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Snowmobiles vs Skiers


AlpineK

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We haven't had a good smack down between skiers and snowmobilers for a while.

 

On a recent trip up to Canada Jordop and I skied into a basin that we thought would be free of snowmobilers only to find a herd of 15 of em. They were noisy and they stunk up the whole basin.

 

I fully expect to see snowmobiles on logging roads and other areas below tree line, but I think the high alpine environment is no place for big noisy machines. At the very least the use should be restricted to a few areas. This isn't a huge issue in Washington State, however the alpine terrain in BC is being overrun.

 

Backcountry skiers take advantage of cars and trucks, but they leave them behind. One of the great things about bc skiing is to experience the silence of the mountains in winter. In reality there is no way that snowmobiles and skiers can use the same areas.

 

In the case of the Whistler-Pemberton area. There are huge areas, with good bc skiing, where nobody will go skiing because they are overrun with snowmobiles.

 

Just because you motorheads can go anywhere doesn't mean you should go anywhere.

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minx said:

i was recently horrified to learn that they're indoctrinating them younger than ever. They have snowmobiles my 7yr old can ride! shocked.gif I had no idea.

oh how the parents pressure their kids in athletics at such an early age! Figure skating, tennis, skiing, and those poor children suffering the wrath from the overbearing snowmobiling mom. All in the quest for glory: snowmobile.jpg
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freeclimb9 said:

Alpinek,

granted, snowmobiles are inefficient at burning fuel. But I actually appreciate their noise. Imagine a world in which snowmobiles can silently approach at 60 mph, and you might, too.

 

My basic point is bc skiing and snowmobiles are incompatible. Some kind of restrictions need to be put in place in the Whistler-Pemberton area, or soon the only folks out in the mountains will be sledheads.

 

 

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AlpineK, I dislike snowmobiles when I go skiing so I go to places where I KNOW I won't find them. snowmobiles have every right to go into the backcountry and enjoy it as well. snowmobiling is a multi million dollar industry and does a lot more for supporting the economy and tourism than a bunch or us shopping at MEC. The Lillooet Land and Resource Managment Plan (LLRMP) is currently working on boundries where snowmobiles can and can not go. In highly used areas they may have certain months or years that snowmobiles can not use a certain area.

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This past weekend I wanted nothing more than to hear the sweet sound of a snomobile and suck it's noxious fumes. We'd just finished an 8 day traverse of the Shulaps range near lillooet and had 30 km of flatish logging road to ski back to the truck. The snow was breakable crust and powder and I wanted a damn snowmobile track madgo_ron.gif!

Edited by salbrecher
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Snowmobiles suck. even when you are riding on them they are noisy and foul smelling. every time i see one out in the backcountry i hope they break down and the lazy ass owner has to walk all the way back to their car so they can see how far it is and how annoying it is to see other snowmobiles cruising by them. let them stick to the lowlands. check out the statistics this season on avalanche fatalities on avalanche.org and you can see that many of the incidents involve snowmobiles, and very few of them have safety equipment or avalanche training. something about riding a machine makes you forget your sensibilities.

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cman said:

Snowmobiles suck. even when you are riding on them they are noisy and foul smelling. every time i see one out in the backcountry i hope they break down and the lazy ass owner has to walk all the way back to their car so they can see how far it is and how annoying it is to see other snowmobiles cruising by them. let them stick to the lowlands. check out the statistics this season on avalanche fatalities on avalanche.org and you can see that many of the incidents involve snowmobiles, and very few of them have safety equipment or avalanche training. something about riding a machine makes you forget your sensibilities.

 

fuck you cpuss - I'll run your ass over with my sled if I see you out there. moon.gifthe_finger.gif

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trask said:

fuck you cpuss - I'll run your ass over with my sled if I see you out there. moon.gifthe_finger.gif

 

He DOES have a point, though. Snowmobiles DO suck. In addition to being noisy and smelly and taking people who arguably do not belong there into "our" backcountry, they break down all the time and you have to get a really expensive one if you want to be able to ride them through deep or sticky snow. Don't take one very far into the backcountry unless you have two of them along with you or you are prepared to walk home.

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mattp said:

trask said:

fuck you cpuss - I'll run your ass over with my sled if I see you out there. moon.gifthe_finger.gif

 

He DOES have a point, though. Snowmobiles DO suck. In addition to being noisy and smelly and taking people who arguably do not belong there into "our" backcountry, they break down all the time and you have to get a really expensive one if you want to be able to ride them through deep or sticky snow. Don't take one very far into the backcountry unless you have two of them along with you or you are prepared to walk home.

 

the_finger.gifyelrotflmao.gif nice troll Matt wave.gif

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Snow machines have their uses, but as 90% of you on this list are "city" boys and girls you never see them as WORK MACHINES. I've used them for hunting, fishing, approaching ice climbs that are a long distance and a machine is the best option. Those of you that disagree with this use can kiss my butt.

I've also seen the misuse of the gas hogs and its shameful. A good friend of my wife's was crippled by one in Hatchers Pass about 20 years ago by an out of control sno-goer. Very sad ending.

I personally would never buy one as I can spend $ on other things, but to have the hard core feeling about the machine and the people that own them is not correct either. Its like saying float planes, river sleds, air boats etc. should be banned. All machines have good and bad users(owners). I was coming back from a climb in Alaska once that had a mo-fro decent. My buddy got hurt, an avid sno-go hater. Well, a sno-go driver helped haul his ass back to the trail head. His 'tude changed after that. grin.gif

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