people know they were staying another day. We'd meet up with them in the morning and do the sled recovery.
Cabins we were staying at is owned by a guy who also runs a rental fleet and guide service, and he works with the avalanche forecast and SAR team.
>Downloaded GPS data and photos the night before, as usual>Two riders meet at our place in the morning>Take laptop into shop, talk with hiker about where he thinks his sled is based on the terrain he hiked up the previous night>Drop a waypoint there, "Stuck Sled">Ask guide about access to said waypoint>Long way around, can get in over here and take this FS road in, couple other places you can drop down to the creek and ride in too. >Discuss avalanche danger and ride plan, because those canyons do slide, and if something goes big we're in a terrain trap at the bottom of the creek>Drop some more waypoints/tracks on the map>Send to my GPS and buddy's GPS so we'd have that data on the mountain>Gear up, trail all the way the fuck around, "nope not going down this way with this crew">Backtrack a bit and drop in where it's easier to get to the creek, ride the creek bottom in>Finally find a cat stuck in the snow, get the rest of the crew up there and unstick it. "Found Cat" waypoint.>Hiker-dude's glad to be back on his sled>Regroup at the bottom, break for lunch>Continue riding, get everyone up/out and back to town. Took most of the day.>They thank us for everything, drop off a case of beer and head on their way>We ride the rest of the week without incidentThese guys weren't prepared - neither had area maps, no flashlight, were nearly out of water/snacks when we caught up with them. They were in a real bad spot, and shit could have gotten a lot worse than it was.
