Each crossing is different, if you have a long flat streach to get up a good head of steam, and two banks where the snow ran flat right to the water, and the water was calm and flat with nothing in the way, Then any good sled could make the skip with little concern. However..It just isn't like that in real life now is it?
Notice I am the first one across the river this time, I was fealing my oats! I had just survived!
There is no photo for the last crossing, but I must describe it;
At our last crossing we had to jump off about a 2 foot bank onto the water, we discussed that we would not be able to go back this way, because the skis would ram the bank and the sled would sink.
But Sean was sure there would be another way out so off he goes.. onto a snow coverd beach so to speak on a blind corner. what we saw when we got there was a snarl of downed trees across the whole streatch of river,
with steep banks.
both sides.
So we had to snake up the bank where we were and through the alders around a section of bank through what might have been an old slew when the riverbed was 6 feet higher.
well comming back out to the river, the bank was 4 feet off the river and then roled up from the top another 2 feet. and there was no way else!
The river was narrow at this point and had real rappids in it! and it was green, which means it was very deep.
Well as I was turning around to get a run down the short slew, Sean jumped his sled into the river and I didn't get a chance to watch.

What I ended up doing was going about 20 mph to where the role started and then juiced it..
It lifted the front end enough that when the skis plunged into the water they deflected back up and with one huge porpoise, the sled pumped back up onto the surface, now I was being washed downstream by the current even though I was hauling! but she keeped her keal and we pulled up onto the other shore.
I was soaked.

Here is a photo of Sean doing almost the same thing on another crossing, this time the role of the bank went clear to the water, the photo was taken just at the end of the Giant Porpoise Manuver.(GPM) He sure got wet on this one. From the picture you would think he is sinking, but with the spead he came right through it.
When it is happening you just don't see that it submerges as much as the picture showes,it happens way to fast.

This spot nearly ate me...twice.
both crossing the first time and on the return.
We discovered that we would much rather cross open water than smooth ice. neither of us have studds in our tracks and there is NO traction on the ice. so you must have accellerated to the proper speed BEFORE you get to the open water. and, as I discovered here, you must maintain a very straight line.
If the photo has loaded by now, see the where the snow meets the ice just at the bottom of the steep bank, there is about a 3'wide "trail" before it becomes a bump again, with brush.
we were comming from the other side, sean went first and made it boring, this was an easy one, heck I survived the last tough one, and this one was straight on, with room for lots of speed. so I loosened up and punched it, well I missed the little "opening" with one of my skis, no big deal, I had lots of ice to straighten out before the water....wrong!
When I hit the ice my weight was off to one side, as soon as I hit, I started spinning very fast,
On my first revolution, I thought, no big deal, I'll just break and go try it again...wrong!
on my second revolution I was looking over my shoulder looking for the river, and it was then I KNEW I would not stop before I went 'plop'into the river. so as I was backwards to the river I juiced it, but soon realized that was fruitless. on my THIRD (no joke) trip around, I was again looking for the river over my shoulder,knowing I was going to get wet and lose my sled, then the slim chance apeared that I might actualy be going almost frontward when I hit the river, but would be going way to slow,
Oh well, so I juiced it as I was swinging around. I hit the water and started to sink, but I didn't, with the back of my sled under water and the track spinning for all it was worth, I had to use my balance to keep the sled from tipping over, It was like riding the shoulders of a drunken sailor,(I suppose, never having actualy done such a thing)Things happen quick but I was in there long enough to wonder if it would go down or climb out.
I am truly amazed that it would stay above the surface going so slow! They CAN'T float!

Going back at this place I was having to much fun, and remembering the close call, I wanted to "take command" and do it right, so...
As you can see from this side, we are about 5 feet above the water, there is a small beach at the bottom of this bank, Sean, took the slower rout, (which I dont care for at this point in the river,)and used the bank and beach to get his run and enter the water on a closer plane.
I on the other hand decided to use speed...
so I jumped off this bank at a reasonable rate, the problem was I used a direct rout to the goal and so left the bank at a bit of an angle, which caused me to role a bit to the left, well when I hit the water I was nearly tossed from the sled and by hanging on neary turned the thing far enough to miss the ice exit completly! somehow I managed and sean was none the wizer as he was still moving on.

This is our last skip comming back,
By now I had figured I couldn't sink, so I was getting alot more brave, Sean on the otherhand had seen me neary drownd!
So on this skip I said "heck why not just run the full length instead of making 2 hopps". So I came from the far bank you can see at the top of the photo, which was by far my longest skip yet.
Now we wandered back through the timber and swamps covered in ice and snow, happy with the performance of our sleds and full of good vinegar.
Ya, it was a good day!

There is lots more story, but this should be enough to keep you interested,

More 01 Trip Index