Snowmobile takes nosedive
Two riders thrown, but not seriously injured, when sled hit deep pool of water on trail
A sudden plunge into a water hole sent two snowmobilers flying over the handlebars of their sled and onto the snow in the Miscouche swamp Wednesday evening.
Russell DesRoches estimates he was travelling at 55 to 65 kilometres per hour when his 800 Crossfire “nosedived” into a hole.
He and his friend, Lauren Perry, were travelling on the Confederation Trail through Miscouche when they came upon a muddy patch. They followed tracks other snowmobilers had made in avoiding the mud.
“There was nothing I could do when I saw the hole. It was right there when I came over the hill. A little bump and then that was it,” he said. “We just nose-dived into it.”
He barely had time to brake before impact. He thinks the impact would have been worse had he chosen to gun the machine instead.
The impact cracked the sled’s belly pan and, having the riders thrown over the handlebars, broke the sled’s windshield and tore the visor from DesRoches’s helmet. He and Perry both suffered minor leg injuries but they did not require medical attention.
When two sleds couldn’t pull the stranded snowmobile from the hole about 20 snowmobilers, who had gathered to help, manually freed the machine.
DesRoches’ sister, Jessica, who was following on her sled, posted a photo of the marooned sled on social media to warn fellow snowmobilers of potential dangers during mild weather.
She’s encouraged the post is being shared.
“I wanted to let everyone know, because it is very dangerous,” she said.
“I was scared people would go right in the hole. When the boys left (to seek help), we stayed there with a flashlight in case somebody came by so that they wouldn’t hit the hole, or hit the Ski-Doo that was in it.” Snowmobilers subsequently put sticks in the hole and ringed the area with orange ribbons to warn unsuspecting snowmobilers of the danger.
“Oh, it was very scary,” she added. “I drove right by them. I was going to go through the mud so I slowed down and I didn’t even see them (until) I saw (Lauren) stand up.”
The riding party had been on their way to a barbecue in Ellerslie.
“We didn’t get there,” Jessica admitted.
They didn’t get the disabled sled back to Russell’s truck until around 10 p.m., nearly three hours after the ordeal began. Russell DesRoches blames the incident on the sudden spurt of mild weather.
“There was a culvert right there,” he said. “All the water was sitting there and it gave out.”
The owner, who only purchased the machine secondhand this year, says he thinks the machine will be OK. He removed the air box and the spark plugs and has the machine in a heated location drying out before he even attempts to start it.