Cross-country skiers, backcountry skiers and boarders, and snowshoers are loosing opportunities for quiet winter recreation not only to snowmobiles but also snowbikes, ATV Tracks, motorized snowboards and Skizee’s.  The list keeps growing!

Roped team travel, self arrest and avalanche awareness are taught by volunteer instructors.  The Spokane Mountaineers Climbing Schools is possibly one of the best and most comprehensive climbing courses in the US.

Jeff Juel of The Lands Council has provided us with a status update on the ski area expansion.  The Lands Council has filed a lawsuit challenging Washington State Parks and Recreation decision and requiring an Enivronmental Impact Statement.  We support their position.  We think it makes more sense to invest scarce dollars in upgrading the existing lifts and lodges to provide a better skier experience, and permanently protect the remaining wild areas on Mt. Spokane.  More information about the situation can be found in the Regional Issues Section: Here.

Jeff Lambert Photo

Thank you to Gonzaga University for providing us with us a great location for the event. Thank you to all the great businesses who supported the event with donations. Thank you to all our friends, Gonzaga Outdoors, members of the Spokane Mountaineers and Stevens Peak Backcountry Coalition who helped to make the event happen. Thank you to the Winter Wildlands for their great work putting together the Film Festival and support.

Also a very big thank you to the Spokane Mountaineers Foundation for providing the grant that allowed us to present the Film Festival here in Spokane.

• Offers prime terrain and snow conditions for backcountry snowboarding and skiing.
• Has historically been used primarily for quiet human-powered winter recreation.
• Is accessible during the winter from trailheads that can be reached by passenger vehicle, something uncommon for the public lands in our region.
• Is experiencing increasing patterns of snowmobile use primarily for high-marking.
• Is being threatened by the proposed expansion of the Lookout Pass Ski Area.

Proposed Stevens Peak Backcountry Winter Non-Motorized Area

The Proposed Stevens Peak Backcountry Winter Non-Motorized area (shown below) is an area of approximately 6,500 acres in the vicinity of Stevens Peak. It includes portions of the Copper, Saint Regis, East Willow (Stevens Lakes), West Willow, Boulder and Gold Creek drainages.  The concept was originally proposed to the Forest Service in 2000 by members of the Spokane Mountaineers.

Click for Larger Map

The Inland Northwest Backcountry Alliance

The Inland Northwest Backcountry Alliance (formerly Stevens Peak Backcountry Coalition) is a grassroots organization of backcountry skiers and snowboarders, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and climbers who value quiet human-powered winter recreation in the Inland Northwest.  Our goals:

• Work toward the creation of a comprehensive and workable Winter Recreation Plan for the Stevens Peak Backcountry and other areas in our region.
• Educate others about the value of and opportunities for quiet human-powered winter recreation.

We seek to strengthen the traditional winter recreation community by formally identifying and connecting the growing number of non-motorized winter recreation enthusiast users in our region — eastern Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana, an area that includes the cities of Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Missoula, Moscow and Pullman.

Yesterday the Winter Wildlands Alliance’s petition asking for management of over snow vehicles (OSV) on national forest land was denied.  The petition was signed by the Spokane Mountaineers and 89 other organizations, representing 1.3 million members.  Details can be read on the NewWest Blog Here.

Quoting from the NewWest story, “…the Forest Service did agree to develop guidelines or factors for local officials to consider if they choose to implement winter travel planning, but gave no timeline for when those directives might be announced.”

Mark Menlove, WWA’s director was quoted as saying “We appreciate the offer to establish better guidelines, but guidelines are of little use without a directive to actually follow them.”

The Stevens Peak Backcountry Coalition will continue to work toward creation of a winter non-motorized recreation area for the Stevens Peak Backcountry.

An agreement between backcountry boarders/skiers and snowmobilers has succesfully been in effect in Idaho’s Wood River Valley for the past decade.  The Nordic and Backcountry Skiers Alliance of Idaho worked collaboratively with the Sawtooth Snowmobile Club, Blaine County Recreation and the U.S. Forest Service to create the ‘Snow Pact’ which designates motorized and non-motorized winter recreation zones in the upper Wood River Valley.

The Snow Pact is a model of what we are seeking for the Stevens Peak Backcountry.  Read more about the history of the agreement in the Winter 2010 Sun Valley Guide story Here.

Yesterday, three inbound snowmobilers passed us as we were climbing up the north end of West Willow Ridge at about 5,000 ft.  They passed us again on their way out at about 6,400 as we were nearing the shoulder of Stevens Peak near the head of West Willow basin.  The photo above (click 2x to zoom in) shows what we saw when we reached the vantage point on the ridge above the basin and what three snowmobilers can do in a short time.  The precedent is being set.