Sometimes you lose

Most of the time we post our wins. But every once in while good to post a loss - keeps my ego in check.

So Sunday - Still lots of ice on Nip but I knew there was a high probability of open cracks after the thaw but not really bothered by it - if you stick to daylight running you can typically find a spot narrow enough to jump or skip across the open water. My machine is 11 foot 6 inches long and based on its ability to basically water ski i am comfortable intentionally crossing open water 10 feet wide. I have crossed significantly wider stretches but those were all "unplanned." So got on the ice at 8 am and planned to ride 25 km out to a hotspot i was intent on fishing. Over the course of 24.5 km i crossed 3 open cracks - one 2 footer, a 4 footer and lastly a 10 footer a 1/2 km short of my destination. Well in order to skip across you need speed and the wider the crack the more speed you need. I hit the last crack doing about 65 km/hour and zipped across no problem. The problem though was 100 feet past the crack i hit a bump (didn't even see it) and was still carrying decent speed (just over 50 km/hour) from the puddle jump. Well i was thrown air born and the machine flipped.


I remember coming off the machine and i remember waking up on the ice. Because of the thaw there was no snow to soften my landing - just hard glare ice. Got up and i was about 50 feet from the flipped machine. No idea how much of that 50 was through the air and what was sliding/tumbling or what angle i hit the ice at - but must have been a favorable angle as no broken bones. Of course being the maniac i am i was solo. Walked back to the machine and somehow managed to flip it back over - Machine weighs 746 lbs dry and i had just under 50 litres of fuel in the tank plus the track was loaded with slush and ice. I had the key clipped to my jacket so as soon as i launched the machine shutoff. Positive i was functioning on 100% adrenaline the whole time as i don't know how or actually even really remember flipping the machine back over. Lost half the polycarbonate windshield, ripped some body panels loose, smashed the brake fluid reservoir, twisted the hitch and apparently i made some head contact with the ice as my helmet was missing the visor and was pretty banged up.


Got back on the machine and it started and drove - small win. Went to my planned fishing spot and was starting to unpack the toboggan - it actually never flipped and cover stayed on and everything somehow stayed inside. At that moment the adrenaline wore off and the entire left side of my body was like i don't think so. Also started to get nauseous. Well put the cover back on the toboggan and decided to head back. I wasn't sure if the machine was okay to make it and i felt like %^&* so figured better head now with lots of light in case i need help instead of waiting until an hour before dark and ending up stranded 25 km out in the dark. Had to cross the same 3 cracks on my way out but machine held up and gave the speed i needed for the crossings. Made it back to the cottage just before noon poured myself a double fixed up a bowl of stew and went back to bed.


Between adrenaline and probably a bit of shock didn't take photos of the fiasco until i was back at the cottage. Sometimes mother nature says you lose and Sunday was one of those days. Couple pics after the fact:

The new windshield:


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...bb02a0a3_k.jpg


The adrenaline/shock half azzed repair of body panels:


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e00ea6cb_k.jpg

Ends up i actually suffered a mild to moderate concussion. Took me about a month to recover from the affects.

Wow good to here you never broke any body parts and got back safe. Sled can be fixed

Man, what a story!
You’re going to be hurting for a few days after that!
Good thing you were okay enough to get the machine back upright and get back off the lake.

Damn good thing you had the helmet on. That would have been hard on the body flipping that much weight. Lucky you didn’t destroy your back! It’s incredible what a person can do when adrenaline kicks in.

It's fortunate that you have a good sense of humour, after your unexpected adventure. You still managed a detailed post of how everything happened, even after going airborne. Definitely, this trip is lacking the pictures of your usual successful outings.
Glad to hear that you're okay, the machine can be fixed .

Ouch, as you age going solo isn’t always the right thing to do. Ego comes into play when you think you can handle anything that’s thrown at you. Been there Joe and at times it’s a hard pill to swallow. Glad you came out on top, you may hurt for a bit but take care brother… You still have a lot of good days ahead of you….

close call, but other than the machine all turned out OK, so just another good adventure story. Had a buddy do something similar years ago but we were going faster. Ice looked like a yard sale, and took use 3 hours to get his machine back running enough to limp it back home, and it was written off by the insurance co. Luckily sliding on the ice isn't too hard on the body.
Thanks for sharing your missadventure, glad your OK, and hope machine repairs aren't too costly.

Glad your ok

Stay safe .


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I think you made a good decision to head back. Glad your ok and the sled could be fixed.

Wow Species glad you made it back and your OK.
Always an adventure