62 AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER • http://www.AmSnow.com ON THE WEB //^ More reviews at
http://www.AmSnow.com/techA DANGEROUS LINE AND STEEP FALL DIDN’T STOP THIS MOUNTAIN MAN
Still moving forward
phone use, and before GPS locators with
a one button call for rescue, Nielsen’s life
was in the fate of a fellow rider who not
only had to ride a few miles to the park-
ing area, but then had
to make his way down
the winding canyon for
45 minutes to notify
Life Flight. That friend
who traveled quickly
back into town was
Brian Clawson. The oth-
ers that stayed behind
to care for Nielsen were
Dave Bennet and his
15-year-old son Cody.■ (^) Steep mountain bowl
The day started like any other sledding
day, just some buddies that decided to
go out and ride in the Tony Grove area
of Northern Utah. This area is notori-
ously steep in spots with cliffs and
shoots that tempt experienced riders.
There have been many accidents in these
mountains, sadly fatali-
ties as well, but it is well
known and one of the
last areas that holds
snow in Spring, allowing
riders to continue sled-
ding long after lawn
mowing season begins
in the valley.
In the 1990s, the
practice was to head to
the steepest mountain
bowl you could find. There you would
find other riders to swap stories and
prove sled superiority. It was a secret
society, complete with its own language.
Custom chromoly trailing arms, pipes,
rolled chaincases to accommodate
extended tracks (from a stock 136 to
155), hoods with custom paint jobs and
lightweight home-made seats. It was a
religion, many people calling it church in
the mountains, but more importantly, it
was a testing ground where sled ingenu-
ity and a high mark could give you brag-
ging rights for years. In those days, peo-
ple might forget your name, but never
your sled.
■ (^) Life-changing accident
It was 1996 when a steep line temped
Nielsen. He was 29 and that line
changed his life. Nielsen was riding a
1996 Ski-Doo Summit 670 that had been
bored to 760cc by fellow rider Val
Simmons. This was one of the fastest
sleds around and was the only machine
that day capable of the steep climb. With
the motor revved, Nielsen did what
many mountain riders do, but usually
without such drastic consequences. He
simply went somewhere he should not
have gone.
In spring conditions, the snow freez-
es to ice at night and doesn’t loosen
■ CLOSE CALLS RYAN THOMPSON
BEAUTIFUL, BUT DANGEROUS Robert Nielsen’s trip to a steep mountain bowl 23 years ago changed his life, but he continues to move ahead.
The only thing Robert Nielsen remembers after his snowmo-
bile accident the week of May 5, 1996 is hearing the whirl of
helicopter blades above him. Those blades were welcome but had
taken a while to get to him. In the years before widespread cell