anybody want to hate on snowmobiles for a while?

[ropegoat]

I think a lot of us enjoy our time in the mountains because we enjoy the quiet, we enjoy the clean air, we enjoy the rewards of working hard all morning climbing to earn a few beautiful backcountry turns in a really special place.

 

It really really pisses me off that snowmobiles are allowed in wilderness areas. Walking off of Adams on Saturday night the forest was literally roaring with the smell and sound of 2 stroke engines.

 

It was a beautiful day, and except for the one guy who drove his sled up to 10000 ft (the boundary BTW is at 6 or 7k) it was largely free of snowmobiles. Getting back to my car was a brutal shock to the system. It makes me sad that we have national pasttimes that present such a falsity of connection to nature. Do you really think anyone inside a snowmobile suit knows what a forest really smells like?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

The good news is that snowmobilers tend to be candidates for Darwin Awards. The bad news is that their rate of succumbing to a quick and early death falls far below their rate of reproduction.

 

[pink]

i just want to hate period, the peace love days are OVER, thank the fuck GAWD....

[ropegoat]

I was starting to figure that an ice ax would probably make it through a snowmobile helmet pretty handily.

 

Pink- I'm not really about just random hating, but sometimes certain numbskulls need to get hated on for being fucking stupid and disrespectful of this amazing place we live in.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I was starting to figure that an ice ax would probably make it through a snowmobile helmet pretty handily.

 

Pink- I'm not really about just random hating, but sometimes certain numbskulls need to get hated on for being fucking stupid and disrespectful of this amazing place we live in.

 

and ice tool would be more effective - more ergonomic and suited for the task

[ropegoat]

true, but I didn't carry a quark for skiing the south spur on adams

[pink]

I was starting to figure that an ice ax would probably make it through a snowmobile helmet pretty handily.

 

Pink- I'm not really about just random hating, but sometimes certain numbskulls need to get hated on for being fucking stupid and disrespectful of this amazing place we live in.

 

kinda like hammering pitons, trundling rocks, gardening routes, drilling holes. i find if you bitch about someone.... someone will pitch a bitch about u... climbers aren't exactly a loved crowd.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

I was starting to figure that an ice ax would probably make it through a snowmobile helmet pretty handily.

 

Pink- I'm not really about just random hating, but sometimes certain numbskulls need to get hated on for being fucking stupid and disrespectful of this amazing place we live in.

 

kinda like hammering pitons, trundling rocks, gardening routes, drilling holes. i find if you bitch about someone.... someone will pitch a bitch about u... climbers aren't exactly a loved crowd.

 

hey, good idea. maybe you could trundle rocks onto the snowmobilers?

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

true, but I didn't carry a quark for skiing the south spur on adams

 

your bad ;-)

[pink]

 

special forces have been deployed...

[Dechristo]

A guide company out of Pinedale, the Skinner brothers, took more than a dozen clients and all their gear/provisions in by sleds the 25+ miles into the Wind River Range to basecamp for a whack at a Winter ascent of Gannett Peak. A week later, while skiing in with the same objective, I came across their sled tracks over and over as I skied in the whole distance. Spitefully, I begrudged the tourists' easy access, lack of work, and minimal commitment in approaching the remote peak.

 

A couple weeks later, my spite saw release in a bout of maniacal laughter when I was told by a friend that the Skinner's party had to be rescued by helicopter from their earlier attempt after ferocious winds blew away tents and sleeping bags.

 

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

A guide company out of Pinedale, the Skinner brothers, took more than a dozen clients and all their gear/provisions in by sleds the 25+ miles into the Wind River Range to basecamp for a whack at a Winter ascent of Gannett Peak. A week later, while skiing in with the same objective, I came across their sled tracks over and over as I skied in the whole distance. Spitefully, I begrudged the tourists' easy access, lack of work, and minimal commitment in approaching the remote peak.

 

A couple weeks later, my spite saw release in a bout of maniacal laughter when I was told by a friend that the Skinner's party had to be rescued by helicopter from their earlier attempt after ferocious winds blew away tents and sleeping bags.

