Saturday afternoon, at 3:23, a helicopter flew overhead. It was an Ornge Rescue machine. It gives me the woolies. Happily, some dude went through the ice on a creek and thankfully survived the event. The story, and more photos are here. There are lots of stories of snow machines going through the ice these days.
A man from the Seattle area died in a snowmobiling accident near Pemberton on the weekend.
The 53-year-old was part of a group of 10 from Washington state snowmobiling on the Appa Glacier on the Pemberton Icecap on Saturday morning when he disappeared into a crevasse, said Whistler RCMP Staff-Sgt. Steven LeClair.
Sunday, Mar. 6th –It took emergency workers more than an hour to free a 40-year-old snowmobiler from a precarious position when he ventured off a marked trail and plummeted 12 metres down, and was pinned under his machine. He was charged with an expired snowmobile registration.
A 16-year-old boy was handed a couple of impaired driving charges after a snowmobilecollision in a field near Rosedale Road in Sydenham
on Friday that injured his male passenger. The driver of the snowmobile was charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and driving with more than 80 mg of alcohol in his blood.
Shawn Mathieson, Ottawa firefighter, died in the snowmobile crash near Navan
Mar. 4th–Mathieson has three children, sources told CBC. He was born in 1967. At six feet two inches tall and about 250 pounds, his colleagues affectionately nicknamed him Shrek. An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital in critical condition, but his condition improved to serious en route to hospital, paramedics said.
Paramedics refused to help Glenn Dumont after off-road accident north of Quebec City, brother says
A snowmobile accident that led to the death of an American tourist earlier this month in Quebec has prompted questions about the role of paramedics. Do they have the duty to rescue the people who are injured in places they are unable to reach with an ambulance?
Feb. 24, 2016– Both hit a ditch off a trail between Brinston and Williamsberg, which is currently closed by OFSC. One of the two men driving – identified as Justin Petersen, 26, of Ottawa – was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other driver, who called 911, – a 36-year-old man from Manotick – was taken to hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries. Most of the southeastern OFSC trails are currently closed. Justin Petersen, 26, killed in snowmobile crash near Ottawa
FEB. 24 –Police report that witnesses observed two snow machines out on Fairy Lake and one had gone through the ice. The driver, a 16 year old from Huntsville, managed to get himself up on the ice and roll toward the second snowmobiler, who went back and picked him up. He was eventually transported to a local area hospital by Muskoka EMS.
South Dundas – Justin PETERSEN (26) of Ottawa, Ontario was pronounced deceased at the scene. The other male driver, a 36-year-old male from Manotick, Ontario was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
EASTERNONTARIONETWORK.COM|BY TAMMY WILSON
Feb. 23rd –MONTREAL — Two snowmobile riders died in separate accidents in Quebec on Monday.
A van crashed into a snowmobile in the community of Saint-Cleophas-de-Brandon northeast of Montreal.
On Monday afternoon, a snowmobiler died after crashing into a tree on a trail in Saint-Zenon, north of Montreal.
FEB. 14, 2016–Lindsay Bear (25) was driving a snowmobile in the early morning hours of Feb. 7. Her snowmobile hit an exposed rock on the shoreline of a bay in Stanley Mission. The accident killed Bear, and it injured a 20-year-old woman with her. Neither were wearing helmets. The injured woman was taken to a hospital in Saskatoon for treatment.
New Ross man, 26, was not found when rescuers helped the other 2 snowmobilers who went through ice
Saturday, Feb. 13th–A Nova Scotia RCMP dive team spent the day searching Black River Lake in Kings County for a man who's been missing since three snowmobiles went through the ice on Saturday.
Feb. 7th, French R. ONT –OPP reports that a 42-year-old man struck a 29-year-old woman near ice fishing huts near Alban, on the Murdock R. south of Sudbury. A toddler was also sent to hospital.
Friday, Feb. 6, 6:42p.m. – OPP have identified the snowmobiler who died trying to help others on
Georgian Bay as 48-year-old Brent David Fisher of Innisfil, Ontario. OPP have charged one of the other snowmachine operator with driving while impaired.
