n2otoofast4u Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 This is copied from another site, but so many things can be transfered to banshees that I thought I would post it here. It will make you think twice before running you bike without a tether! LOTS of things can go wrong in every motorsport. Taking precaustions to prevent some is a good idea! Before I tell you the story of our day of riding last friday I ask you to please think before you reply. We have gone over all the scenarios a thousand time. For everything that went wrong there was a hundred things that went right. Please do not judge !!!!!!! Or act like know it alls. This accident was a freak and it has changed the life of everyone who was there. I do share this only to hope and pray that it never happens again. If you act like an azz I promise we will hunt you down. It was your normal day of riding blue sky riding in Wyoming was great. They had some new snow and we were out playing. All of us have been well avy trained all wearing beacons, abs packs, shovels , etc etc. Prepared as prepared can be. My buddy had gone up a hill and was hitting it very hard. We all had been up this hill a hundred times. My buddy crests the top and he is carrying too much speed. As he leaves the ground he taps the brake to bring the nose down. ( I cannot express enough at this time he has been riding for 25 years. He has raced motorcycles. He has been on the smaller hill climb circuits. He knows how to freaking ride) the front of the sled comes down and the spot where he hits is too soft. He is pitched over the bars lands face down and the sled lands upside down. On top of him. The weight of the snow pushes the throttle and the TM8 comes to life. Track spinning 8200 rpm grabs my friend and pulls his arm in the track. His arm is sucked in and pinned between the track and the side of the tunnel. Yes we know there is not enough room for an arm To fit there. it is about 20 seconds before we get the sled shut off. We had guys not the ridge calling 911. Ron has sat behind him to cradle him to make him as comfortable as we can. I immediately start unbolting the. Suspension to get him freed. He is bleeding badly and we have to get him out. As we get him out we immediatley start working on first aid. we put a turnaquit on his arm to stop the bleeding. We have to wrap what is left of his arm... I hope that someday I can forget the way his arm looked. The power of that sled stripped his arm of all flesh, meat , and left nothing but Bone from the elbow down. It was like something from out of a horror movie. We got him freed and stable. Built a fire to keep him warm until the chopper came. Ron cradled him for two hours like a baby waiting for the chopper to arrive. This is where I want to educate you all What happens with life light. it is not a science and it takes a while to get there. It took them two hours to find us. We had given them gps coordinates but somehow from us to the dispatch to the helicopter it was told to them that there had been an avy!!!! They were looking for an avy and not a group on top of a ridge. When the helicopter came into views they didn't see us. They were looking in the canyons. We were a group of 8 riding around yelling twirling coats... I even threw a whole can of gas on a tree before they saw us. My buddy is now in SLC at the huntsman center. He has lost the lower part of his arm. We went to see him yesterday and he is in suprisingly good spirits. He is talking about needing a crossbow for hunting and is already coming up with mods for his sled to ride next year. He starred death in the face and won. I want to share with you the things that we learned and what is needed on the hill. 1) WEAR YOUR TETHER .!!!!!!!!! Before you judge too harshly I understand that most new pros don't have one . If that is the case then Polaris needs a recall. We have a new pro in the group and it did not come with a. Tether. I almost always have a tether on, and I didn't have mine hooked up either. It is not just a jump that could have caused this. A side hill and you roll to the lower side same thing could happen. 2) carry a way to signal a chopper. If all of us had a small mirror in our bags they would have found us quicker. 3) carry a pain killer. You cannot use ibuprofen it is a blood thinner and one cannot take it. We could have given him tylenol, to take the sting off a little. 4) help can be coming, but it took them two hours to get to us. Do you carry space blankets, firstaid, food, fire starters, we had all that but I feel you when your buddy is in that condition I wish I had some morphine to knock him out. That was the longest two hours of my life. 5) when ever an emergency comes. SLOW DOWN!!!!!!! Think you can waste a lot of time -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicklez Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wacko2000 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Man thats so sad, things go wrong so quick its insane- your whole life can change in seconds.. I always wear my tether, and it has saved me and my bikes a few times Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locogato11283 Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I never ride without hooking the tether up. It's cheap insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticktock Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 All I can say is wow! I cringed at the fact that the track more than likely had 192 + studs. I have seem some pretty nasty in the war, and thankfully everyone had Fentanyl or something similar. More than likely these guys had some good first aid knowledge and were able to act fast and quickly. It is a miracle that he lived, had there been no first aid it would not have turned out. I never wore the tether on my snowmobiles and our tracks were studded, I should have one for the banshee now to think about it. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzrmbsg Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Damn, thats horrible. Never worn a tether on a bike, just jetskis and sleds, but maybe I should... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crustydemon Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 I've been using tethers on my Banshees for the last few years but never did before. Had some close calls in the past and I can say that using them recently has saved my machine at least once. I would never be without one running something with a studded track or tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broke_Banshee Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 i will be buying one for every bike now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks for the reminder, I must admit I only hook up the tether when I'm doing some "serious" riding. I can't afford to be out of work, so will hook it on from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohjay Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Wow, you certainly hate to hear about something like this. It takes horror stories like this one though to remind most of us how easily and quickly things can go very wrong. I'm going to show this to a couple of friends who do not use tethers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutwood 472 Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Man,that there is a horror story,sorry to hear about it n2o,me and my boys atv's have tethers on them and we always have them hooked up when riding,never should you relie on a off and on switch,always have a back up,imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
So Cal Suspension Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I can now no longer eat the "wing" part of the chicken wing after this story. It will be drumettes from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.J. Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 I can now no longer eat the "wing" part of the chicken wing after this story. It will be drumettes from now on. Thanks for putting that picture in mind... lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infamous039 Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Sad story bro, I hoep your buddy gets well and boucnes back. I will definitley be buying a tether for my bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeBanditBrian Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 Wow ! life is precious. Do any of our sponsors sell tethers? Hearing that story makes you wanna buy one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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