I am a skier. I've ridden a sled a few times. To me, it's fun about once a year, a good novelty, but not something I can really get in to. But I do appreciate that different things make different people tick. I like quiet, and I like really strenuous physical exercise, so I backcountry ski, a lot. But a lot of people like motors, either because their appreciate the engineering or because they like to be able to go really fast at the push of a button. I understand it, it's just not for me.
For one, I'd like to respond to those who wish they could sled in the central wasatch. On a basic level, I understand your position. The public land belongs to us all, so shouldn't we all be able to use it as we please, right? The catch comes from the fact that snowmobiles are loud and fast, and lots of people have them. Each sled covers a lot more ground, a lot more quickly. Because they move so fast, they just take up more space. 90% of the time, skiers are going slowly uphill or on flat ground. If a skier is 100' from you (and not skiing above you in avy terrain) you hardly notive them. But, if a snowmobile is 100' from you and going pretty fast, you tend to tense up, and watch to make sure that he does not hit you. Not considering avy issues, you just need to give someone on a snowmobile more room than you do a skier.
You have to have restrictions on what people can do on public property. If an area is crowded and popular, some of the louder, faster and more dangerous activities have to go somewhere else. But everyone can still go there on foot. (Personally, I'd make an exception that allowed motorized vehicles for those with a verifiable handicap who could not get there any other way).
Think about how relatively crowded the Logan area mountains are with sleds. Now, put a city 20 times the size of Logan below those mountains (and actually, I think the central wasatch is probably smaller, area wise, than the Logan mountains) and imagine what you'd have? I think it would be mayhem.
Sleds have the southern wasatch, the northern wasatch, the uintahs, the wasatch back (excluding Park City), the wasatch plateau, etc. all within an hour or two. Skiers have the central wasatch and a few corners of those other areas that they can reach in a day. A sled can cover a lot more terrain in a day. So most of those areas are snowmobile-exclusive, effectively. A 5 mile approach on skis makes an area unreachable for most people who work 9 to 5. A five mile approach on a sled is not a big deal.
Aside from skiing, I think there's some value in having a quiet non-mechanized area so close to a city. It's one of the great things about SLC. No other city has anything like it. I guess sledders don't care for quiet when they are outside, but a lot of people do, and that includes more than just skiers. For example, when you're hunting, it can ruin your day if a yahoo on a dirtbike flies by. Try to view things from someone else's perspective.
As for cardiff, I respect property rights. I think most people in this country, including skiers, see the importance. However, cardiff is a patchwork of public and private property. Yes, nearly every skier in there crosses private property. But nearly every biler in there illegally goes onto public property. Personally, I just try to be friendly to everyone. (Because landowners need a permit to be in there, there really aren't that many snowmobilers in there. Imagine the crowd if it was a free for all). I think everyone in there, skier or biler, is breaking a rule, so I say everyone should just let it slide.
I don't own a lot of property, but my grandparents were farmers and I never heard them give a crap about people wandering across the corners of their farm. We chased cows onto neighbors' property and I'm sure the neighors did the same. There was a spring that people hiked to occassionally. My grandparents never cared, so long as the trespassers didn't rut out the land or start a fire. Now, come creeping around the house, and it was a different story.
I understood part of dabull's frustration. There are some self righteous skiers out there who give skiers a bad image. But 90% are just looking to have a good time without getting slid or run over. Try just waiving and saying "how's it going." Most people respond well to that. If you don't bluff charge them, they will be friendly.
Regarding putting the incident on the UAC website, I don't see any problem with that. Charging the skier and highmarking above him was aggressive, dangerous behavior. If a car has been bluff-charging pedestrians, people need to know about it. This is no different.
If the UAC just tried to contact the property owner and find out her the bad guy was (which they may or may not have been able to do), it would not have gotten the word to others not to do this sort of thing. I believe I've seen them post pictures of skiers endangering others by skiing above them (though that is the result of stupidity and not animosity). I think that calling someone out in public when they act like a jerk is okay. It may deter it in the future (for example, when the responsible people on forums like this call out the jerks). Seriously, the guy endangered someone's life. Even if the skier was trespassing, that' totally uncalled for.
Anyway, I'm not a self righteous jerk. I put my views up here so you can try to understand the other side. I'd be interested to hear yours, as long as you address the problem rationally, without name calling.
