I want to get a pass this year and I heard there were two clubs in Fernie. I just want to ride and not go to meeting or club rides. Some people told me you don't have to pay because coal creek is a public access road. I don't feel good about using groomed trails and not paying but I don't care to be a member of either club. I find clubs want to grab areas and call them there own. More so in Fernie, eg tunnel creek, and all the mountain bike trails. I just prefer to go back to when we share and when we went where we wanted to. But we can't so I must buy a pass hopefully cheaper if I don't want to be a member.
Where do you get a pass?
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pipes
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I think you're missing the point of becoming a member. Clubs don't just grab areas and call them their own. They make these areas their attraction and put a lot of time and money into making them what they are. It's easy to pay for a membership and not show up to meetings but that is not the intent of the becoming a member. If every one had your attitude of I don't want to be a member, then how would the clubs exist. We all have to step up and do our part to keep tHe clubs active.
ferniesnow
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There are a lot of rumors around Fernie this year and a lot of untruths because people do not understand the process.
First of all, Coal Creek is not a public access road. It is a Forest Service Road on private property (Tembec Enterprises). Tembec's property starts at the cattle guard.
The Fernie Snowmobile Association has a trail agreement with Tembec and is the only club with the right to groom and charge grooming fees on the Coal Creek/Morrisey trail system. The FSA charges $10/day for a trail pass. Not a lot of clubs can operate on that rate but the FSA does it!
The membership in the FSA is $80 and there are no additional trail pass fees.
If you join the other club, contrary to what you may hear, you will still be asked and expected to pay a fee for using the groomed trail.
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ferniesnow
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Technically, you are trespassing. You don't have to be a member of either club but you are required to buy a daily trail pass for each day you ride once the grooming operations begin.
Also, please remember that the BBQ's, propane, applicable signage, the infrastructure of the FSA cabins, as well as, the SnowCat operation comes out of the price of membership and daily trail passes.
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Thanks
so what your telling me is I could be charged with trespassing and get a ticket or get a record for not getting a pass. Well can I buy a membership at the parking lot or do I have to go to the gear hub before I drive out there.
so what your telling me is I could be charged with trespassing and get a ticket or get a record for not getting a pass. Well can I buy a membership at the parking lot or do I have to go to the gear hub before I drive out there.
ferniesnow
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The FSA doesn't want to take it that far but according to the land owner, we can. We just want riders to help out and pay their way for continued safe back-country access. GearHub and Ghostrider have memberships and trail passes. If the girls aren't out collecting, for whatever reason (trail in very poor condition, grooming hasn't started, etc..) then we don't expect a daily fee.
We doo appreciate all the riders who contribute to the FSA and I'll remind peeps that there is a brand new cabin at the Coal Creek Summit for all to enjoy and use whether it be for an emergency or just to warm up and have lunch.
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teddybear26x
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I have to ask why the resistance to buy a membership? Nothing is ever asked from you it's all pretty much on a volunteer basis. You don't have to go to meetings. Buy the membership and ride that's it. Also if you buy a membership you save on your insurance for your sled. It really is worth it to buy a membership. You save more money doing so than if you didn't. Than you just ride and not worry about stopping to get a pass or anything. Makes no sense why you wouldn't.
moyiesledhead
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It's very simple. If you don't want to join the club or buy a trail pass.....go ride where they don't groom.
You still can.....for the most part.....ride where you want to in this province. The reason for that is the hard work done by clubs to maintain access in the face of very strong opposition from people that would rather we weren't out there. Clubs don't just fight for access on the areas they manage (groom). They fight for all access and it's a never ending uphill battle.
