INTO THE UNKNOWN
On our fourth day out the temperatures were hot and rising quickly. The sledding became sketchy as many of the snow bridges had collapsed and the mountains began to speak. We watched on southern aspects as snowballs would hit the slope and start point-releases of snow. The initial small release would rapidly grow in size before roaring down the valley in a massive wet slide that would crush you in a second. We watched slide after slide, mesmerized by the power and beauty of the moving snow. The sound of the avalanches was intense as they ripped down the face with insane power. After an hour of watching, we pulled the plug on the day and started back. On the way out of the mountains and along the river, we started racing full speed back to the trucks where cold beer and bacon cinnamon rolls awaited our return. It was a couple miles yet from the trucks when suddenly my sled sputtered and died. Confused, I assumed that I had run out of gas. As I tried to restart my sled, the cord was extremely hard to pull. I recalled that earlier in the season, a coolant hose had blown off when I was pulling a climb, and my engine seized. Immediately my heart sank with the fear that I had blown a second engine in one year. Craig headed back to the truck to get more gas as I sat for 30 minutes praying that it was only out of gas. When he returned, we put a couple of gallons in and tried to fire it up. Pulling the cord was like playing tug-of-war with the sled. The pull start would barely come out with all my force. Finally the sled fired and I slowly limped the last two miles back to the trucks. I felt in shock as I realized this could very well bring my long awaited AK trip to a grinding halt after only four days.
52
MOUNTAIN SLEDDER MAG ISSUE 02
Back at the trucks, we pulled the plugs to do a compression test. The left cylinder fired perfectly and I was slightly relieved. Then we tested the right and there was literally no compression. We tested it again to make to sure we had done it right and, still, nothing. My fear was confirmed. I had just blown my second engine for the season. My dream of spending a month sledding in AK was shattered in an instant. Driving home to Bozeman with Elliot, I had a lot of time to ponder our trip. We had crossed glacial rivers, put a sled into a crevasse, sent 4,000ft high-marks, skied amazing lines, and blown an engine. I had experienced emotions ranging from pure joy to raging anger, and everything in between. Thinking back about what had just happened felt like a dream. But the stunning peaks and ruggedness of the area will be forever engrained in my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about them and about all the areas I didn’t even get the chance to see. It didn’t take more than few hours of driving before we had hammered out plans to spend next February, March and April back in AK. My eyes had been opened to the most beautiful, insane place I had ever been. This trip changed my life forever.