The backcountry is an unforgiving place. It's where a split-second decision can mean you're A-OK or hitting the SOS button on your Garmin inReach. And conditions can change in the blink of an eye, as one minute you're on the road looking at the scenery, the next you're in the scenery looking at the road, to quote the famous viral audio.
One particularly sketchy backcountry practice, however, one that I just flat-out refuse to do, is where you take a snowmobile into the backcountry with a snowboard or skiis in tow, and when you reach the summit, you pull the skiis or snowboard off, and send the snowmobile down sans rider. I've seen folks do it a bunch of times, and it always makes me cringe.
And while I've been assured it's fine, it's stories and videos like the following that make me say I'll absolutely never do it, as one backcountry skier found out, after nearly being run over by a snowmobiler engaging in this practice.
According to the clip above, a skier had already sent their snowmobile down the mountain, and began skiing some fresh powder lines. They'd made it halfway down when they caught a rock they couldn't see. It, obviously, sent him flying, and took him off his feet. As he was trying to right himself, another snowmobile came barreling down the mountain.
The skier was fast-thinking, and quickly unclipped his boot and moved as fast as he could, just narrowly getting his entire body out of the way before the snowmobile ran over his leg. Luckily, he didn't suffer any injuries, as the powder cushioned him getting run over. But yeah, dude nearly died all because they're sending down snowmobiles at different times, and not really caring which way they go.
Again, I'm not a proponent of this practice at all. It seems dangerous in the best of situations. Moreover, the two sleds then hit each other, and both saw damage when they finally came to a stop. So not only could this skier have died, but they're both probably looking at high repairs bills.
Stupid.