There were four men on two machines, and one went through the ice.
The body of a snowmobiler was recovered Saturday morning after the machine he was on went through the ice Friday night on Dark Lake in Highlands East Township.OPP say four people were travelling on two machines when they broke through the ice shortly after 11:30 p.m. Firefighters from the the Highlands East Fire Department were called and managed to locate three of the four sledders. Members of the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit located the body of Thomas Rivers, 53, of Highlands East, around 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The investigation into this incident continues.
Jeff Dunlop and James Bates were sledding on Go Home Lake
Jeff Dunlop, 22, of Pickering, and his cousin James Bates, 25, known as Greer, from Erin, Ontario, were airlifted to a Parry Sound hospital and pronounced dead after a snowmobile accident on Go Home Lake on Saturday around 1 a.m. The lake is in the Township of Georgian Bay, west of Hwy. 400. A Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter was used for the search and rescue as the snowmobile collision occurred in an isolated location and the lake ice was unstable.
A Machar Township man is dead following a snowmobile collision in Joly Township. Almaguin Highlands OPP investigated after the collision occurred on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) trail C105D near River Road in Joly. 55-year-old Brian Bradley, speed was a factor. Again.
Fellow sledder slams emergency personnel for response
TINY TOWNSHIP – Wayne Mailloux, 55, of Tiny Township died after his snowmobile struck a low bridge Jan. 22 on Georgian Bay. Jan. 22. A press release Monday indicated police, firefighters and paramedics responded just after 10 p.m. A helicopter from the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre arrived later.
Mon., Jan. 25
I don't know what the lessons are, but there have to be some. Out, in the dark, at 4:30 a.m.? How deeply lamentable for the families.
POWERVIEW, Man. -- Relatives are calling the death of a 49-year-old man and his 14-year-old son on the weekend a freak accident. Gary Schellenberg and his son Evan were driving snowmobiles near the family's cabin at English Lake in southeastern Manitoba at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning when they collided head-on. A woman who was also hurt in the crash was transported to hospital in stable condition.
The brother mourns Russell Schellenberg speaks to CTV Winnipeg about a snowmobiling accident that killed his father and brother.
Jan. 18, 2016–A 51-year-old Tillsonburg man is dead after a snowmobile crash in Gelert on Monday, Jan. 18. According to the Haliburton Highlands OPP, just before 2 p.m. a snowmobiler travelling west on the Haliburton County Rail Trail entered the intersection at Francis Road, striking a southbound pickup truck. The accident was the second serious snowmobile crash in Haliburton County in two days after a 41-year-old local man was airlifted to hospital following a crash on Sunday.
The Renfrew OPP responded to a call on a trail near Goshen Road in McNab Braeside Township just after midnight.
ARNPRIORTODAY.CA Two people were seriously injured following an incident early Sunday morning, Jan. 17th. The Renfrew OPP responded to a call on a trail near Goshen Road in McNab Braeside Township just after midnight. There are very few details but it seems there was a collision with two snowmobiles.
CALGARY – RCMP were called to the scene of an off-road collision at a rural location near Huxley at around 2 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16th. According to RCMP said a group of snowmobilers were travelling from Huxley to Trochu, when one machine in the group struck a large hole, causing the driver to be thrown off. Alcohol was involved, but not the cause, they said.
Two snowmobilers who went through the ice in the Munster Hamlet area are being treated at the Carleton Place hospital for hypothermia. Emergency workers found the pair after Ottawa fire got the call…
Snowmobiling mishap in Lewis Hills claims young life ... “We would rather not release any information on the accident as we do not know ... Mr. McDermott was pronounced dead at Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, Newfoundland ...Shannon McDermott, a 21-year-old native of Diamond Cove on the province’s southwest coast, lost his life in a snowmobiling accident Tuesday afternoon in the Lewis Hills area, his family says. He hit a rock.
Jan. 6 Rose Blanche man dies following snowmobile accident ... from other snowmobilers in the area, the man made his way to hospital, but died suddenly. Family members of the 21-year-old man said he was snowmobiling in the Lewis Hills area on Tuesday night, when he struck a rock and went over the handlebars.
