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Lately I've been dreaming of the terrain i could access if the state of Oregon would just plow a few more roads. Sure, i could buck up and skin the long distances, but i'm a weekend warrior - aint got time to skin for 3 days to ride 1.

So it got me thinking...

Mountain biking has IMBA (imba.com) on their side, advocating for mountain biking interests; does backcountry skiing/snowboarding have a similar organization? Do we need one? Would we be able to plow roads and open access to new zones if we banded together?

Thoughts?

Probably not worth the extra cost/liability to the state by having to keep those roads plowed and open.

I agree with ya SPNCE. Another similar group would be the Access Fund for climbers.

Here in Tahoe access is ok but it has gotten worse in the last five years and there are real threats to nearly all the roadside parking on the West Shore. In meetings it is clear that many land managers and county officials don't even know BC skiers exist and thus don't consider our needs at all.

With the current explosion in BC equipment sales there has been good talk about companies supporting avy education (which is awesome) but perhaps those companies should also support efforts to maintain and improve access.

Sign of the times In a depressed economy city,state ,and federal budgets are stretched thin. Plowing is expensive (cost of the tricks to buy,maintain,pay the wages of the plow operator ect Also the public wants lower taxes so you can count on even less services in the future.
I work for a municipality. Out budget has been slashed workers laid off ect the public demands more cuts and at the same time they also want more services

I don't know when if it will ever get better

Why would you say no to something like this question? This guy is trying to get the ball rolling on something that would benefit us all. Just because you didn't think of it and have found a million reasons not to do something in your own life doesn't mean you have to look for reasons for others not to follow thru with great ideas. Get this started man. Someone has got to. If you could ever use a hand you should be able to come to this forum with specifics on how we can help and everyone here should be able to find something they can do personally. Donate, spread the word, make friends with their state's DOT, etc. We can help.

Nice Spencer! Way to get things moving.

I'm of course totally down to help, go to Salem, cause a ruckus at committee hearings, etc.

If the state won't buck up and get our roads plowed, I'm going out like this guy:

Who said no? Tex merely laid out a painful reality: No money and no support for government functions equal fewer government services. I split in southern OR all the time...and I'm perfectly comfortable with the access that the snow parks provide. Yeah, some of the approaches are long, but most of those roads are fair game for sleds, so if you don't want to wait for roads to melt out in the spring, find a friend with a sled. It'll get you far better results then any efforts spent lobbying local governments to try and provide new services when they can't even afford to keep up the existing ones. Snowparks are paid for by the fees the snowpark passes generate. You want to donate your money to an access cause in OR? Buy a snowpark pass.