Any groups out there dedicated to preserving sled access skiing?

[goldenboy]

Backstory: Due to the Winter Wildland Alliance' court case, the Forest Service is going to have to come up with winter travel management plans. In many cases, this may mean a loss of skiing opportunities in areas with sled-access skiing. Locally, we're gearing up for a fight with a small handful of nordic skiers that are looking to take over one of our main access points.

We're not really aligned with the sledhead crowd. The areas that the nordic crowd are targeting are far more popular with skiers that are using sleds than with the sledheads. So while we will have some support from the local snowmobile club, we're a bit on our own with this one. I'm looking for any other groups, nationally or locally, that are also working to keep their access, but aren't 100% sledders. That might even mean companies that are pro sled-skiing and can help (i.e CFR?)

Thanks,

[Shredhead]

Try talking with Mike Sladdin at Powder to the People. He's very familiar with this type of situation.

http://www.powdertothepeople.org/

[adrenalated]

There is a Facebook group called Backcountry United that's basically dedicated to this idea, but I think it's more of a hobby page than anything organized at this point. That said, there may be someone there that knows something useful.

Also interested in this, this will be a problem in many places.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Fight the flight else it will end up like my neck of the woods. I have a little familiarity with your scene. Are you fighting to keep sleds allowed on FS roads? That's the thing that I think is BS. Snowmobiles should be allowed the same places motor vehicles are allowed in the summer.

[Pinner]

Honestly, WWA would be my first stop. They're far more sophisticated and pragmatic than "NO SLEDS ANYWHERE! EVER!!" of the old BSA and I know they'd be stoked to work with you on solutions. Feel free to email me questions if you want.

[adrenalated]

The nordic skier group in CB that GB mentions is aligned with WWA...

[Pinner]

All the more reason.

[LightRanger]

You want to talk to Hilary Eisen:
https://winterwildlands.org/about-wi...lliance/staff/

It's worth raising the issue with them at least.

[goldenboy]

Fight the flight else it will end up like my neck of the woods. I have a little familiarity with your scene. Are you fighting to keep sleds allowed on FS roads? That's the thing that I think is BS. Snowmobiles should be allowed the same places motor vehicles are allowed in the summer.

Yes, FS roads traveled by thousands of cars and other vehicles every summer, and the key to the castle, so to speak, of backcountry skiing in the area.

I will not be contacting the WWA. The group we are fighting is aligned with the WWA.

[Bunion 2020]

Let me guess. Sled access will be banned but at the same time this group will want sled grooming on the chosen area they are trying to "save"....

[Gone Skiing]

Obviously they want to groom it. I think some of our best support might come from people who xc ski out there but don't want to pay for it. Laurel loves going out slate, snowmobiles and all, because she can take Owen and it's free. Same goes for snowshoers, if the nordic center is grooming the road, they don't get to play.

[glademaster]

If you listen closely you can hear the faint sounds of the world's smallest violin being played for you all...

[capulin overdrive]

Let me guess. Sled access will be banned but at the same time this group will want sled grooming on the chosen area they are trying to "save"....

100% truth according to sledneckers. Supposedly they want to run a diesel groomer at night!

[capulin overdrive]

Silent Tracks is supposed to be the group hooking up with WWA?


Anyways, I'm joining the Gunni Snotrackers and Goats. Don't know what else to do?


As far as companies helping, worth a try, but sounds like the companies don't really kick in for the regular sled cause.


FWIW, Skidoo has pushed the sled skiing angle a little, and now Polaris has a film out/coming out with Travis Rice and Dan Adams. So maybe some day they'll get on board?

[gunniride]

Creating a unique group separate from snotrakers and certainly the Goats is a good move. Having a group that can be identified as courteous and cooperative will get you much further than the likes of temper tantrum Goats.

[raisingarizona13]

Good luck! I bet this has the potential to get very interesting since CB is such a small community.

[ACH]

Also interested in this, this will be a problem in many places.

Just waiting for this (and WWA) to rear it's ugly little head around our parts as well.
We have already seen some regionally driven activity, though it turned out is was a small group of self interested locals trying to hoard their own little stash

To the OP...
Best of luck with your efforts.
Hopefully there is a collective voice that can raise up from this that will provide a reasonable counterpoint to WWA.

[thommy21]

GB check in with Ochs as the Fat Bike crowd has some similar concerns with the Nordic folks approach to limiting access to some of those areas.

[TAFKALVS]

What if in the winter time:

Wilderness areas were opened up to sled usage from Dec 15th - March 15th. Maybe even limit it to areas that are a minimum of 5 air miles from a road. Have serious penalties for garbage, wildlife harassment, violating closures, etc. (impounded sled, jail time, etc.)

Areas within 2-3 miles of a paved, plowed road were closed to sled usage, other than road travel to access distant areas. Skiers would no longer need to compete with sleds for Alpine terrain near the car.

Once roads started to melt out normal motorized restrictions would resume.

Seems like a win for everybody.

[Buster Highmen]

What if in the winter time:

Wilderness areas were opened up to sled usage from Dec 15th - March 15th. Maybe even limit it to areas that are a minimum of 5 air miles from a road. Have serious penalties for garbage, wildlife harassment, violating closures, etc. (impounded sled, jail time, etc.).

I'd vote no on that one. Existing rules are not enforced and laughed at.

It's appropriate that some places be motor free.

Skiers would no longer need to compete with sleds for Alpine terrain near the car.

I really doubt opening up wilderness areas would encourage all the highmarkers to go there.


I'd still like to see more lifts and huts in general, though.

[adrenalated]

I'd vote no on that one.

It's appropriate that some places be motor free.

I'd still like to see more lifts and huts in general, though.

This (and I'm a sled owner...)

I would like to see better winter access by car to many wilderness areas though. Maybe the quiet lands people would stop trying to fucking close areas to sleds if they could access the plethora of non-motorized areas that already exist.

[Buster Highmen]

This is one thing the environMentalists don't get: lifts are an excellent, low impact way to provide access to mountains.

Lots of ski area access or mountain access roads could be replaced by lifts.

But the aesthetics are less than satisfying in having a straight line rather than a winding road despite the lower environmental impact.

[TAFKALVS]

Maybe the quiet lands people would stop trying to fucking close areas to sleds if they could access the plethora of non-motorized areas that already exist.

That's what I'm getting at.

[kidwoo]

If you find such a group let us know. I'll sell organs to give them every bit of money I can.

Good luck. CA is going through the same thing on a much bigger scale. Based on public comments I've seen so far, I'm really not sure why someone would go to WWA for help. I've seen nothing here that genuinely helps access to skiing, just more snowmobile restrictions.

[SUPERIOR]

Thanks for all the info in this thread, I work with HBC in Hokkaido, Japan, and we are facing similar issues.

www.hokkaidobackcountryclub.com

Our club is a type of meeting place both online and off-line for Japan's growing backcountry ski, snowboard, snowmobile, snowcat and Heli community.