Riding Area 51

[ACman]

I would respect his tenure for sure, I think most would. Easy to not know where boundaries are but that isn't an excuse.

One word - Thankyou. Just as we do not ski in Area 51 or other snowmobile areas.

 

[ACman]

Wow dudes trying to educate and everyone has a excuse for some tracks.

This is a common problem in golden. Signage is the only real solution. In the past when the club would get involved, that would bring MoRE people into the area from curiosity.

Who gives a crap what this man’s tenure is. Ultimately it’s his family business and anyone here would do the same to protect there invested interest. spreading awareness on a forum is a good approach. Further that with mor signage in the area and hopefully it will dwindle.

Currently all the excuses will drive a guy to go to the government and lock down more back country. Pick your battles and move on.

Thankyou for this input.
Yes - I agree with signage, but I think georeferenced mapping is the best solution.
I have stuck our head out of the sand here on this forum. You get it. We are pretty much running a family farm built up over 20 years, so much work goes into harvest time, our staff depend on it. 3 sleds on March 1 from south side and another group March 2 from east side significantly impacted our ability to go to work by tracking up core safe runs in a matter of hours. The larger picture I think is that Revelstoke, and a lot of BC is blown out (largely by over promotion of snowmobile tourism), pushing locals out further. We cannot go anywhere else.
We all need to go to work. I can think of many analogies depending on what people do for a job. Terrain is our tool, having your tools trashed in any trade puts a wrench in the work flow. I respect everybody's right to work. Cheers and stay safe over there in Golden - yikes.

 

[ferniesnow]

Thankyou for the input. We have recently added signage on our access road. It is not possible for us to post signage beyond roads as we are non-motorized, whereas MPS has snow cat access. I think geo referenced mapping is the answer over signage, and is the current standard - the challenge is ensuring all users utilize the same map. We have posted an Area 51 direction sign at the 16.8 Lime Kiln junction twice, and has been removed each time. I very much appreciate your support. Cheers

Does your tenure allow you to use motorized for safety concerns? Snowmobiles/tracked SXS’s, etc. for clearing helicopter landings, removing dangerous trees, early season marking of hazards, etc. as you could argue that signage is a safety concern and you should be able to use motorized to maintain your business in a safe and effective manner.
Fernie Wilderness Adventures has the same problem being along side a busy snowmobile area. Signage has helped Kim a lot and continually being proactive with the snowmobilers about having closures if they don’t smarten up. It is a pain because there are always “the ones” who see the untracked but I am sure that if you are diligent you will come out being satisfied.

 

[ACman]

Does your tenure allow you to use motorized for safety concerns? Snowmobiles/tracked SXS’s, etc. for clearing helicopter landings, removing dangerous trees, early season marking of hazards, etc. as you could argue that signage is a safety concern and you should be able to use motorized to maintain your business in a safe and effective manner.
Fernie Wilderness Adventures has the same problem being along side a busy snowmobile area. Signage has helped Kim a lot and continually being proactive with the snowmobilers about having closures if they don’t smarten up. It is a pain because there are always “the ones” who see the untracked but I am sure that if you are diligent you will come out being satisfied.

Thank you for the suggestions. Our tenure is for non-motorized activities, but we do have road access and increased signage along the road seems to have helped. We are being proactive by networking with the snowmobile community through MANY channels (local club, BCSF, this forum, influencers, and locals) - BUT the challenge is reaching the entire community. Local club has limited reach and is seeing declining membership, as is the BCSF. We are not beside a busy snowmobile area, Area 51 is not managed and access is getting more challenging. Really appreciate the feed back. Cheers

 

[Panzerdog]

Maybe you should turn in to a snowmobile lodge problem solved
Hit me up for more helpful tips

 

[ACman]

Maybe you should turn in to a snowmobile lodge problem solved
Hit me up for more helpful tips

Good idea ! Except....portion of tenure is in Monashee Provincial Park (non-motorized). Cheers

 

[Gregb]

One word - Thankyou. Just as we do not ski in Area 51 or other snowmobile areas.

