Memorial Ride for Dan Woods

[Chicken]

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First I want to thank everyone who was there to help look for my Dad. There are some people from down south that I don't know and I never got to thank. So thank you. For everyone around here its been like you are more family than friends. Thanks for everything!!
For those who didn't know my Dad. He was a man who was all about family and friends.And he loved sleddin. He was kinda simple didn't care about all the latest gimicks or latest clothes to make you look cool. The only thing he cared about on the moutain was having fun and showing people places and making sure he got every last bit of power out of his sled possible. He would always push everyone a little farther than they would go on their own will. But it made us all better riders. I know it has for me anyway. I have alot of good memories on the mountain. From being drug up on my kitty cat to the lake when I was four years old to the last day I got ride with him.
So for him I want to have a ride on 1/1. It would be great to see all the guys that my Dad enjoyed ridding with over the years. Maybe a big hot dog roast at the lake. A run around the ridge. If anyone else has an idea please share.

Conrad

 

[Lake Cle Elum]

Chicken - I see you're new here, wish to welcome you and say I'm sorry about the loss of your father. He sounds like a great guy.

You might wish to provide a few more details for us that are unaware of him or the circumstances of his passing? You might mention which Lake and which Ridge for your event. You mention you wish to do this on 1/1? Is that Jan. 1st, 2009?

Hope your event goes well and will say a prayer for your father. Good luck sir...

 

[_AJ_]

Sounds like a great idea Conrad. :beer; I never had the opportunity to meet your dad but know many that did. He was liked and respected by many and I am truly sorry about the accident that day. I was so frustrated that I was unable to come help that day and did what I could from home by getting the word out to as many as I could via the web and phone.

You sound like a pretty level headed kid and I'm glad your still riding. I'm sure the old man is very proud looking down on ya now.

A ride at the Bearpaw / Excelsior area would be a great time and I'll do what I can to attend.

Keep us posted.

AJ

 

[OVERTHEBARS]

Memorial ride for Danny

Count all of us at team "Rainier" there in full force !!! :beer; S.C.:beer;

 

[Chicken]

Chicken - I see you're new here, wish to welcome you and say I'm sorry about the loss of your father. He sounds like a great guy.

You might wish to provide a few more details for us that are unaware of him or the circumstances of his passing? You might mention which Lake and which Ridge for your event. You mention you wish to do this on 1/1? Is that Jan. 1st, 2009?

Hope your event goes well and will say a prayer for your father. Good luck sir...

My Dad and Sheila were buried in a avalanch on 1/1/08 worse day of my life! My Dad and I were more like bestfriends than father and son.We would push each other and give each other **** you know all the stuff that comes along with sleddin. I am going to miss that smerck he would have on his face after he just smoked me or did everything he could to try and smoke me. He started ridding right around 1965. He loved the out doors but he really loved sleddin. He would ride atleast 3 or 4 days a week. So there is a little about him. If anyone has any stories about my Dad they can share on here then the people that never got to meet him can know what he was like. Plus we have a lot of crazy stories. The ride will be on 1/1/09 in the canyon creek area and hopefully it will be something for many years to come. I will be keeping the tradition of camping there so if anyone else wants to join it would be awesome!

 

[nermal]

Yes Danny Woods was a great guy. The love and respect everyone has shown for him is amazing. I only knew him for a short time but have several fond memories of the time I was able to spend with him. The day before his passing he broke trail for us in fresh powder. Riders were trying all kinds of aggressive techniques to get through the snow getting stuck repeatedly. Danny would come through sitting down just above an idle and get right through. He was a great rider. Danny loved to ride so much that after knee surgery when he could hardly walk he took his seat to the upholstery shop and had it raised up so he could sit with his knee straighter. He could barely walk but up to the mountain he went. I am grateful to have ridden with Danny the day before the accident. I will miss and remember him always.

Steve W.

 

[spreck]

1/1/09 camping

Conrad, I'll be there.
The one thing that sticks out the most is the day before the accident when we were taking a break and your dad was going off about " Dirty Crotch" eating all his ice cream. I about pee'd myself. He was a great guy and sledder, he was always there telling me how to ride my sled and watching you helping me get unstuck. He will always be remembered. See ya soon and take care. Kyle S

 

[1200cc]

Conrad I think this is a great idea!

My dad (Mr.Prez) and i were up there on that day. We want you to know we will be there for a memorial for your dad. If there is anything the Northwest Glacier Cruisers can do to help we would love to.

Take care Conrad

 

[rmkgirl]

Oh My......

We Don't even know what to say....
This has taken a toll on all of us!!
How does one expresss the feelings we all have for such amazing people?
Not one day goes by without thinking of them...

The ones truely lost are the ones left behind, find peace in knowing they truely loved doing this amazing sport. Both, Danny and Shelia LOVED where they were on that Beautiful Day.

We find it comforting knowing they will always being looking down on us on "The Mountain." and, looking after all of us."

