Snowmobiles in the Mt. Baker Wilderness

Have been using the sled to access the Baker Wilderness area this winter.  Enjoying the easy access and the great terrain.  The sleds in the wilderness area problem I was overlooking for most the winter until now.  Yesterday I counted 10 sleds in the Wilderness area.  Tons of tracks on the Thunder Glacier and two sledders high marking the Thunder.  Group of five sledders shredding the slopes below Heliotrope.  The most ridiculous example was the three guys who rode right past our tracks on the rod and went up to the saddle via the Coleman Deming. 

I love being able to use the Glacier Creek road to access the north side and do not want to lose this priviledge.  Have contacted the Sedro Wooley FS office about yesterday's incursions and hope that they will do something about this.  This is not a rare event.  Everytime I have been up there this winter there have been tracks on heliotrope and beyond.

Contact the Forest Service about this and ask them to educate the sledding public and start enforcing the Wilderness Area Boundary. Photos here:

picasaweb.google.com/1023155739327347881...esOnTheColemanDeming

one would expect the SAP(sled & party) members to govern themselves but if a bunch of tele dudes can help out?
TAY has tons of cred. with the bilers
bF

I have picture of sled track going across the summit plateau and up the little hill to the very top.

As with St. Helens, I've never seen even an attempt at enforcement of the rules. Lame.

I'm sure it's an isolated occurrence and only a few bad apples in the sled community.

Thanks for posting this. Your report is currently being passed around the sledding community. There are a lot of us who are working hard to get our fellow sledders to follow the rules. It's true that it only takes a few folks to make us all look bad. The Canyon Creek closure for the past few years has probably made things worse on the north side of Baker, but that's no excuse. Hopefully the USFS gets around to fixing that road; local contractors have volunteered time and equipment to no avail...

Newtrout.  Thank you for your comments.  Not everyone agrees with me posting this.  Their thinking is that it will only lead to a closure for everyone.  I am not trying to get anyone busted or to close the Glacier Creek access.  Human behavior will follow into the void of perceived allowable behavior.  Right now, sad to say, it is common to cross into the Wilderness on the north side of Baker.   The five guys I spoke with way in Grouse Creek high marking the north slopes on Heliotrope told me they were just following all the tracks.  One Glacier local told me that he knows snowboarders who frequently had up on to the Thunder for runs.

This should not even be an issue.  It is Wilderness!  It was established as an area to be free of human mechanization and buildings.  End of argument.  I don't understand why you would even consider it.

All of the sledders up till now I have met have been super nice, friendly and have helped me out as a newbie.  (Far friendlier than the ski community in some ways).  I am not shy about expressing my enjoyment of owning a sled.  I think they are flat out cool machines.  I just have a major problem with seeing them in the Wilderness area.

Gregg Cronn

pretty sure mr. wright is on your side gc.

Don't get me wrong, my motivation is more to keep existing areas open to snowmobiling than out of a sense of moral outrage. I've come to the conclusion that the only way to try and preserve our riding areas is to police ourselves. The USFS won't or can't do it. Conflict in the backcountry is only going to increase as sled-access skiing and boarding grows and we generally just try and cram more users into smaller areas (by conflict, I just mean motorized and non-motorized sharing the same slopes). Eventually we reach the point where USFS has to respond. The natural path of the USFS seems to be the path of least resistance; thus, more motorized closure/Wilderness, etc. Closure is easier than enforcement...

My pessimistic side just picked up my first set of A/T gear.... Been out of the skiing game for a while. I figure I'll be losing some of my favorite snowmobiling terrain in the upcoming Wenatchee NF Forest Plan. Time to expand my horizons!

I guess I should have added one of these :
Sledder are generally very friendly, just not aware of their impact on others, sometimes.

I'm sure it's an isolated occurrence and only a few bad apples in the sled community.

I'm sure this is NOT an isolated occurrence. Snowmobiles keep getting better and high marking keeps getting higher. Of course people have been summitting baker for decades on their snowmobiles. The easton is definitely a snowmobile paradise even when there is not enough snow in the meadow for it to be legal. Enforcement seems increasingly unlikely. Education, ha ha. "yeah dude stop having fun on your snow machine."

