Now that it’s May and the snows of this epic winter are finally melting, perhaps it is also time for a thawing of the icy divide between the backcountry skiing community and Vermont Forests, Parks, and Recreation and the Green Mountain Club. Precipitated by the Big Jay cut last fall (see TrailHeads, VS November 2007), this renegade trail brought a long Vermont tradition of unplanned, unapproved route-clearing to public attention.
TrailHeads has been pondering this issue for several years and challenging the backcountry community to work on trails, only where we have permission. While the majority of us have raised our awareness, clearly others have not heeded the writing on the wall. Additionally, those responsible for managing many of the affected lands did little to change long-standing traditional use, despite increasing awareness of the issues involved.
This problem is not something that started in July, when these guys took a hike and went to work. It’s been developing for decades. Now we are forced to deal with the ugly aftermath, instead of having a proactive plan already in place.
To start, please remember that we all share common ground. Fences, signs, banned access, overblown rhetoric, and hypocritical posturing have little place in the healing process. Nor do selfishness, ignorance, rogue cuts, or disrespectful actions. Debate is healthy, but this has gone way beyond.
As much as we may feel righteous indignation about what these guys did, few of us can claim to be perfect. I’ve admitted publicly that I used to participate in unapproved work, and know a number of people in the Green Mountain Club and Catamount Trail Association who have also done similar things, but the public message has been “the Two-stroke Two is not us.” The problem is, we have met the enemy … and they are us.
The difference between breaking branches and cutting trees with chainsaws is only a matter of degree. If we don’t have permission, we shouldn’t do it. But this highlights the issue/problem that there are only a few small, mainly private, places where this type of work is currently planned and permitted. Despite this, there is an existing network of routes on both public and private land that has been developed over the last 70 years.
The position that “Great lines are found, not made,” belies most experience in the Green Mountains. Sure, there is some nice natural terrain, but the vast majority of great Vermont off-piste skiing and riding has had some help from people. Cleaning of routes is much more common than merely finding them.
Our forests are thick. New deadfalls block routes regularly. Prolific species, like striped maple, choke passage. Believe it or not, a common term for getting caught in extra dense forest is “jailed.” (No, it’s not a joke on the “Jailhouse Chute.”) Even though we have a tough climate, plants and trees grow quickly, too.
Let’s face it, trails and clear routes are much more fun to travel. There’s a reason why they are not called the Long Bushwhack or the Catamount Thicket. “Leave no trace” doesn’t mean “do no work.” Just ask the armies of volunteers who maintain these trails every year.
Despite what the Big Jay cut looks like, the vast majority of backcountry skiers and riders seek trimmed glades, not wide open trails. Broad denuded routes lose tremendous amounts of snow to sun and wind. They are much harder to maintain than glades and grow back at an accelerated rate because of increased exposure to sunlight. Open trails require extensive erosion control measures that also need lots of maintenance. Glades leave most of the root structure intact and don’t typically have erosion problems.
There is also positive proof that glades and off-piste lines can be created and maintained without degrading the environment. Check out www.treeskier.com for more info. Some areas may even become healthier with educated and planned management.
Two years ago, the GMC, with help from CTA and FPR, was working on a plan to create a Big Jay-Blackwater Falls backcountry skiing area, complete with new glades, climbing routes, and overnight shelters. Now is the time to resurrect this plan, and look for other opportunities to enact similar plans in key areas like the Mansfield, Coolidge, and Camel’s Hump State Forests.
Creating organized, educated, planned, and approved venues for glade skiing and riding will largely eliminate the problems with illegitimate cutting. The energy for community involvement is already proven by the vast network of “secret” woods runs that line the flanks of the Greens. Either harness it and redirect it, or expect more confrontations and problems, which will only polarize the issue further.
Let’s try not to be our own best enemy. See you at the trailhead!
John Atkinson lives, writes, rides, and skis in and around Moretown. He can be reached at fluff@madriver.com.