Boulder Mountain and Frisby Mountain are comparable in size to your stated 30,000 acres on your tenure. CMH actively heli skis on boulder mountain. The sledders regularly share their areas with heli ski operators and sled skiers and in some cases even allowing them to put up signage stating mixed use areas or preferred ski areas. Tenure is shared use area and it just seems like you have no interest in sharing your tenured area. Maybe you would allow us to put up sledding preferred route signage inside your tenure? It is unfortunate for your business that snowmobiles have gotten much better and allow even beginner sledders access to areas that they would not have been able to previously explore, more seasoned sledders are seeing more and more areas being accessed by more sledders and becoming better at sharing is something that we all have to get better at.

 

[ACman]

Boulder Mountain and Frisby Mountain are comparable in size to your stated 30,000 acres on your tenure. CMH actively heli skis on boulder mountain. The sledders regularly share their areas with heli ski operators and sled skiers and in some cases even allowing them to put up signage stating mixed use areas or preferred ski areas. Tenure is shared use area and it just seems like you have no interest in sharing your tenured area. Maybe you would allow us to put up sledding preferred route signage inside your tenure? It is unfortunate for your business that snowmobiles have gotten much better and allow even beginner sledders access to areas that they would not have been able to previously explore, more seasoned sledders are seeing more and more areas being accessed by more sledders and becoming better at sharing is something that we all have to gert better at.

 

[ACman]

Hi Greg.

Multi use applies to compatible activities, motorized and non-motorized do not mix. We move slow and cannot go anywhere else.
Frisby and Boulder are managed by the RSC.
At a recent RSC meeting it was reported that despite signage the sled skiing area is not working, "sled ruts take skiers out at the knees".
In the early years of our operation, sled traffic was infrequent, generally locals, and we were welcoming including beers at the lodge. Fast forward to now, as you have pointed out with increased use and capabilities it is not sustainable for our operation.
3 sleds can track up days of skiing in a matter of hours.
I do sympathize with the locals who continue to be pushed out further to find the pow.
I think we are all the same - once you invest the time and gas to sled into a zone if it is tracked up we will push further.
While there is terrain in our tenure that is not key to our operation - the challenge is to keep traffic to those areas. Mapping is a more effective tool over signage.
I have asked the RSC and the BCSF to post our tenure boundary on the map they provide for Area 51, but the BOD said no.
I think there is a solution here somewhere.

Thank you for the conversation.

Aaron

 

[drew562]

Hi Greg.

Multi use applies to compatible activities, motorized and non-motorized do not mix. We move slow and cannot go anywhere else.
Frisby and Boulder are managed by the RSC.
At a recent RSC meeting it was reported that despite signage the sled skiing area is not working, "sled ruts take skiers out at the knees".
In the early years of our operation, sled traffic was infrequent, generally locals, and we were welcoming including beers at the lodge. Fast forward to now, as you have pointed out with increased use and capabilities it is not sustainable for our operation.
3 sleds can track up days of skiing in a matter of hours.
I do sympathize with the locals who continue to be pushed out further to find the pow.
I think we are all the same - once you invest the time and gas to sled into a zone if it is tracked up we will push further.
While there is terrain in our tenure that is not key to our operation - the challenge is to keep traffic to those areas. Mapping is a more effective tool over signage.
I have asked the RSC and the BCSF to post our tenure boundary on the map they provide for Area 51, but the BOD said no.
I think there is a solution here somewhere.

Thank you for the conversation.

Aaron

Honestly. .
We need way more terrain for all mountain users. Skiers, sledders, boarders. Ect. We have such vast mountains and we’re only allowed in a small portion. Area51 used to be a privileged ride shown to someone like myself by a local who logged there. . Now a dude from Ontario comes to Revelstoke within four weeks. He’s mapped out most of the zones that used to be stashes. Between hand held technology and lack of snow it’s getting really tough to ride all alone. I’m in my 50s and my hunt for fresh snow is getting harder and harder to the point. I don’t even wanna ride anymore. To me staging with 400 dudes in a parking lot with a groom Trail is not backcountry riding. I really hope we get more areas as the snow sports grow

 

[Lund]

