On new trails snapped frames and backcountry repairs

I got to ride some new trails a few Sundays ago...Mitch, myself and Jeff got up reasonably early in the morning and drove out to Harbourview in Sooke. I had never ridden there before so I was really excited to try some new trails. Harbourview is a promising area that will be a part of the Sea-to-Sea Green Blue Belt, conservation initiative.
After driving to Sooke, we made our way up to a special trail in Mitch's heart and started the descent after a brief exchange of awkward words with some other mountain bikers up there. I got to ride about 1/16th of the trail when I noticed a strange sound coming from my rear wheel, or so I thought. After deciding that this was not the normal twig in the spokes or leafs in the derailleur I decided to stop and take a closer look:
Yes, I snapped my first frame. I've cracked frames before, broken bb's, snapped steer tubes and bent cranks, but this was a new experience. And at the top of the damn trail too!!! Sheize!!!
But not to worry, cause Jeff and Mitch know what they're doing...and promptly set off to fix my bike enough to get me down the trail.

First step was remove the bolts connecting the seatstay to the rocker-link on the Fuel. Then Mitch took off in search of suitable frame repair material:

#1 Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) is an escaped garden ornamental, common west of the Coast-Cascade Mountains in southwest BC, and is concentrated at the southern end of Vancouver Island. Also, as it turns out, Cytissus scoparius is good for repairing snapped seatstays. And Mitch put on his carving hat and started cutting away with the Topeak Alien II.

Cut to fit

The phenomenal repair team of Jeff and Mitch got the broom in there... and pushed it back in from the top with the QR skewer, so it would sit on both sides of the snapped seatstay.

#2 Duct Tape: Another essential material in the frame repair man's quiver of tools. Jeff is smarter than most of us and has this wondrous material wrapped around his pump for emergencies like these.

duct tape...

ahh...duct tape, best tool in the world after vise-grips and hammers

some idiot inspecting the work approvingly, note humongous feet; all the better to snap your frame with. The frame repair worked great and I managed to ride all the way to the bottom without incident. New seatstay arrived about a week later just in time for the Super D at Hartland. That one is still holding up...knock on wood.