At least Mt Rainier National park is good for something, even if it is closed 2 days a week. However I'm guessing their will be high marks on goat island mountain soon enough...if it hasn't happened already. I wonder what the rangers would do if they saw snowmobiles high marking little T.

I'm sure this is NOT an isolated occurrence. Snowmobiles keep getting better and high marking keeps getting higher. Of course people have been summitting baker for decades on their snowmobiles. The easton is definitely a snowmobile paradise even when there is not enough snow in the meadow for it to be legal. Enforcement seems increasingly unlikely. Education, ha ha. "yeah dude stop having fun on your snow machine."

At least Mt Rainier National park is good for something, even if it is closed 2 days a week. However I'm guessing their will be high marks on goat island mountain soon enough...if it hasn't happened already. I wonder what the rangers would do if they saw snowmobiles high marking little T.

Maybe you should have read the whole thread, I was being facetious. Of course this is an ongoing and growing concern. The vocal members of the sled community always use that line.

Maybe you should have read the whole thread, I was being facetious.

Thanks for the clarification. I suppose your other post was facetious too. "Bilers are generally friendly just not aware of how unfriendly it is to ruin the wilderness experience for non-motorized users"...well that is a paraphrase. I wish there was a solution to this issue...like making everyone pay $22 per day to be on St Helens. Maybe I could bring a radio controlled snowmobile and I wouldn't need to have permit for skiing St Helens.

Fun watching TAYers deal with irony and sarcasm...

... you folks are sooo serious.

Thanks for the clarification. I suppose your other post was facetious too. "Bilers are generally friendly just not aware of how unfriendly it is to ruin the wilderness experience for non-motorized users"...well that is a paraphrase. I wish there was a solution to this issue...like making everyone pay $22 per day to be on St Helens. Maybe I could bring a radio controlled snowmobile and I wouldn't need to have permit for skiing St Helens.

Actually, most sledders are friendly, more so than a lot of ski tourers. That doesn't detract from the issue of not being aware and or not caring how what they do affects other backcountry users. There is no excuse for illegal wilderness incursion.

Actually, most sledders are friendly, more so than a lot of ski tourers. That doesn't detract from the issue of not being aware and or not caring how what they do affects other backcountry users. There is no excuse for illegal wilderness incursion.

easier to haul a cooler of rainiers on a biler than in a pack whilst touring?
less work makes me much friendlier!
bF

Wow.... Let the generalizations and stereotypes flow... Good stuff.

Under what category do sled-access skiers and snowboarders fall? I'm shifting into that category, so I'd like to start practicing my expected behavior.

Back to the Baker issue. You have my honest and sincere apology for sledders on the north side of the Mtn. Makes me sick every time I see something like this. The only answers that I can come up with are enforcement and self-policing. I think we all agree that enforcement is not likely. We've had pretty good luck with self-policing and education further south in the Central Cascades. Hopefully the local sled clubs and riders in the Baker area will realize how much damage this behavior is doing to their sport, and will start being more proactive.

So, my first set of craigslist AT gear included some older K2 Shuksans. I'm set with boots and bindings, but I'd like to find some fatties that are still light and climb/tour OK. Any suggestions that won't break the bank? Any good sources of used gear to start watching? Will trade gear hookup for sled access to Esmerelda Basin.... ;D I'll even supply a respirator with P100s...

Thanks for posting this.  Your report is currently being passed around the sledding community.  There are a lot of us who are working hard to get our fellow sledders to follow the rules.  It's true that it only takes a few folks to make us all look bad.  The Canyon Creek closure for the past few years has probably made things worse on the north side of Baker, but that's no excuse.  Hopefully the USFS gets around to fixing that road; local contractors have volunteered time and equipment to no avail...

How does the Canyon Creek closure work so well? Just asking...

Thanks to the OP for speaking up!

Canyon Creek road is washed out below the snow line, so sleds can't (easily) get in there anymore. Glacier Creek is a well known snomo access skiing spot, but not considered a good snomo spot by the snomo community. I suspect the culprits in this case may actually be sled-skiers.

Newtrout - My friends and I go snomo accessed touring in the Teanaway and Salmon la Sac pretty much weekly. PM me if you want to come earn some turns (and roost some pow) with us.

Please keep it civil and avoid the personal attacks and stereotyped generalizing.