SummitPost.org

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.

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.


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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.

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?

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.

I'm not a big fan of snowmobiles either but mostly because of the morons here in CO who get in over their heads (and their Buddha bellies) and need rescue. I don't think matt's a moron. Can't speak to the Buddha belly.

Guess I don't see the difference between snowmobiling and cat-skiing, other than the latter tends to be limited to one area. And costs an arm and your left knacker. Kinda like heli-skiing as well. So shall we limit it all?

It's just snowed 24" in the last 24hrs, still coming down, it's dark now and you're six miles from your car still. You stumble upon snowmobile tracks. Suddenly you are in love with the machines that formed these wintry roadways.

Even though I prefer snowshoes or XC skis and I hate the sound and smell of snowmobiles, they are also good for scaring the bears away (ask me how I know) and making the return trip back to the car easier. Lots of great riding in NorCal:

http://www.snowcrest.net/mssc/homea.html

I have a friend who was stuck on Mt Baker in a storm for 3 nights -- an unplanned bivy, when about 10' of snow fell (they had to keep digging out the cave entrance from the inside). When they finally emerged into sunshine on the 4th day, they were weak and stumbled downhill, almost giving up... into a group of snowmobilers who were genteel and and took them out. He softened his stance on snowmobiles after that.

On the other hand, the snowmobilers on the back of Sandia Peak would constantly leave the permitted trails, and turn the X-C ski trails into hard-packed irregular chutes. Often they would just stop to eat lunch in the trail, at the bottom of a long downhill. I would picture myself in a James Bond movie, skiing with an uzi at ready.

1000Pks wrote:No thanks.

I'd prefer a midnight return or even a bivy than have any motorized impacts where I like to go, should I ever have planned so poorly.

Me thinks you misunderstood. We didn't get rides on snowmobiles, but we availed ourselves of the nice packed tracks they'd left behind.

Same thing happened to me. Was up at Mt. Bailey in Oregon one time and didn't feel like skinning the first few miles.
The road in was a snowmachine packed road. I wasn't sure if I would sink in or not.
The snow was about 6-7 feet deep.
I decided to go for it.




Saved me some seriously cold few miles.

HandjamMasterC wrote: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 !!

OMG! That thing's propeller driven! That's sweet!