If you’re an Australian skier or boarder, and unless you’ve been living under a log these past few months, you will know that ski legend Steve Lee has been running commercial backcountry ski tours out of Falls Creek resort this winter.
This is great. Getting people out of resorts and into the backcountry is to be supported and encouraged.
What is less great is the emphasis on the use of snowmobiles to get people out there. His tours are geared towards ‘strong’ intermediate skiers and boarders. So if people are fit enough to ski/ board hard terrain, then surely they are fit enough to get on some skis to actually get out there.
In my opinion, this ‘cheap grace’ approach to getting backcountry is a sad development in Victoria. Certainly, the tours are confined to the alpine resort area (even though this is ecologically part of the Bogong High Plains). However, they come with a high annoyance cost to people who are out there under their own steam. It is not clear what ecological assessment, if any, has been made of the tours – for instance, is there an impact on endangered species or vegetation? There is also a bigger picture here: there is the fact that these tours could be a precedent for future snowmobile based developments elsewhere in the alps.
Anyone who has skied backcountry in North America will know the many problems that come with rampant and often uncontrolled snowmobile use. While here in Australia recreational use of snowmobiles is supposedly controlled or banned (for instance in national parks), how often is this actually enforced? As one example, there is growing use within the Alpine national park in the area between Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham and around Dinner Plain village with apparently no intervention from land managers.
Snowmobiles are essential tools in resort management and search and rescue operations. However, the blanket endorsement of commercial use of snowmobiles in the backcountry in almost all Falls Creek promotional materials this winter shows that resorts ‘commitment’ to the environment as being shallow at best and probably a form of green wash.
We should be very cautious about the further introduction of a potentially destructive development in our alpine areas, which appears to have jumped all the approvals ‘hoops’ simply because the proponent of the development is an alpine ‘personality’.
Falls Creek Resort says that it is deeply concerned about good environmental management:
“We are extremely proud of Falls Creek’s reputation as an industry leader in the field of sustainable alpine tourism and development. Our environmental programs reduce our impact on the local environment and acknowledge the importance of maintaining a healthy world beyond our boundary”.
Further information on their approach to the environment is here.
If you have an opinion about the expansion of snowmobiles into the backcountry you may wish to let the resort management know about them.
fcrm@fallscreek.com.au
Mountain Journal 
October 6, 2010 at 7:09 am
Dear Cam
Absolutely spot on in at least three ways.
1) Apart from the potential impact on other species the noise pollution of these devices is appalling.
2) There needs to be research of some sort into their impact on the environment.
3) Placing restrictions without enforcement is pointless.
Martin
February 11, 2011 at 3:46 pm
While I agree that there should always be due diligence in any type of land use… Commercial or recreational, I am always disappointed to hear or read about groups of people who no little about a sport, yet have a strong opiion on it. I have been a skier for decades as well as a snowmobilers, and can appreciate both sides of the argument. It is very unlikely that any harm is done to the environment from snowmobilers, as they are traveling above the vegetation level while the snow is on the ground, then once the snow is gone, you would never know they had even been there. I emplore anyone to try snowmobiling, because once you have, there is no going back… They can take you to places you cannot get to by any other means and the views from these places are breathtaking. I disagree that their use should be limited and would support their expanded use.
February 11, 2011 at 8:08 pm
hi Mark
thanks for the comment.
I should just point out that there has been no assessment at all regarding the expansion of the tours out of Falls Creek. So we actually don’t know if they are causing damage.
And as for ‘They can take you to places you cannot get to by any other means and the views from these places are breathtaking’. This is simply not true: skis or snowshoes will get you anywhere a snowmobile can, with a lot less noise and a lot more exercise.
March 10, 2011 at 2:19 am
Cam,
You need to get more educated on the subject which you are writing about. Your last comment about how snowshoes or skis can get you anywhere a snomobile can, with a lot less noise and a lot more exercise in incorrect. While it is true a snowmobile does make noise, not all are very loud, especially one with a 4 stroke engine. Your comment about exercise is absolutely incorrect. You might be quite a bit suprised on how physically challenging it can be to ride a snowmobile, especially in the mountains. Finally, to say you can get to any place a snowmobile can get with skis or snowshoes cannot be further from the truth. Unless someone is a world class hiker with excellent backcountry survival skills, this comment is totally off base. A snowmobile can open up the backcountry to those who will never get the chance to see it. Many of these people will come to enjoy and work to protect the environment they enjoy as much as you do. While I have never been in the backcountry on snowshoes or skis, I can appreciate the enjoyment someone can experience doing this activity. I challenge you to try to have an open mind on other enjoyable winter activites also. Maybe take a trip on the machine that you feel so strongly about so you can get firsthand knowledge on the topic you write about.
