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Though paralyzed from the chest down after plunging into a crevasse
on his snowmobile, Rich Runser still participates in the sport with
the help of his wife, Margie. (ERIK HILL / Anchorage Daily News)
Despite
his paralyzing accident, Birchwood man still loves to ride
By S.J. KOMARNITSKY
Daily News Reporter
Snowmobiler Rich Runser remembers vividly the crash
that left him paralyzed from the chest down.
One minute he was following a friend's snowmobile over the gently
rolling snow atop the Nelchina Glacier. The next he was looking
into a gaping maw.
An open crevasse, easily visible from directly above, was hidden
in the undulating terrain, its rounded edges looking like no more
than a slight dip in the snow.
Before Runser could even think to react, he and his machine were
tumbling through space. He plummeted 35 feet into the hole and landed
on a shelf of ice. He felt an electric shock ripple through his
body when a snowmachine - he's not sure if it was his or that of
someone else in his party - landed on him, shattering his vertebrae.
"I knew I was badly hurt," he said, recalling the 1997 accident.
"There was no good word for (the pain). It was like hitting your
thumb with a hammer but all over."
A thin, gregarious man whose graying hair and beard reflect his
59 years, Runser today gets around in a wheelchair. He is paralyzed
from the midchest down. He can use his arms but still needs help
with such basic tasks as getting dressed. Sitting up is difficult
because he lacks the use of his trunk muscles for balance. If he
leans too far one way, he will fall.
He suffers constant pain. Damaged nerves continuously send trauma
signals to his brain.
But he has not forsaken snowmobiling or his love for wilderness
adventure.
An experienced rider before the accident, he and his wife, Margie,
covered thousands of miles of backcountry trails in Southcentral
to write a book titled "Snowmobile Adventures in Alaska." It bills
itself as a guide for riders who want to explore "where few people
venture."
Today, using a modified machine with a back rest, straps and special
pads to hold his body in place, Runser continues to ride where few
venture. He needs help and support from Margie on the trail, but
he is back out there.
The two snowmobile regularly, making trips to Point MacKenzie and
along the Iditarod Trail. Margie helps lift her husband onto his
machine and straps him in. She carries extra tow ropes and tools
in case either of them gets stuck.
His accident has limited where they can go. The Runsers can no
longer tackle tough, bumpy trails. But Runser notes that riding
his snowmobile comes the closest of anything to giving him back
the sense of freedom he lost in the accident.
"It's the beautiful feeling of being there, of getting somewhere
you want and exploring," he said. "It's the most fun I ever did
and still is."
Runser doesn't regret snowmobiling on the glacier. It is a potentially
hazardous activity, but he said he thinks it can be done safely.
He and the two friends he was riding with took ropes and other safety
gear, he said. They were following one another's tracks when they
hit the crevasse, he added.
In retrospect, the group could have traveled slower - he estimated
they were going about 50 mph - and talked more before the ride about
the importance of the leader watching out for danger.
Still, the crevasse was so hard to see that they might have fallen
in anyway, he said.
The danger inherent in such crevasses is the reason experienced
mountaineers always rope up when crossing glaciers. It is also why
they warn that snowmobiles should travel only on marked routes that
have been carefully checked for crevasse dangers.
Few such routes exist, however.
Runser sees lots of room for educating snowmobilers about safer
driving. He mentions training for children, expanded law enforcement
and even the idea of putting identifying stamps on the tracks of
snowmachines to help catch riders who break rules. Some of these
ideas, he said, probably put him in the minority of snowmachiners,
but he contends "it's like seat belts were in cars years ago; I
think people will come around."
At the same time that Runser sees a need for changes in drivers
and their behavior, he also said he believes state and borough governments
could do more to make snowmobiling safer. Trails could be marked,
he said, hazards identified and avalanche areas identified with
warning signs.
And everyone - snowmobilers, skiers, mushers, snowshoers and other
nonmotorized users of winter trails - could help minimize the risks
of collisions by wearing reflective material while out on the trails.
* S.J. Komarnitsky can be reached at skomarnitsky@adn.com.
©2000
Anchorage Daily News
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