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I prefer not to be a member if I don't have to. I'm not saying your club does a poor job at what it does. I'm just saying in general that clubs like to control areas and forget about others eg Hartley creek. Is Hartley going to turn into another tunnel and go the way of the ski tours? Yes I think that we need people to fight for us against the other groups that don't want us around. I just think they fight for areas they want and could care less about the rest of the areas.
catinthehat
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Then get off your high horse and join a club and get involved so you can help control and decide what issues become important enough to fight over. The fewer volunteers there are working in our interests the fewer areas they can concentrate on.
ferniesnow
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Hartley Pass is a registered trail with the Govt of BC and it is registered to the Fernie Snowmobile Association. We groom it sporadically due to avalanche hazards above Hartley Lake. We haven't forgotten about Hartley and with WorkSafe BC getting involved with the grooming, the grooming may get worse before it gets better. Each time the groomer goes out, we will be required to get a professional assessment and that will cost quite a bit of spondula…..
Tunnel is a mutual agreement between the Ski Tour group and the FSA. It is open to motorized March 15 of each year and sledders are to respect the terrain around the cabin as we use this area for a corridor to get beyond the ski area. The skiers have to skin into the area prior to March 15th.
We are prominent with our agreements on Coal Creek/Morrissey and Hartley and we fight at land use meetings for the Flathead access, middle Kootenay Pass, and against the big closures for the proposed big Park that WildSight would love to see.
Feeze
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Is there a family membership? I have 2 sons (17 & 14) plus my wife. My wife usually rides one time a year, as we usually do a family / friend ride in the spring.
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Maybe I should get off my high horse and join a club. The only thing is that then I would be one of those people trying to grab an area for my benefit. And I think we should share areas with ski tours at the same time not only in the spring when the skiing is sloppy and no good. But if I do join a club I would probably pick one that offers a yearly trail pass with out being a member.
ferniesnow
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This is an interesting post. A lot of people like groomed trails. One cannot just run a groomer up and down the forestry roads as one wishes. Permission is required along with liability insurance and rules and regulations. Saying that, one needs an agreement and to have an agreement one needs a defined area. It is not like you say, "grabbing an area" as it is more like what will work in this area. Then the agreement gets put to paper.
Skiers do not like snowmobile tracks in the areas they ski (broken legs, etc.,). The shared areas of Tunnel Creek are fairly high and the snow is not always sloppy when the motorized can use it. It was what was decided by both groups so that there would be some harmony in the area. This agreement has been working for probably 20 years or more.
Yearly trail passes in BC are few and far between. Arecent internet search of all of the clubs in Bc brought up the following: Black Tusk Snowmobile club, and Stewart, BC near the Alaska border are BCSF clubs that offer yearly passes and both have extenuating circumstance. The ABCSnow clubs are Williams Lake, Mica Mountain, and Elkford. There is not a reciprocal agreement between the Fernie Club and the Elkford club as both clubs run there own grooming programs. Elkford is strictly a volunteer program and grooming is done on an as needed basis which is about once a month or every 3 weeks.
There is a lot to learn about back-country access and how it is operated. If you were to join a club and get involved in the decision making you would learn quickly.
ferniesnow
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With an agreement with the Government of BC the following may help and it would be a CO who would lay the charge for the crown:
With an agreement developed with a private land owner, it is the land owner who has the right and willingness to lay charges. What statutes that would be called into play, I have no idea. That is for the legal bureaucracy.
I see the sign is for Nelson area and the BC government. So you are saying the the Land Owner for Coal Creek which is Canfor will lay charges against people not paying trail passes for the Fernie Snowmobile Association? Just curious.
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Is candor in the snowmobile business now because I thought you were a non profit organization? if so maybe they would like there share of the money of trail passes.but that might open them up to legality. All I'm asking for is a yearly trail pass Without being a member if I don't have to.
ferniesnow
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Canfor is not the land owner, they are in charge of harvesting for the land owner. There is a lot of information to be known and as I said before, "it is not a simple process!"
I clarified the post with regards to the two scenarios that happen in BC. The FSA doesn't post the yellow sign on the the Hartley Pass trail but the same rules apply as in Nelson as the agreement is with the BC government. The Coal Creek trail is not under the Forest Recreation Regulation as it is on private land. To complicate this a little further, the trail ends on land owned by the Federal Government through Natural Resources Canada.
I also didn't say, "will lay charges". I said, "the land owner has the right and willingness to lay charges" and that willingness can be brought into play.
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