Dec 2, 2015 – Golden BC Snowmobile Conditions and Conditions Report

The bluebird days keep coming and the snowpack is settling, making this the perfect time to push a little further and explore in search of fresh tracks. We measured 145cms of settled snow in the sub alpine this week. The lower trees is where the great snow is hiding as most ridges are windswept and potentially rocky. The good news is that there’s another big storm brewing in the Pacific, which should start resetting the snow as early as Thursday morning.

Avalanche Safety

There’s been a lot of surface hoar growth lately and these crystals are certain to be reactive when it snows again. Take a photo of the biggest crystals you can find and tag us on Facebook (Golden Snowmobile Club) or Instagram (SledGolden).

Please visit  http://www.avalanche.ca/  to know the avalanche conditions.

Grooming and Fee Schedule

The grooming and fee collection schedule is as follows:

Quartz Creek
Grooms scheduled: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (evenings).
Fees: Everyday  ($25/rider)

Gorman Lake
Grooms Thursday, Saturday (evenings).
Fees: Thursday-Monday ($25/rider)

Silent Pass
Grooms  Thursday (afternoon)
Fees:  Friday, Saturday, Sunday  ($25/rider)

Communications

Our staff at both Silent and Gorman are able to call up the logging roads on your behalf. If you have your own radio please use the following channels:

Silent Pass radio channel:North Fork FSR 152.870 (to Silent Pass)
Gorman radio channel: Dogtooth FSR 153.320

Parks Boundries

Be mindful of the border between Glacier National Park and Quartz creek as it is illegal to ride in a National Park and the area is  frequently patrolled by helicopter. Hefty fines can be issued to accompany an equally costly heli lift out of the park if you are caught. The boundaries are signed but grab a trail map if you are unsure; trail maps can be obtained at the Tourism Golden office downtown as well as at many of SledGolden’s sponsors. Both Silent Pass and Gorman have a border with an off limits park as well.

Just this past weekend there was an incident where someone dropped into the park from Quartz and broke down; the breakdown was bad enough they couldn’t ride out and left the machine and headed back to Red Deer where they were from. Alpine helicopters flew the snowmobile to the airport in Golden where he will pick it up as soon as he can. When he shows up this is what he will be greeted with:

• potential $25,000 fine
• impound fees
• sled recovery fees
• heli flight fees
• search and rescue fees

The park wardens will be the ones charging him and a full legal process involving the crown prosecutor, lawyers, and a trial (if he pleads not guilty) will be enforced to the fullest extent to make an example out of him to others about poaching the park. Sledding in the park will not be tolerated or taken lightly and SledGolden will be assisting the wardens in enforcing the borders of our sledding areas.

Support Our Sponsors

One sponsor that has trail maps available is Motortech; the only Ski Doo dealer in Golden. The Baun family have been the owners/operators of Motortech for many years and were instrumental in making snowmobiling in Golden what it is today.