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Everyone Wants Easy Access — While Wilderness Goes Unused

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Law of unintended consequences: Some years ago, environmentalists pushed for creation of small pocket wilderness areas in the Utah Wasatch mountains. Such legal wilderness is frequently too far from road access for much human-powered winter recreation such as backcountry skiing. It’s also illegal to use with machinery. Result: helicopter skiers and human powered backcountry skiers are forced together in more accessible areas of the Wasatch. Creating legal wilderness is a harsh way to protect our backcountry, and may even result in over-use of other land, thus destroying as much “wilderness value” as it creates. Perhaps we need another land designation that allows limited mechanized access but still protects the land from overzealous development?

Posted by Lou on February 19, 2005 | Filed Under Enviro Rants 

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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