A few bad apples trash Thunder Meadows

[bcskier]

This area is closed for motorized travel till march 15 and then it is only to be used as a corridor to access Sand Creek from the Island lake area. Thunder Meadows is a tenure held by the Fernie Trails and Ski Touring Club. The cabin is rented out on a daily basis for non motorized recreation. This means a significant loss of revenue for the club, being that most of the surrounding slopes have been highmarked. The local snowmobile club has always respected the tenure and usually has an annual ride through the area without any issues. The cabin is opened and sledders are more than welcome to stop in build a fire and have lunch or whatever.
These guys obviously have no respect for other user groups
Sorry for the rant and believe me I know there are more responsible riders out there than there are irresponsible... but a couple bad apples can wreck it for everyone.

Fernie Community • View topic - Thunder Meadows Non Motorized Snowmobiling

 

[blastoff]

Getting to be a common occurance, something has to be done with these hodlums but nothing is done to prevent this, just like the rest of the justice system. Seriously we almost have to take the law in our own hands put on a mask and beat the sh!t out of them and cripple the pr!cks so they dont do it agaign.

 

[team dirt]

does anybody know the guy on the cat in that picture, mabey slap him around if you know him. i dont ski but i get pissed when some idiot gets us all labeld as as$holes and we lose more are because of it.

 

[JaySimon]

That is about as rude as rude gets. One highmark will ruin an entire run, that people will spend 2 hours touring to get to. It is a shame.

 

[bcskier]

Here are some more pics....if you know these guys 'educate' them. These guys know damn well they shouldn't be there.

We are blessed here in the Kootenays to have a winter playground that is big enough for everyone. There is no need for this! These guys just want to raise chit I guess. ....and they're certainly giving the sled community a bad name.

Like I said before I won't paint all sledders with the same brush as these a$$holes. I used to be part of the sled community myself and probably will be again.

If anyone knows who these guys are, tune em up!

 

[JaySimon]

I fail to see why people would even head up little sand this time of year? The sledding isn't super great, and it's not worth the friction between the catski operators and yourself. We tend to leave that place alone, until they close, and we ride there before they open to clients. So far, so good.

So many zones, but people still pick the ones where it is rude to be. Odd.

 

[Modman]

I fail to see why people would even head up little sand this time of year? The sledding isn't super great, and it's not worth the friction between the catski operators and yourself. We tend to leave that place alone, until they close, and we ride there before they open to clients. So far, so good.

So many zones, but people still pick the ones where it is rude to be. Odd.

Because the internet "glamourizes" some of these areas and so people hear about it through a "buddy's buddy" who read it on the internet and so they go there without any knowledge. The internet makes it too easy share information with all the a$$hats out there. People wonder why all this sh!t keeps happening? Well...its easy to read about how "awesome" it was last weekend, so why not go there? "Oh - you don't need to research it, just show up with a truck and trailer full of sleds and start riding."

Lots of "non-members" cruise these forums just for the "riding areas section", so they're going to be reading your information too. It depends on what you are willing to lose. Unless you want all the areas you ride to be closed, consider what you post on the interent.

 

[JaySimon]

Ah yes, Loose lips sink ships...

 

[ferniesnow]

The first sled has a BCSF decal on it. None of the sleds have a registration sticker on them. Someone out there should know who these guys are?

 

[Modman]

So local guys then??

Classic.

 

[jaredszakacs]

Ya definately gotta keep our eyes open for these guys that was pretty rude of them to do!! I'm just wondering was anything said to these guys after the pictures were taken cause it looks like in a couple of shots the guys knew you were there i'm sure they knew they werent supposed to be there but a nice little tongue lashing or a shovel in the head goes a long way for a reminder

 

[Red Mtn Riders]

It must work a little differently up in Canada. I have been trying to work with skier groups in Colorado for years only to be repeatedly stabbed in the back by them. Anymore, I ride what I want to ride, screw 'em. You want first tracks, get your butt out of bed and beat me to the hill.

My last run in was with cat skiers skiing the motorized section not 100 yards from their designated non motorized area. I came ripping up through the trees in my area and had a bunch of them unloading a cat waving me off. I went over to them and told them to kiss my a$$. They get specific areas closed to me and then have the gonads to wave me off when I am riding what is designated motorized???

My experience is that no matter how much we give, no matter how much we try to compromise, the non-motorized community always wants more. Sledders always end up on the short end of the stick.

I find the non-motorized community to be excessively greedy and self righteous. In 8 years of battles with them I have yet to see them give up anything. I have zero tolerance because that is exactly what they have shown me.

 

[mtnrat]

Red, it is different up here. The greens do not have the same lobbying powers as in the US. That said motorized have by far the greatest access to usable crown land in most areas. with very small isolated pockets set aside until mid or late march for non motorized. When sleds go into these areas, especially those like thunder meadows it really ramps up the conflict.
On another note. If these guys are accessing from sand creek I would think that somebody went to a lot of work clearing alder? In the past getting through needed a far deeper snowpack than we have had this year.

 

[ferniesnow]

It must work a little differently up in Canada. I have been trying to work with skier groups in Colorado for years only to be repeatedly stabbed in the back by them. Anymore, I ride what I want to ride, screw 'em. You want first tracks, get your butt out of bed and beat me to the hill.

