Deaths trigger calls to regulate snowmobilers

By Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun April 27, 2009 A central Interior heli-ski operator is calling on the province to immediately bring in controls over backcountry snowmobilers, saying the large number of deaths on the mountains this past season has hurt B.C.'s international reputation as a safe and desirable outdoor recreation destination. "It's not a good image when, in the backcountry, so many people die. It's not a good image for the province and the industry," said Mike Wiegele of Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing in the North Thompson Valley. Nineteen snowmobilers -- all but one of them in B.C. -- have died in avalanches in Canada this season, according to statistics provided by the Canadian Avalanche Centre. The number accounts for 75 per cent of all national backcountry fatalities, which also includes a heli-skier, a mountaineer and four out-of-bounds skiers. In several of the snowmobile-related incidents, slides were triggered as a result of highmarking -- where riders push their machines as far up a steep slope as possible. Wiegele said his company has been called to help out in four rescue operations this winter, which strains both the business and its employees. "We have to stop everything, stranding some of our skiers in the mountains to save snowmobilers from themselves," he said. He said it's long overdue for the province to license snowmobilers and regulate the sport, in the same way drivers on the roads are regulated. "The problem is that snowmobilers can go anywhere, any time, any day -- day or night -- any place. It's wild," Wiegele said. By contrast, he said, heli-ski operators and other backcountry professionals are heavily regulated. And while operators "don't have a problem with that," there is growing sentiment that the rules are being applied unfairly. "When we first started our business, we had to go through miles of red tape and mountains of safety training ... so why are snowmobilers exempt from that?" he asked. Earlier this month, Norm Macdonald, NDP MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, urged the government to improve snowmobile safety, noting a non-partisan group of rural MLAs and a "grassroots coalition" of snowmobilers have been pushing the government to license snowmobiles. dahansen@vancouversun.com