mountains
British Columbia’s natural splendor and biological diversity serves as a backdrop to a host of world class outdoor recreation opportunities. As a result, B.C. attracts visitors from around the globe, and ecotourism and adventure travel are among the fastest growing components of the B.C. tourism sector. B.C.’s backcountry is used by a variety of outdoor enthusiasts, and cooperation between user groups is necessary to ensure positive and safe backcountry experiences for all users.
Legal and voluntary agreements have been developed in many parts of B.C. to try to ensure that all users - motorized, non-motorized, commercial and non-commercial have a winter experience that is both safe and memorable. They have also been designed to address environmental issues such as wintering wildlife and water quality.
In many regions of British Columbia, many representatives of the snowmobile community have worked for years with other outdoor recreation sectors and government to reach balanced recreation land use agreements that respect the need to provide quality recreational experiences to a diverse range of backcountry users. Many hundreds of hours of volunteer efforts have gone into these processes, and by respecting and obeying these agreements we maintain and enhance sensitive ecosystems, protect our continued access to large areas of a B.C.’s beautiful backcountry, avoid more restrictive regulation, and demonstrate to other users that we respect their right to enjoy the backcountry.
Safety in the backcountry is paramount for a fun, enjoyable experience yet many backcountry travellers are still not equipped with some basic, practical skills to help them get home safely. The link below will take you the CAA's (Canadian Avalanche Associations) Online Avalanche First Responder Training Course. If you lack specific avalanche training, this is where to start. You owe it to yourself, your family and those with whom you travel to know what the hazards are before venturing into the backcountry. Be Mountain Smart, take the course today.
Hello, I'm Arfi…..
Arfi stands for Avalanche Research Forecasting Interface and it was developed by the Applied Snow and Avalanche Research Group at the university of Calgary. It's a collection of avalanche forecasting resources, tools, webcams and more, all collected into one simple, interactive google map. It's designed to help both professionals as well as recreationists. At Sled:link, we strive to bring you a condensed web resource for all your sledding needs and Arfi brings to the table a great tool through which to help plan your travels and sledding destinations. Read more »
The following hand signals were developed by Doug Washer to address safety and communication challenges in the professional mountain snowmobile guiding and mountain film production industries.
Snowmobiling in mountainous terrain presents a series of challenges to communication that are well addressed by understanding and incorporating these simple, yet effective measures into your every day professional and recreational snowmobiling environment. They help to address basic issues from talking over the engine to advising others of preferred routes or warnings of avalanche activity that a sledder Read more »