Ok, so I know they're not widely loved in the mountaineering community, but I recently picked up a pair of snowmobiles for winter climbing and backcountry ski access. Initially I'm just going to use them for access on snow-covered logging roads, but as I get more experience under my belt, I'd like to do ski laps on steeper terrain - towing someone else on the way up, and then switching off who gets to ski/drive on the way down.

Anyone in norcal (and the Tahoe area especially) have experience with this? Areas I'm eyeing are Mt Lola/Carpenter ridge north of Truckee, Blackwood Canyon, accessing the west side of Desolation via Wright's Lake, etc.

Anyone in norcal (and the Tahoe area especially) have experience with this?

Yeah, noise, pollution, and hazard, even. I'd sell all of them and apply the money to resort skiing if you like that so much. Spare the air and bc. Though you may find support in the MLC SC. They got rid of us bc skiers and more white smoke in the mtns would be right up their line.

I got a few spots for your machine.
http://www.thebackcountry.net/bb/viewto ... &start=100

http://www.thebackcountry.net/bb/viewtopic.php?t=342

If you can brave leaving the Sierra and trading it for some Coast Range skiing.


______________________
Coastal Crest Snow Patrol

Spare us the noise pollution. Sell the snowmobiles and learn to telemark. It will get you anywhere in the back country. Randonee would be another option and is a lot easier to learn.

There are way more areas to telemark ski than snowmobile so I suggest you get off your tree and learn to share. I'm tired of the argument.

Don't know anyhting about Tahoe but pm me if you make it down to Mammoth. There's plenty of good access here and some that my tele friends enjoy get a lift into.

Forget the skis altogether. Now I'm thinking of buying a snowmobile, building some snowmen up there and doing some " drive by biathalon " shooting with semi autos !!

that's hilarious! Driving into Cold Stream to go ice climbing, in that thing? AWESOME!

"Who poached my line? WHO???"

DMT

Dingus Milktoast wrote:that's hilarious! Driving into Cold Stream to go ice climbing, in that thing? AWESOME!

"Who poached my line? WHO???"

DMT

oh i must admit, my dear friend dingus brought me a huge smile, and giggle with that one.

Certainly a polarizing topic. Look, I don't want to start a pissing match over the ups and downs of snowmobiles, but I don't see what's so objectionable about using them in the right circumstances.

I've got an AT setup and a lot of experience with it, and there are certainly times where snowmobiles would piss me off - for example, if the USFS ever considered allowing them in the Castle Peak or Mt Rose areas. And I'd certainly support additional well thought out snowmobile-free zones around high-use BC spots.

At the same time, there are a lot of places I'd like to play in, but where the approach makes a casual weekend trip difficult. And where you can drive in the summertime without anyone giving you a second glance. Wright's Lake, where I'd like to get ski access to western Desolation, is an 8 mile approach in heavy snow conditions. Blackwood Canyon to Barker Pass is what, 7 miles? Doesn't leave much room for playtime. And with those kinds of approaches, there tend not to be a lot of other people around to annoy - after all, why spend hours skinning on boring terrain when you can drive a little further south to Tallac, where besides stunning terrain, snowmobiles aren't allowed anyway?

Yeah, it's poor form to go crash a popular BC ski hill with a sled. And surely no matter where I go, someone's going to be pissed off about it. But do you get ticked at people driving the Rubicon Jeep Trail? Riding dirt bikes on logging roads? What would you think if they started plowing logging roads instead of allowing snowmobiles?

Doing snowmobile laps on backcountry slopes?

Yeah, I'm cool with that...as long as you attach huge stereo speakers to your snowmobiles and blast Iron Maiden or Judas Priest while your back there. 500 decibels oughta be about right.

Being towed by a snowmobile to do some downhill sucks, by the people doing it that I overheard. By them, though, most bc skiing also sucks--bad ungroomed snow.

You can get to any part of the Sierra not ever using motorized transport, aside from maybe unstable slopes. Maybe try it. If you have no patience to ski in and would rather ride or fly (heli skiing), you can head for British Columbia or thereabouts. They have sno cat skiing, much better than being towed, and also heli skiing, all that's left of that, I hear.

