Comments on: Rise of the Snowmachine

By: Matt Kinney

Matt Kinney — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:10:59 +0000

BTW…that cover shot for “On the Road” looks very familiar. Taken from Mile 44 or so of the Mt. Billy Mitchell area, the last ski route in the guide book.
Thanks for the Kudo Lou!!

By: Karl

Karl — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 03:44:49 +0000

Its always ben good to hear your open minded opinions. Although my political opionions often run on what people would consider liberal, most people would consider me a redneck. For the most part most of the snowmobilers here know who I am even if they don’t know me and although with the newer machines they keep encroaching on tree shot lines and gullies they high mark or pack with a downhill run when I ski they tend to be courteous. I’ve seen others self righteously bitch and moan and give them dirty looks and get the same response. Luckily I have places I can go were neither of these groups will bother me and if I want I few quick runs I can utilize the packed trails the mountain sleds make, many of which are on my old skin tracks ( they seem to have purposfully left some of the lower ones for me and I’ve noticed that the lowest of these is in the new management plan which they put more input into than any skiers or boarders I know). On the other hand during an avalanche class on this same mountain I watched while a kid ran through our class multiple times. Included in our class was uniformed Forest Service personel. The Forest service personel handled the situaton really well but I was glad the one guy who works either for the local Seirra Club Greenpeace or something office wasn’t there. Some of the local girls in the class knew who he was and would tell you that he was a bad egg. This one bad egg could have ruined all the hard work the resposible riders group had done setting up regulations and working with the Forest Service and that is the lecture the kid got.
As far as emissions go its a mute point. Yes its visible but unless your willing to give up alot of the amenities such as ski areas (wonder what all that black stuff is that gets all into your bases in the spring), cars ( theres a lot of granolas out their with old out of tune Suburus belching blue smoke), new gear all the time (do we really need the latest binder, boats, skiis etc.), O.K. I have my modern gear, but I don’t know how many barely used leather boots (and one pair of terminators) skinny skiis etc from the local thrift store I also use especially to boogey up those snowmobile tracks on kicker skins to ski tree shots the snowboarders have missed. We all consume vast quanities of resources far beyond our needs.
No I don’t currently own a snowmachine. But when I lived in a village up north I sure used one. It took me to places were I never would have been able to reach without a major expedition. Before I get off my soapbox let me just say the locals up there are getting greif for excepting Venezualan oil instead of the outrageously espensive oil from the lands they lost and/or one of their major food sources comes from. And they need the gas since there snowmachine is a tool just like your car to bring home the bacon or go out and play. Sorry to go on, I’m bored. I actually took my rusted (but tuned) truck to the shop, my guns are all cleaned mand my bike light needs charging.

By: mike

mike — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 18:43:35 +0000

Driving a veggie fueled truck for a project like The Powder Road may not make that big of a difference in overall global warming (today), but it does raise awareness of alternative fuel sources and keep progressive thinking on the subject alive.

By: Valdez Telehead

Valdez Telehead — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 04:32:31 +0000

What I see here is definitely an increase in snowmachine skiers. With that said, skiers should compromise and really push 4 strokes. I call them Stealthmachines.

With that said I see folks buying real high tech machines. They are very expensive to maintain. They break. Mountain riding is tough on them. They are lousy in deep powder once the slope angle hits 10-15 degrees. I have left many a sledneck at the bottom of a slope covered in powder — snowmachine with even minimal snow can’t get up a 35 degree slope ( I have measured highmark angles and skinned up and past them) except on a course And they can put you so far back in the wilds in a matter of hours. If you do have an engine glitch, you are screwed. It is a very expensive sport. I know of three sleds hauled out of the Chugach last year with a heli.

And I have had snowmachine skiers who are friends agree to meet me somewhere, but by the time they get every thing all ready. I have already skinned up 1/2 the route.

Since I know many of these “locals” (snowmachine cannot go on a plane as excess luggage, which is a major negative IMHO) we have reached some agreements, Mainly that they ride up and back down on the same trail that we skin. Good thing is snowmachineskiers like to manage the terrain for skiing. What I don’t like is the snowmachine skier pair that drops off a skier, then the rider goes all over the place screwing up the untracked terrain.

BTW I own a Polaris Wide-Trak that I have had for 10 years. It has 6000 miles. But I personally would never use a snowmachine to ski. No need here. In some areas they seem ok due to long approaches. Believe it or not, last year for the first time I got a ride up on the Pass. I have never done this, but made an exception for our Visitor Bureau who were putting together promo for the area.

[Editor's note, Telehead is the author of an excellent backcountry sking guidebook for the Chugach.]

By: Mike J

Mike J — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 03:56:16 +0000

Hey Lou, I am new to the snowmobiling adventure. Two years ago I would have never thought that I would be riding a sled in the backcounty. Being an avid snowboarder from the midwest, we hiked out of bounds and from trail-heads in various mountain States . I had a great experience taking an avalanche course and hiking into the backcountry. But with time, I wanted to access more remote areas.

I equated it to our backcountry mountain bike trips, where we use our pick-up truck to access remote areas. Once there, we are able to use our energy to ride further than we would have been capable in our time allowed, after all I’m still a working fool and time is time.

Last year I bought 2 mountain sleds, I was lucky enough to travel out west 5 times last winter. Each time I learned more. I learned that you can travel great distances, which in turn can lead to spending the night in a warming hut during a winter storm that dumped 3 feet of snow overnite. My wife and I were able to snowshoe and snowboard in remote areas that we could of never reached during our trips without our sleds as an access tool.

When I think about snowcat or heli sking, it does’t work, I like my freedom with my sled. I guess I’ve become a dang sledneck!

I agree with you Lou , too many “feel good acts”.