Blue River heli-ski operator Mike Wiegele thinks there should be a public inquiry into snowmobile-related fatalities in B.C.
On the other hand, Albert Venor, president of the Blue River Powder Packers snowmobile club, would prefer to see all sides work towards a negotiated solution rather than have a public inquiry.
MikeWiegeleMug”It’s hard enough to start a business here without all this confrontation,” said Wiegele. “Snowmobilers go anywhere at any time, day or night. They endanger themselves and the people who go to rescue them.”
Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing employs up to 240 people during the winter season, he said.
Besides being personal tragedies, any winter sports fatalities in the mountains are bad for business and endanger those jobs, he felt.
Wiegele said there are also fatalities in the heli-ski industry but that they take all precautions and have a comprehensive safety plan.
READ MORE: Letter to editor from Mike Wiegele calling for more controls on snowmobiling (Mar. 22, 2014)
The snowmobiling industry, on the other hand, encourages people to go into the backcountry but then takes no responsibility if they get into trouble.
“That is the difference. There are no consequences for them,” the heli-ski operator said.
Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing no longer rescues snowmobilers who get into trouble. In one of the last rescues the heli-ski operation was involved with, guides worked for hours to extricate a snowmobiler with a serious injury. As they were doing this, other snowmobilers in the area did nothing to help and, in fact, continued to high-line above the rescue party on a slope that the guides felt was avalanche-prone.
READ MORE: Wiegele assists at snowmobile accident (Feb. 5, 2013)
Wiegele found it ironic that many of the snowmobilers who use the Blue River area come from Alberta, which he described as having much stricter rules regarding snowmobiling than B.C.
He said snowmobilers in that province have had their machines confiscated and been forced to pay heavy fines for going into closed areas. He was not aware of any snowmobilers facing similar sanctions in this province.
Wiegele said it was a handful of people who are creating the problems with the snowmobilers but those problems create difficulties for his business.
“We have the world’s best product here, with a worldwide audience, but they are disappointed when they hear of the confrontation with snowmobilers,” he said.Snowmobilers prefer negotiation
Blue River Powder Packers president Albert Venor said he did not think a public inquiry into snowmobiling fatalities was needed or would be helpful.
“It would be picking at scabs,” he said. “The important thing is that we learn from these tragedies.”
A more productive approach would be if the heli-ski and snowmobile industries could learn to work together, he felt.
The heli-ski industry has been going for over 45 years, he said, and has a wealth of experience about mountain safety.
He pointed out that when Hans Gmoser first started Canadian Mountain Holidays, the heli-ski parties went out with limited avalanche knowledge and equipment.
All that has changed but it took a while.
“Our industry is quite young by comparison,” Venor said.
The snowmobile club president gave as an example of the cooperation he would like to see an avalanche course the Powder Packers put on last December in the Blue River firehall and on Groundhog Mountain.
A trainer from Valemount was unable to attend and so the club arranged for a guide who works for Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing to do the instruction.
The course was full and a success, Venor reported.
The mind-set of most snowmobilers has changed over the past few years, he said. Previously, it was not unusual to encounter people sledding in the mountains with no avalanche training or equipment. Now it is not unusual for snowmobilers to turn back because they forgot their beacon, probe or shovel.
Although it might not be popular with some, he predicted that within a few years a person will need to prove that he or she has adequate safety training before being allowed to buy or operate a snowmobile.
He said that only the one per cent can afford to go heli-skiing. Snowmobiling opens up the backcountry to a much larger percentage of the population.
Venor said the Blue River Powder Packers are meeting with the provincial government and MWHS to try to resolve the differences over the heli-ski operation’s Eight Peaks proposal.
READ MORE: Threats mar Eight Peaks discussion (Jan. 3, 2018)
“Working together would help everybody,” he said. “There’s more than enough for everybody. I think we can all get along and play in the same sandbox.”
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