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Preppin my Sled for the Baker Rally


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I don't really know where you're coming from there, Catbird. I have very rarely had any problem with snowmobilers and I've rarely heard of anybody else having one. Yes, if you go over to Lake Wenatchee and want to have a logging road to yourself you will be out of luck and you will encounter them on the south side of Mount Baker once in a while, but overall I've found them to be very easy to avoid and those that I do encounter are usually (not always) considerate. I'd say they are not my kind of thing but I don't begrudge them their fun....

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mattp said:

I don't really know where you're coming from there, Catbird. I have very rarely had any problem with snowmobilers and I've rarely heard of anybody else having one. Yes, if you go over to Lake Wenatchee and want to have a logging road to yourself you will be out of luck and you will encounter them on the south side of Mount Baker once in a while, but overall I've found them to be very easy to avoid and those that I do encounter are usually (not always) considerate. I'd say they are not my kind of thing but I don't begrudge them their fun....

Very well put Matt, and a BIG thank you for saying it so well. Sno gos have their place. I like to get to long distance ice climbs on them, hunt for caribou from them, and go ice fishing in remote out of the way spots on them. There are irresponsible users but that is true in every sprot and activity. I don't own a sled or a 4 wheeler any longer, but IF I move back to the GREAT FROZEN NORTH I'll have both and a jet sled.

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cracked said:

I don't like recreational snowmobilers. Loud, obnoxious, smelly, etc. I hate skinning for three hours and still being able to hear them. madgo_ron.gif

When used as transportation, I have no problem with them. Same goes for dirt bikes, ATVs, etc.

 

WAAAAAAAAAAAAA cry.gifcry.gifcry.gifpitty.gifGod its great to back in country again. You crying ass babies of the PNW ought to fuckin just suck it up and go on with life. Go buy yourself some hearing protection like I use when I shoot my GUNS or buy an MP3 player and tune out the noise you fucking baby. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa cry.gifcry.gif

 

 

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Snomobiles bother me a lot. I encounter them all the time. They are noisy and smelly. Those are my two primary beefs with them. It wouldn't be such a problem if they would just adopt modern four stroke engines, but those won't be common for another ten years, thanks to Bush. The two strokes will be around for another 20 years at least.

 

Has anyone thought of using rotary engines on snowmobiles? They are lighter than four stroke piston engines and cleaner than two stroke engines.

 

Wait! The answer is YES.

 

I have a friend who used a 90lb Wankel type engine on his 30 ft racing sailboat. The engine was air cooled and put out the same power as engines weighing three times as much. He won a lot of races.

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I despise the snowmobilers that I have run into up until now.

 

Last year they were disobeying the rangers on st helens and going all the way to the top where all the hikers were having lunch. So as soon as they topped out they were on the 10 foot wide crater rim almost riding over our feet. That was a time when I wish the cornice had given way and watched them fall into the lava dome.

 

The other thing was that they did not have to pay for a permit, just the snow park pass was all they needed. Hitting the summit must have made them feel pretty good!

 

I also dislike the Mtn Loop highway every year. I dont mind them on the road, even though the gas fumes just lurk around for hours making you sick to your stomach. But they drive up the Big 4 trail and other places that they are not supposed to.

 

Then there's Baker, I love watching them ride the Railroad Grade half pipe. Did a snowmobiler topple over once on the top and get crushed?

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Scot, you cunt lip, if your brain matter was axle grease, there wouldn't be enough in your head to grease the dynamo on a lightening bug's ass. Does your train of thought have a caboose? A long period of non-posting would be most welcome on your part. To quote Thomas Brackett Reed: "They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge."

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mattp said:

I don't really know where you're coming from there, Catbird. I have very rarely had any problem with snowmobilers and I've rarely heard of anybody else having one. Yes, if you go over to Lake Wenatchee and want to have a logging road to yourself you will be out of luck and you will encounter them on the south side of Mount Baker once in a while, but overall I've found them to be very easy to avoid and those that I do encounter are usually (not always) considerate. I'd say they are not my kind of thing but I don't begrudge them their fun....

 

Never skied or climbed Mt. St. Helens then. They sled right to the crater rim.

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I don't like snowmobiles either. Its just that I think there are other ways to deal with it than bitch about how noisy, smelly etc. they are and brand them all as ignorant motorheads. I know that none of you have said this, but I frequently hear that idea expressed by cross country skiers and others of our persuasion and the attitude I saw expressed by Catibird in his initial post to this thread sounds as if he may well share that idea.

 

Regarding Mount Saint Helens:

Yes, I think it is a shame they don't seem to be able to follow the rules there and I would certainly favor stricter law enforcement (they aren't supposed to be able to go above timberline, isn't that right?). I also agree that they are noisy, smelly machines and I don't like to be near them -- that is one reason why I don't go to Mount Saint Helens very often -- or any other trailhead that happens to be a snowmobile unloading point for that matter. However, as to the real mountain areas of the State, not much is open to snowmobiling.

 

Regarding Volcano's:

Of the volcano's in Washington, why not go to Mount Rainier, or Glacier Peak? Yes, I know they have been seen on Adams, though not very often, so I don't mention this one. But I don't think you will ever even hear one from Glacier Peak or Rainier, and you won't share even one foot of the trail with them. On Mount Baker, I know they occasionally stray over to the Coleman Glacier, but they mostly stay where they are supposed to be - in that pie-shaped slice of the south side of the mountain. Climb via the Coleman Glacier, a beautiful winter and spring route, and you'll leave them behind as soon as you leave the summer trailhead (this may involve some distance of shared access).

 

Regarding other areas:

If you want to ski roadside areas at Snoqualmie Pass, you can head up Denny Creek, Alpental Basin, or up into Commonwealth Basin and you won't be bothered, but if you head up Gold Creek or Rocky Run, well .... bring your earplugs. Stevens Pass? Head up Skyline Ridge, Jim Hill Mtn. or Arrowhead or Mount Howard - I've never seen or heard them in those places. If you go up Smith Brook, you may find one that came over from Lake Wenatchee, but usually not. N. Cascades? Don't go to Washington Pass or to any of the areas close to Baker Lake. Just about the entire rest of the N. Cascades is fine. Mountain Loop Highway? They unload at the same place as you start out on skis when the road is blocked at Deer Creek, so it may be hard to get away from them -- that is unless you head up any of a dozen side creeks that don't have roads. On the north end of the loop, I didn't hear any noise when I was up on Sloan Peak on a beautiful day in February last winter - and we were only about a couple miles from the car via a quite reasonable trail.

 

Yes, they stink. Yes, they have an obnoxious lobby and an unreasonable pull when it comes to Jellystone National Park policy or whatever. Yes, they should be required to use 4 stroke engines. Do they ruin my life in the mountains? No.

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