We will defintely be there to support everyone involed!

M&CDorsey

 

[Unknown]

There isnt a ride that goes by without me thinking about him.. As far as stories well you know ive got a few of them to tell, you probably know half of them already. I will tell you this that one of my first rides i went on was with danny way backkkkkkkk.... he pushed me. He always had a way of scaring the **** out of me!!! Without all the new bells and whistle!! I feal fortunate to have known your DAD. CISCO

 

[tar]

Good idea Conrad,
I met Dan almost 20 years ago, and rode with him hundreds of time.
There are so many memories and good times. Dan was more than a sledding buddy to me, he was like family. He would call almost every day at 6:00 am and would want to go riding, didn't matter if it was good or bad weather.

In the summer it was atv's,fishing and camping

There are so many stories. Most would start out "we went down some draw and couldn't get out" LOL or I would ask"do ya think we can make it up there?
And Dan would always say" no problem!" and go for it.

As the sleds got better, the more places Dan would take me.
I would tease Dan and tell him"you never know what time it is, but you always know where you are." Dan would never get lost, he always knew the way out.

Dan didn't care about the latest gimmicks, he could always tune his sled to beat mine.

In his later years, Dan's knee would hurt and it was making it hard for him to ride, when I would ride with him, I would always look back to see if he was doing ok.

Dan had his knee replaced,he would ask the doctor when he could ride again, the doctor would say months. Dan got on his sled and rode it in three weeks.

I miss the early morning calls alot, and think about Dan every day.

I went up riding yesterday,I still find myself looking back,maybe in some way Dan is still back there.

Tar

 

[Chicken]

Hey Tar remember when we went lookin for Dad that night he decided he was going to go look for gold down in the creek by the boundry. He had some crazy idea's huh? But for me that is what made him such a speacial person. He did things knobody else would either try or didn't have the ambition to try.
Keith and I were trying to explain to Michael how it use to take us all day just to get to Bear paw. Then we would drop down into the lake and wait for it to freeze up just to get out or pull the sleds by hand out. Thats what Dad always told us. "Oh we'll get out as soon as the snow starts freezing." Those were the days we had to work at ridding. But those are also some of the best days.

 

[Toad]

Danny was a very special person to me. I haven’t been riding all that many years but the time I spent up on the hill with Danny and Conrad are what keeps me going back up there. Danny was friendly to me from the first time I met him, even if he had very little tolerance for my lack of ability. I can still hear him giving me a hard time about not being able to control the sled. Danny could ride better sitting down than most people can standing up, myself included. Then when he stood up he would make it look effortless. We all know it is not that easy.
Some of my fondest memories are of Danny and Conrad sitting at the bottom of the hill debating about who is the best rider and whose sled climbed the best. We would beat our brains out trying to get to the top of a hill and just at the perfect moment when Danny knew he could make it over he would fire up and go over the top.
I miss Danny very much. I would be honored to ride in his name on 1/1/09

 

[Chicken]

Hey Toad,
Yeah I use to tease him but I will never be as good of a rider as him!!

 

[rmkgirl]

Remembering Good Times!

My husband & I, and Jim & Sheila knew Danny and Conrad through snowmobiling only. We met up at Bear Paw a few years back. These are some of the nicest most genuine people we've spent time with on the Mountain. While most men didn't like the wife's to come along, Danny & Conrad didn't mind a bit. You don't see to many women up there doing the loop, but all the guys made Sheila and I feel so welcomed. We are thankful to Danny for showing us the area and sharing some of his favorite spots with us.

Danny always had a huge smile on his face. It always made me wonder, can life really be that good all the time? I do believe it was for both him AND Shelia. While I don't think either one would want us to mourn for too long or to stop snowmobiling, I do believe they would want us all to learn something from their accident. Whether it's to build meaningful relationships, value family time, or to make educated choices while out riding. Everyone reading this knows what I'm talking about, express your feelings to the people you love and have fun playing in life as they did. Educate yourself and be safe, because you just never know what tomorrow will bring.

On a lighter note, I think it is AWESOME of whomever was responsible for posting the signs along the trail reading "The Danny Woods Trail." He was a true pioneer to the area and definitely deserves that honor/memorial for everyone to see.

Hope to see you all soon!!!

 

[sled.man]

Memorial Ride

This should be a good memorial ride. I didnt know Danny or Sheila personally but I felt the pain of the loss on that day.
I have lost a family member to an avalanche 5 years ago. The thoughts are always with you. Four years ago, i lost another friend. This loss made me question what we are doing as snowmobilers or other winter sportsman. We just need to be a little more careful as we enjoy the winter wonderland.

I will be riding for years to come.

Sorry for your loss
Mick

 

[Clark42]

Rode that trail a handful of times and wondered what the sign had meant. RIP Danny, and hope all is well for OP and people who've shared the mountain and this thread with us