Honestly. .
We need way more terrain for all mountain users. Skiers, sledders, boarders. Ect. We have such vast mountains and we’re only allowed in a small portion. Area51 used to be a privileged ride shown to someone like myself by a local who logged there. . Now a dude from Ontario comes to Revelstoke within four weeks. He’s mapped out most of the zones that used to be stashes. Between hand held technology and lack of snow it’s getting really tough to ride all alone. I’m in my 50s and my hunt for fresh snow is getting harder and harder to the point. I don’t even wanna ride anymore. To me staging with 400 dudes in a parking lot with a groom Trail is not backcountry riding. I really hope we get more areas as the snow sports grow

Thus why you won't find me much in what we locals now call the tourist area's.
Boulder, Frisby, Blue, Hunters, Owls and recently added Eagles are a joke. imo
Many hardcore backcountry local's once had these areas too ride and share but are not impressed with the influx of sledders from all over the Fnk country. You show one guy and he brings 10 others the following season, instead of keeping it quiet and riding the zone and not advertising it.
I guess its a given and unavoidable, especially with tech.
There are riding zones that are kept quiet by the local riders and hopefully they will remain so for a few more years.
I've been riding pow most of the season thus far, until I wrecked. Because of no sled traffic, love it.

 

[tejay]

Remember when Revelstoke Snowmobile Club was advertising Revelstoke as “ the undiscovered snowmobilers paradise” ?

 

[canuck5]

Thus why you won't find me much in what we locals now call the tourist area's.
Boulder, Frisby, Blue, Hunters, Owls and recently added Eagles are a joke. imo
Many hardcore backcountry local's once had these areas too ride and share but are not impressed with the influx of sledders from all over the Fnk country. You show one guy and he brings 10 others the following season, instead of keeping it quiet and riding the zone and not advertising it.
I guess its a given and unavoidable, especially with tech.
There are riding zones that are kept quiet by the local riders and hopefully they will remain so for a few more years.
I've been riding pow most of the season thus far, until I wrecked. Because of no sled traffic, love it.

Years ago we used to laugh at people keeping areas quiet but I defiantly understand it alot more now. Technology sleds capability all factors in people exploring. We have definatly enjoyed all the areas outside of the ones above a lot. One day we were annoyed with one other truck in staging area . We found an area a couple years ago our local buddy didn’t know about in 30 years in revy.


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[canuck5]

The beauty of 51 is its 38km of hell and willows before the goods heavily filters out the masses.


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[JMCX]

The beauty of 51 is its 38km of hell and willows before the goods heavily filters out the masses.


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As good as it is in there that trail is one effective deterant. It was one and done for me.

 

[Lund]

Remember when Revelstoke Snowmobile Club was advertising Revelstoke as “ the undiscovered snowmobilers paradise” ?

Yep, I also remember riding the Bezanson trail and seeing the old power poles sticking out only 2ft, ya thats when Revy got 30+ft of snow.
Now, you see 30ft of pole instead.
I also remember walking down into the old cabin sitting on 12ft stilts and shoveling out the main door.

 

[drew562]

Years ago we used to laugh at people keeping areas quiet but I defiantly understand it alot more now. Technology sleds capability all factors in people exploring. We have definatly enjoyed all the areas outside of the ones above a lot. One day we were annoyed with one other truck in staging area . We found an area a couple years ago our local buddy didn’t know about in 30 years in revy.


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Myself and three people from Alberta were shown many areas around Revy a few decades ago. I’ve only ever took one person in in any of those areas. HD it’s his handle from here. He was in Revi alone needed some guys to ride with. If I was in town with other buddies, I never went to those spots. Never tell.

 

[Lund]

Years ago we used to laugh at people keeping areas quiet but I defiantly understand it alot more now. Technology sleds capability all factors in people exploring. We have definatly enjoyed all the areas outside of the ones above a lot. One day we were annoyed with one other truck in staging area . We found an area a couple years ago our local buddy didn’t know about in 30 years in revy.


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I've been guilty of taking people in areas, too later regretting it.

 

[adamg]

The beauty of 51 is its 38km of hell and willows before the goods heavily filters out the masses.


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And by the time a sled gets to the actual riding area, the sled is half out of fuel.

 

[Panzerdog]

And by the time a sled gets to the actual riding area, the sled is half out of fuel.