January 4, 2016 – Canada has seen a rash of fatal and near-fatal snowmobile accidents over New Year’s. The mishaps occurred in suburban Toronto, Halifax and at Blackcomb Mountain, British Colombia.
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They are on the increase...this is why: fast-flowing waters under the ice, narrows that aren't frozen. When one travels at the speed of the sledder who rudely passes this man 4 times, you cannot watch for thin ice, or open water.
Published on 21 Jan 2016 from Lake of Bays, Muskoka, Ontario:
"Sledding is getting better with many more trails opening. Please be very careful if you go on the ice. There are still open areas on Kawagama and Lake of Bays. Some areas have just frozen over so they are dangerously thin with a light dusting of snow covering the thin ice."
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This article says it all, exploiting GoPro and YouTube for fleeting fame:
A huge impact on friends, family, co-workers, rescue crews.
Thank goodness for EMS, OPP, and all the other First Responders.
Sadly, several rescues or recoveries required a helicopter. When you drive a machine at these speeds, you know you take a risk.
OPP Information
Police say in an average season,
58% of snowmobile fatalities involve drugs or alcohol
57% involved speeding and occurred after dark.
Around 87% of last year’s fatalities involved male riders ages of 35 to 54.
For those ice fishing, they ensure they are aware of the ice thickness. Not so for those screaming across a creek in the bush. I know that when we lived by the lake, we could watch it and understand how long it had been cold. They say water needs about a week at -20 C., and we've not had that at all up here.
lifesaving.org
The Great Lakes are as affected by the mild December and the January thaw.
There is a very simple system of signals that all snowmobilers should know and use when riding on the trails. These hand signals have been approved by the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations, and they allow you to convey essential information to other snowmobilers who are following or approaching you. North American Snowmachine Facts The average age of a snowmobiler is 41 years old (2012) The average family income of sledders is $68,000/year. Many clubs raise money for local causes, $3 million for charities in 2011/12. There were 1.4 million registered machines in the US, and 593,248 in Canada in 2012.
The Economic Impact of Snowmobiling:
* United States - $23 billion annually
* Canada - $7 billion annually
* Europe & Russia - $4 billion annually
Highmarkingaccounts for more than 63 percent of the avalanche fatalities involving snowmobilers in North America. Tracks on a slope do not mean that a slope is safe.
Of course, the most common incidents are the avalanches out west, where the snow is fragile, susceptible to the loud machines, and where sledders like high marking.
A snowmobiler was on the trail at 10:00 at night. Driving too fast to stop or avoid the moose, he hit his head while trying to drive under said moose. He died of head injuries.
This is the 7th sledder to die in Quebec this winter.
Except as provided in the Act respecting off-highway vehicles, it is illegal to operate a snowmobile on public roads.
It is illegal to ride within 30 m (100 ft.) of a dwelling, a health establishment, or an area that is reserved for cultural, educational, or sports activities.
Trail security officersare volunteers who patrol the trails in order to increase awareness of the importance of obeying the law. Their work requires know-how and dedication, and they deserve your respect and your complete cooperation.
The speed limit for snowmobiles is 70 km/h (43 mph). Within 30 m (100 ft.) of a dwelling, the speed limit is reduced to 30 km/h (19 mph).
Fatal accidents occurred more often on lakes (in 66% of the cases in which this information was known) than on roads (in 26%) or trails (in 8%). Weekend fatalities predominated, and deaths occurred most often during times of suboptimal lighting (from 4 pm to 8 am). The driver was killed in 84% of the cases in which the person's role was known. Alcohol use before death was implicated in 69% of the cases, the level exceeding the Ontario legal limit in 59%. CONCLUSION: Snowmobile-related deaths result from factors that are generally avoidable. Strategies need to be instituted to reduce the rate of these events.
Mar. 4th–Mathieson has three children, sources told CBC. He was born in 1967. At six feet two inches tall and about 250 pounds, his colleagues affectionately nicknamed him Shrek. An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital in critical condition, but his condition improved to serious en route to hospital, paramedics said.
Snowmobile speeds in Ontario:
