Posted: Monday, February 19, 2007 12:00 am
JACKSON (AP) - An environmental group representing backcountry skiers says the number of snowmobiles in the Togwotee Pass area needs to be limited.
Snowmobilers disagree. They say they coexist just fine with skiers in the high-mountain area and that there's no need for restrictions.
The issue comes up as Bridger-Teton National Forest rewrites its management plan.
The Togwotee Pass Backcountry Alliance is asking skiers to push for getting Angle Mountain, Buffalo Fork Peak, Breccia Peak, Brooks Mountain and other areas north of U.S. 287 designated off-limits to snowmobiles and other snow machines.
"I'm just concerned, as a nonmotorized user, that our needs are not going to be met if we don't stand up and try to be a part of that forest plan process," said Jeramie Prine, Togwotee Pass Backcountry Alliance coordinator.
"People have been skiing on Togwotee Pass for 50 years, and it's important to a lot of people. There's thousands of miles of snowmobile trails, and we just don't have that big of an area on Togwotee Pass."
Prine said snowmobiles not only break the quiet and solitude of backcountry skiing on the pass, but are a safety issue when they rocket up the same slopes people are skiing down.
"Safety is a huge concern," he said. "When you have people high-marking underneath you, that creates a safety issue for the snowmobiler and the non-snowmobiler."
But Jeff Golightly, general manager of Togwotee Mountain Lodge, said there was no logic to the argument that Togwotee Pass should be closed to prevent illegal access to wilderness areas when most snowmobilers respect wilderness boundaries.
"We don't mind a more cooperative approach, but to close the entire north side is over the top," he said. "I'm sensitive to needing an area with all types of different recreation, but between Yellowstone, Grand Teton and all the wilderness around here, there are a ton of places to go backcountry skiing.
"These are the premium snowmobile spots," he said. "To take that away just doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm a backcountry skier myself. On the north side there are some great areas, but the vast majority of it, skiers don't go there anyway."
He also said Togwotee Pass had become increasingly popular with skiers who use snowmobiles to access land that might otherwise be inaccessible.