March 10, 2011 at 10:29 am
hi Brent
thanks for the post. Having explored snow mobiling out of necessity when living in Alaska i do have a sense of what the sport is about. I don’t think we will convince each other on that one.
Maybe you should give skiing/ snow shoeing a try to get some ‘firsthand knowledge’ of what its like to be in the backcountry under your own steam rather than using fossil fuels? Believe me its a very different experience
regards, cam
June 14, 2011 at 8:44 pm
brent knows whats up! not every limited user of a snowmobile is going to trash the enviroment, it provides a safer (when used correctly) oppertunity to explore the back country. id like to see u try and tow me into a booter with your snow shoes..
June 14, 2011 at 9:10 pm
James, maybe you should learn to snowshoe and earn your turns like the rest of us!
June 30, 2013 at 11:24 am
Hi Cam
While I read your post with great interest as I very keen to get out in to the back country and am looking at taking the safety and best knowlage as well eg avalanche courses and the correct safety equipment, I do think you are correct in there needs to be some good management plans in place I do have concern in the way you points are made as it reminds me of the national parks view on 4wding and it impact on the environment, so maybe before you start a hate complain about ski mobile why not instead put forward some suggestion on how the use by a wider public could take place, as regardless if you want to ski , snow shoe or snowboard this is our great country side which we all pay taxes and should be able to enjoy it and also be able to take our kids out there in the future.
And banning something may not be the best way to go, and while study are great but from my time traveling Australia and watching the bush recover after a bush fire or flood it is strong and better at this than what most people would think.
Enjoy the coming season
[from Cam:
thanks Jesse. I agree we should all be able to enjoy our national parks, but its probably worth remembering that they are primarily there to protect nature. Most of Australia is NOT national park, and people can do all manner of things outside parks. I can see the many attacks on our parks from political and economic forces (eg ‘thinning’ of forests, cattle grazing under the guise of ‘research’, prospecting, private developments in parks, etc) and believe we need to be drawing the line when it comes to allowing noisy, invasive and destructive activity like snow mobiles. Its not so much about ‘hate’ as you put it, but concern for whats meant to be protected in our alpine parks]
August 16, 2013 at 9:48 pm
After reading these post i thought i would post my thoughts on the subject of snowmobiles to access the backcountry and i think it is a great idea and long over due in australia there is no argument for damaged to the enviroment as snowmobile’s travel ontop of the snow which on average is over a meter deep so there is no tearing up the ground and as for the noise stop being petty this is crap the thousands of cars driving up the alpine rds make more nosie than this and kills even more wildlife where is your bleeding heart for them. Not every one enjoys or can do or are interrested in crosscounrty skiing this is just anther excuse for crosscountry skiers and greenies to lock up the only alpine area australia has im not saying that we should open the gates for anything and im all for conservation and see nothing wrong at all with a gruop of skidoo’s going into the back country looking for untouched snow in a group with a tour guide to monitor the group and make sure rules ar followed
[a note from Cam:
thanks Simon, I would love to live in your world: where skidoos aren’t noisy, cause no harm, and the snow is always ‘on average over a metre deep’. Sounds lovely. ]
June 19, 2014 at 3:34 pm
totally agree Simon, most of the new snowmobiles are now quiet and low emissions, if you looks at the states they are controlled well and have areas set up for them with no impact on the ground. Australia needs to have a look at there parks policy there’s so much terrain out there that needs to be enjoyed.
[‘there’s so much terrain out there that needs to be enjoyed’. Yep, coz its all about us, isn’t it? Tiresome self interest trumps everything, doesn’t it?]
June 29, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Your a wanker cam if I can afford a snow mobile I should be aloud to ride it , it’ll do a lot less damage than the dirt bike I’m aloud to ride on rec redge during the rest of the year.
[Gee, this post has upset the Selfish Brigade, hasn’t it? Cam]
August 18, 2014 at 6:08 pm
As an avid backcountry snowmobiler in Washington state U.S.A. I was curious to see if you all had any riding down there. Only to find the same kind of ignorant prejudices we experience here in the U.S. by people that believe that the backcountry belongs to them. The fact of the matter is we have almost no impact on the backcountry besides the occasional tree, rock, stump that trends to damage to us and our sleds. You should also try riding like we do before passing judgment on how fit you have to be to ride in the backcountry. Try looking up Chris Burrandt Brett Rasmussen, Dan Adams and others on you tube and you might see us for the athletes we actually are. You will also be very appreciative if you or any of your party have an emergency in the backcountry and we have the ability to get you help when time is what stands between you and a possible life threatening emergency. Ours is a sport like no other where you can ride the same area only to find it different every time. Hopefully someday we will be riding eclectic snowmobiles and then you would really have no complaint to us being able to share the backcountry with you.