My last run in was with cat skiers skiing the motorized section not 100 yards from their designated non motorized area. I came ripping up through the trees in my area and had a bunch of them unloading a cat waving me off. I went over to them and told them to kiss my a$$. They get specific areas closed to me and then have the gonads to wave me off when I am riding what is designated motorized???

My experience is that no matter how much we give, no matter how much we try to compromise, the non-motorized community always wants more. Sledders always end up on the short end of the stick.

I find the non-motorized community to be excessively greedy and self righteous. In 8 years of battles with them I have yet to see them give up anything. I have zero tolerance because that is exactly what they have shown me.

We, meaning the FSA, work well with the skiers/boarders. In this particular area our members respect the agreement. The skiers skin into the place and know that it they ever used a sled to get to the cabin it would open a can of worms and be detrimental to them with regards to the slopes above the cabin. Our biggest increase in membership has been in the area of sled skiers; they like the groomed trails to get into the back-country and they ski the stuff where no sleds would dare to go! So it is a win-win situation!

3 years ago, our grant for the SnowCat was made possible through cooperation with the Nordic Society and they pointed us in the right direction as to contacts, proper application ideas, and support. This past winter we teamed up with them again and we split a $20G grant. I know that in our 'valley' there are a lot of hard feelings and like everywhere there are a lot of back-country users (on both sides) that have the above attitude. In this day and age if it is a fight with sledders vs skiers, the skiers will win hands down as they generally appear "more environmentally friendly".

In our neck of the woods, SE BC, it is working and both sides try hard to keep it working. Sometimes we just have to deal with "rednecks"......

 

[ferniesnow]

So local guys then??

Classic.

Looks like it to me but I don't recognize the sleds nor the clothing! Local coverng a wide area; Cranbrook, Kimberley, Jaffray, Elko, Fernie, and Radium.

 

[bcskier]

Red Mt what we have around here there are a few areas that are designated as non motorized, ie. cat skiing tenures, ski touring tenures such as thunder meadows. Right adjacent to thunder meadows is a cat skiing operation called Island lake. Island lake actually owns the land they operate on. I believe after March 15 they quit skiing and allow sledders to ride on their property. They certainly don't have to allow sleds on their property period, but they do. Generally relations here between sledders and cat ski operators and ski tourers is good...we all respect each other.

The areas around here that are opened to sleds are almost endless, so there is no need to be poaching non motorized areas.

I do agree if your in a area that is opened to sleds and your there first go for it. I've often toured in areas where people are sledding and never ever had conflict. Most guys will see there are skiers on a certain slope and ride somewhere else and vise versa.

FWIW I too have no use for the hypocrite self righteous greenie types that you speak of.

 

[Modman]

The areas around here that are opened to sleds are almost endless, so there is no need to be poaching non motorized areas.

Even in pure designated sled areas there is a ton of riding that people are just too lazy to explore. $20 says I can go to the rolling hills right now and in 10 mins find snow that hasn't been touched all year. Most people just don't open their eyes.

As stated, there is a ton of area - so stay out of where you are supposed to.

RedMtn - the situation you describe is significantly different, if someone was telling us to stay out of a pure sled area where we were sledding, many of us would probably have the same approach. Here we are fighting land closures due to skiers and mountain caribou, we have enough issues already, the last thing we need is an adversarial attitude with other user groups.

 

[team dirt]

Even in pure designated sled areas there is a ton of riding that people are just too lazy to explore. $20 says I can go to the rolling hills right now and in 10 mins find snow that hasn't been touched all year. Most people just don't open their eyes.

As stated, there is a ton of area - so stay out of where you are supposed to.

RedMtn - the situation you describe is significantly different, if someone was telling us to stay out of a pure sled area where we were sledding, many of us would probably have the same approach. Here we are fighting land closures due to skiers and mountain caribou, we have enough issues already, the last thing we need is an adversarial attitude with other user groups.

Are you saying you have some "SECRET AREA" lol. just fuc ing with you. I bet i could go find a ton of fresh up in the notch also. people are scared to explore. we should hook up for a secret stash ride one day.

 

[Modman]

Are you saying you have some "SECRET AREA" lol. just fuc ing with you. I bet i could go find a ton of fresh up in the notch also. people are scared to explore. we should hook up for a secret stash ride one day.

LMAO - No I don't have any secret spots!!! I just look around when I'm riding and not just at the tailflap in front of me.

I'm out until mid-April at least, hoping to get a few more days in this season though around mid-to end of April - getting scared with the lack of snow though

Will keep you posted for sure if you are up for a spring ride!

 

[Red Mtn Riders]

I wish we had the live and let live attitude here. We always used to avoid the skiers. We really have never ridden the same areas, but sometimes need to use the same access points. Then the skiers became all sef righteous about it. Now I mark my territory. They have literally tens of millions of acres in this state alone, heck in the quarter of the state with mountains, that are closed to motorized. It is a sad state of affairs, because they want it all, and that is no exaggeration.

As founder and pres of a local snowmobile club I spent years with the state level club going to meetings and having dedicated meetings with forest service decision makers. A select few are decent folks, the rest are greenies that falsify data in order to further the adgenda of a motorized containment. So you can catogorize my actions as you will but I pay taxes, and we are talking "public" lands.

Good Luck to all of you trying to keep some peace. In that context it is a shame you have people needlessly causing problems.