Snowmobilers line up Wednesday at the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Under rules now in effect, all snowmobiles in the park must be guided. Snowmobiling information Snowmobilers may not be able to get into Yellowstone National Park, but riding opportunities are still available in the West Yellowstone and Island Park area.
A judge´s decision on Tuesday limited snowmobiling in Yellowstone Park to guided tours and snow coaches, but nearby national forests offer hundreds of miles of groomed trails and off-trail riding. “There is lots of riding,” said Marysue Costello, executive director for West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce. “And the snow this year is so perfect.” Wednesday morning, hundreds of snowmobilers converged on Yellowstone and neighboring Grand Teton, armed with entrance reservations made weeks ago. However, the ruling meant that only riders who were part of commercially guided tours could enter the park. Yellowstone officials said many people with reservations were turned away, but that they were offered refunds. The attorney general of Wyoming, the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association and a motorized recreation advocacy group moved to challenge a federal court ruling that reinstated a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks
This isn’t a sport. : It’s a noisome nuisance needed no notice, no not none. Definitions: 1) Recreation – a refreshing of strength or spirits after work; also: a means of refreshment (syn) diversion, entertainment, amusement. 2) Recreational vehicle – n : a vehicle designed for recreational use 3) Sport (1) – To amuse oneself : Frolic Sport (2) – a source of diversion : passtime, physical activity engaged in for pleasure It would seem to me that snowmobiling definately “fits the bill” regarding both the recreation and sport definitions. It is not work, as it is done during personal time and it is done for entertainment and amusement.
Before you create an “alt.snowmobiles” group, could someone explain what happened to the vote for “rec.snowmobiles”? The discussion phase seemed to be going fairly well, with only a few side-discussions about the environmental impact of snowmobiles. A “rec” group would get much better distribution than an “alt” group would. Why wasn’t the proposed “rec” group brought to a vote? I’d be willing to vote for it, particularly if it was named “rec.snowmobiles” rather than “rec.sport.snowmobiles”. The rec.sport.* groups are supposed to be for organized/team/competition sportsI don’t think there was ever a vote called for because of some complaints about the environment. Last I remember there was about 25 or so people who wanted the newsgroup and about three who did not and were not afraid to yell about it.
Snowmobiling Is entering its 50th year as the chosen recreational activity in North America for millions of families. The industry is mature and snowmobiles are more reliable now than ever. All of the manufacturers are introducing new technology vehicles, which are cleaner, quieter, dependable and user friendly with creature comforts exceeding expectations. More females are purchasing new snowmobiles, and in many regions of North America, 40% of all snowmobilers are females.
I’d argue that if you lived near the park and were an avid snowmobiler, you moist likely have seen the vista’s and views in the park as a tourist and most likely have the whole area outside the park as a much more expansive playground. I base this argument on the stories and comments of snowmobiling friends of mine that live close to the area…many, if not ALL of them claim there are much better places to go play in the snow outside that park.
Being a snowmobile fanatic in southern Ohio is a difficult proposition at best! Weekend trips are almost out of the question for me – if it’s not at least 3 days, it isn’t worth the bother. But there are places in Ohio where you can ride, and in fact, the NE corner of the state is a pretty good spot, with the lake effect snow and rolling hills overlooking Lake Erie. It’s kind of a toss-up for me though – it takes 4 hours to get there and it takes 6 hours to get to Cadillac Michigan – so for 4 extra hours of driving I can get to *real* snowmobiling.