 

 

A couple years ago I was up on the Easton Glacier doing crevasse rescue practice. All day we breathed fumes of snowmobilers going up and down the glacier around us. In the afternoon an electrical storm developed, prompting us to haul ass out of there. We quickly packed up camp and prepared for the last few hours of the day after an already long day... and well three of us had "nature's call" at about the same time. We proceeded to find separate spots to drop trou facing away from the Railroad Grade and towards the open glacier terminus. Almost on cue two snowmobilers passed nearby us, as we saluted them with a row of bare asses and dropping brown, corn-fed toilet trout (and yes, we blue bagged them out of there).

 

 

[G-spotter]

[video:youtube]

Edited May 11, 2009 by G-spotter

[Dechristo]

Darwin award

 

[video:youtube]

[Dechristo]

[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwMJCaFwZCI

[stinkyclimber]

In the early days of the snow-cat assisted sledding in Brandywine Meadows near Whistler, as often as possible I took dumps on the ski out along the groomed road, and then lightly covered the new "cairn" with snow. Being the second sledder in line would have sucked.

 

Last week, Mike Weigle, the owner of Canadian Mountain Holidays (big heli-ski outfit in the Monashees) called for all bc sledding to be banned in BC due to all the deaths and general stupidity. In part, he cited "stress to his staff" because of all the body recoveries they were doing, including one where the victim's face had been chewed off by wild animals.

[Dechristo]

I guess I owe a debt of gratitude to some of the less fortunate/wise snowmobilers as, a number of years ago, a Winter ascent attempt on Robson was forestalled by confirmation of avalanche danger made by the deaths of a couple nearby sledders.

[Dechristo]

[video:youtube]

[Vickster]

I was on Mt. Baker south side a few years ago and the snowmobile scumbags were dumping beer cans all over the place. In the dark of night they were nearly running over the climbing camp which had a good 8 tents in it.

 

Honestly, I wish I had my 300 win mag with so I could bloodgut those pieces of shit.

[mattp]

I may anger somebody by saying this but I have one piece of advice for anybody who doesn't want to share the mountain with snowmobiles:

 

avoid the south side of Mount Baker in the snow months -- especially I think March through May or maybe June. This is the ONLY alpine (glaciated) place in the State where they are allowed and although the original post here complained that they violated their boundaries at Mount Adams (I'm not surprised) and they have been known to head into the designated wilderness near Mount Stuart, they generally stay out of designated wilderness.

 

I've seen good and bad, but if you don't want to see them, try the Boulder - Park. I think they sometimes violate their boundaries and head up to the summit or over onto the Coleman, but I don't think they ever get over to the Boulder. I'm pretty sure they never get onto the North Ridge or the Cockscomb route.

[111]

several years ago we were hiking into S. Sister from Mt Bachelor for some turns on the South Side. The first 6 miles was on a popular sled trail. We were dragging our boards as it was mostly level, and by the end of 6 miles the bottom of the board was coated in oil. It looked like I had tried to wax my board with oil and forgot to scrape it. Pissed me off so much. The lake at the bottom of the valley there has no outlet (drains into porous lava) so you can imagine the cumulative effects of this on an alpine ecosystem.

[ropegoat]

Vickster-

 

That is exactly the kind of sentiment that I hope other people were/are feeling. Also- thanks all for the hilarious vids, and excellent ideas on how to give a little bit back.

 

111- I had a similar experience around Broken Top this past February. Had not factored in the geology for environmental damage as well... shitfuckers.

 

Edited May 12, 2009 by ropegoat

[Serenity]

I like snowmobiles. They're good for pissing off assholes.

[111]

oh, so you are one of the fat lazy redneck fucks then too?

[John Frieh]

oh, so you are one of the fat lazy redneck fucks then too?

 

If only you knew.

 

For what it is or isnt worth the local MT snowmobiler organization helped out greatly in fighting for getting the road plowed for Hyalite canyon.

 

IMO as access to our public lands becomes more and more threatened/limited through privatization fighting for what you and I want will require a louder, more unified voice. To accomplish this will require getting more climbers to give a shit (good luck) or aligning with other user groups that have similar goals (i.e. perserve access). Like snowmobilers, hunters, packers, etc etc

 

Yes they shouldn’t have violated the wilderness boundary. Yes snowmobiles are noisy. Life isn’t fair sometimes.