February 13, 2015 at 9:07 pm
what on earth is an ‘eclectic snowmobile’? Does it collect pop art and listen to acid jazz? Eat cocoa pops laced with cumin?
February 17, 2015 at 8:47 pm
hi Darin
I just had a month backcountry skiing in Colorado. I’d completely forgotten how infuriating snowmobiles are to other users. I certainly understand the need to have areas for snowmobilers, so its not that I think the backcountry ‘belongs’ to me. And I am open to your suggestion that where the snow is deep maybe there is no enviro impact (although a number of people I met expressed concerns about crush damage to burrows of animals that live under the snow and I heard lots of anecdotal evidence about the negative impacts of sled activity on Lynx and other populations).
But from a personal perspective, they are just so bloody noisy. You hear them from miles away and its incredible how much land a single rider can track out. Many riders were polite (they slowed down as they passed, i stepped to the side, we waved, etc) but a surprising number were tools who sped up as they went past. I saw lots of mobilers in areas where they are prohibited, and in the areas where they are allowed, they seemed to always track out the entire road instead of riding single file. This makes it incredibly hard for skiers when the tracks freeze. A bit of mindfulness about other users would go a long way to making skiers happier.
So I was interested in your comment about electric snowmobiles. That would deal with the noise problem, which really is a major one for other backcountry users. That leaves the enviro impacts and the need for sledders to respect those areas that are designated as being off limits. Maybe thats where we can find some common ground and find a way to really share the BC?
July 5, 2017 at 2:34 pm
Guess who pays to run the snowcat to groom the roads and parking lot you tree huggers like to use in the States? That would be snowmobilers!
You’re freaks are too lazy to actually access the millions acres you’ve tied up in the US, and instead want to use the infrastructure provided by the motorized users and then complain about the noise!
[From Cam: hi Mart. I’m based in Australia so don’t know the fine details of access there. Although when I was there in Jan this year, all the backcountry terrain we accessed was either off state/ federal highways or county roads. Not sure how snowmobilers as a seperate group are funding this work anymore than other tax payers. We did 2 BC trips starting in resorts, so in those instances it was the skiers and boarders who were paying for the road clearing.
Here in Australia, backcountry terrain is accessed from roads that are kept open either by resorts or the government, so again, snow mobilers have no particular role in helping with that, beyond paying taxes like the rest of us].
October 13, 2014 at 3:11 pm
I think what some of the overseas commenters here might be missing, is how small the practically navigable snowy areas of Australian high country are. The Bogong high plains between Falls Creek and Hotham in Victoria, and the Main Range between Thredbo and Guthega in NSW, can both easily be traversed by a walker or skier in a day or two. I don’t doubt a snowmobile could cover this terrain in a couple of hours, in fact I bet you would run out of interesting sleddable terrain in about 3 days in Victoria.
While I get that sleds are an excellent tool for the endless remote terrain in e.g. Canada and Alaska, I honestly don’t think they have a place for recreational use in Australian national parks, which have a strong principle of banning motorised access. However, on roads where dirtbikes or cars would be permitted in summer, it’s harder to justify banning them.
Honestly, if I had access to one, I reckon I would love to use it to get out on the Kosciuszko Road in winter for BC access, to get around the joke that is the Charlotte Pass resort oversnow.
March 28, 2015 at 11:28 pm
The only point I can see of sense of this article, is the use of snowmobiles in the sloops of a ski resort, I wil not allowed, neither as a snowmobiler never will go into!
Besides the improve of the economy that brings to remote areas, lets see for example Quebec or Ontario, wich could never compete with the west coast of Canada for skiing they have become a very important worldwide winter tourism destination, thanks to snowmobiling, but, what is even more important, brings tourism to remote small rural areas where the other alternative people would have there, would be migrate or hardworking in mining industry.
Now, from a enviromental point of view, considering that Sweden and Finland that are the top reference worldwide for enviromental protection, they not only allowed but promote snowmobiling, is hard to believe that snowmobiling would have more enviromental impact than for example alpine skiing with all the chemicals they use for the artificial snow!
If you have had a bad experience with individual snowmobilers, remember that like not all rugby fans are hoolignas, and like not all car drivers are homicides or delinquents, not all of us snowmobilers are outlaws unrespectfull !
At the end what is clear for me is that, alpine skiers, xcountry skiers, dog and reno sledders, and snowmobilers sadly need to practice in diferent areas, unless people are able to practice togehter like in Finland (wich have diferent cultural origin for them because what we call today a sport for them not many years ago was transport and way of life in hostile enviroment), but baning!?
There are always reasons to ban any sport or activity if we like.