Please, wilderness has no defense left here. I've seen snowmobile tracks high on Pyramid Peak (9,987') and elsewhere, courtesy, USFS. Don't ruin it forever.

1000Pks wrote:Please, wilderness has no defense left here. I've seen snowmobile tracks high on Pyramid Peak (9,987') and elsewhere, courtesy, USFS. Don't ruin it forever.

Lets not confuse two different issues. The Desolation Wilderness boundary extends well below Pyramid on all sides, and there's absolutely no excuse for "accidentally" riding into it. People poaching wilderness areas and closed zones deserve to be cited (not that its much of a deterrent . . . I think the max fine is $1000, which given the odds of getting caught, is a joke). I've spent a lot of time in Desolation and have no desire to see it overrun with motorized vehicles.

It's true that you can get anywhere you want in the Sierra on skis, but that's equally true in the summer. Should we permanently close 4, 108, 120, and the massive network of approach roads that are closed in the wintertime? It would certainly preserve the wilderness better, and anyone with enough time and motivation could still hike in to Tuolumne Meadows or Sonora Pass. Climber traffic on Cathedral Peak would certainly drop off.

If you think that snowmobiles should be banned from the state, then I can respect that, although I don't agree. But don't equate legal snowmobile usage - which is actually pretty heavily restricted in popular areas - with highmarking inside a wilderness area.

1000Pks wrote:
Please, wilderness has no defense left here. I've seen snowmobile tracks high on Pyramid Peak (9,987') and elsewhere, courtesy, USFS. Don't ruin it forever.


Lets not confuse two different issues. The Desolation Wilderness boundary extends well below Pyramid on all sides, and there's absolutely no excuse for "accidentally" riding into it. People poaching wilderness areas and closed zones deserve to be cited (not that its much of a deterrent . . . I think the max fine is $1000, which given the odds of getting caught, is a joke). I've spent a lot of time in Desolation and have no desire to see it overrun with motorized vehicles.

It's true that you can get anywhere you want in the Sierra on skis, but that's equally true in the summer. Should we permanently close 4, 108, 120, and the massive network of approach roads that are closed in the wintertime? It would certainly preserve the wilderness better, and anyone with enough time and motivation could still hike in to Tuolumne Meadows or Sonora Pass. Climber traffic on Cathedral Peak would certainly drop off.

If you think that snowmobiles should be banned from the state, then I can respect that, although I don't agree. But don't equate legal snowmobile usage - which is actually pretty heavily restricted in popular areas - with highmarking inside a wilderness area.

Excuse me, I have been a wilderness user and supporter most all of my life, much due to the old time Sierra Club. There are venues for everything, this is a free country. Just that even with the MLC SC riddance of us, that doesn't change my mind about motorized vehicles on de facto wilderness. I'm sure if you go do it, you'll have a great fun time. There are millions of snowmobile enthusiasts though mainly in the NE. They will do as they please, it sure helps their economies.

Aside from maybe once or twice, I've never seen bc skiers towed by snowmobiles. I used to do a lot of winter bc, and we all mostly do not want such further intrusions where we all have skied and played.

There is a good legitimate reason for snow enabled transport, people like it and I've seen cross country skiers even rescued by them. Not me or anyone I know, though. And the Sierra Club I heard has its own fleet of snowmobiles, they run their lodge by Donner Pass, replete with a rope tow, last I saw. I just abhor the advancement into de facto wilderness, as those are the only places left locally in which you still can enjoy natural scenic beauty plus the quiet and peace of the mountains. That snowmobiles now run amuck on what I used to ski and enjoy, now, well I guess that's progress by some.

Myself, I haven't bc skied for years, and I surmise in another concession to big oil and all, the MLC SC got rid of all of us. But I'd love to get back into it, as I head into deep wilderness, and would not like it if a snowmobile, or presumably hundreds of them, should buzz about spoiling the peace and tranquility that so many of us once enjoyed. No big offense meant, just my 2 cents.

The great utility of snow machines is to get up closed East Side access roads like up to Dunderberg, etc. Opens up some magnificent terrain to day climbs, and the snow machines never have to leave the road, really. Even thought the road is buried its still a road. Not wilderness not even defacto.

DMT