Rescue of Recreationist

I don't know about you, but me and many others are sick of paying for the rescue of these people. His kin found him and claim God helped, but the Sheriff Department was also out and about wasting thier precisous time looking for this fool and they were given bad information on where to look. How much longer do we as tax payers have to keep supporting these "recreationists"
That is exactly all it is, FUN for them and you and I pay for them to mess around outdoors. I find it amazing how these people almost act like this life style is a right not a priviledge. In Montana whenever anyone tries to limit where these toys can traverse the woods, you get a pitch fork mob pissed at whomever dares to restrict thier ability to tear up the countryside. ATVs and Snowmobiles are toys for those well off enough to afford them, so I think they should pay for every dime spent for pulling thier butts out of a snow bank.
I and my family use snowmobiles and enjoy running the trails near Lincoln, but I do not claim any right to harras the wildlife in the area whenever or whereever I want. I stay on the groomed trails. There are plenty of places in Montana for people to play, please stay out of restricted areas! Its for your safety and to show respect of our last great places.

Snowmobiler survives 8 hours buried in avalanche


POSTED: 7:27 a.m. EST, March 3, 2007

Story Highlights• Ryan Roberts: "I guess I was just allowed to live another day" • Tried to outrun avalanche on snowmobile• Buried in 4 feet of snow, could not move• Distant cousin found him, ending 8-hour search

HELENA, Montana (AP) -- A man buried by an avalanche for almost eight hours emerged with little more than scratches after a relative found him using a probe.
Ryan Roberts, 34, said Friday he was astonished he survived the avalanche, which occurred about 4 p.m. Thursday while snowmobiling with an uncle and friend in Flathead National Forest's Jewel Basin near Kalispell. He was found shortly before midnight. Neither of his companions was caught in the avalanche.
"I guess I was just allowed to live another day," Roberts said in a telephone interview after his release from Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
Roberts said he tried to outrun the avalanche by driving his snowmobile at about 80 mph, but leaped off the machine as it sped toward trees.
He said he tumbled downhill and was buried face-up by about 4 feet of snow. After it became apparent that he could not move, Roberts said, he tried to remain calm and accept what he thought was his fate.
He said he remembered thinking, "Well, I'm going to die."
Roberts believes he passed out about five minutes later.
His companions began searching for Roberts immediately, and called for help after two hours. About 18 family members and friends, and a Flathead County Sheriff's Department team searched for Roberts for hours, to no avail.
Dan Root, a distant cousin, said he reached the scene shortly before midnight and didn't expect to find Roberts alive.
"I parked my sled, got my probe out and walked up the hill about 5 or 6 feet and hit" Roberts with the probe, Root said. "I probed him the first time."
After he was dug out, Roberts was taken by snowmobile to the hospital 20 miles away. His wife, Billie, said his temperature at the hospital Friday morning was 90 degrees.