Welcome to the California Nevada Snowmobile Association

Making Tracks

Some of California's best snowmobiling opportunities are on trails in the Sierra near Fresno.

By Marek Warszawski / The Fresno Bee

Brian Biglione gets airborne on his "sled" near Little Shuteye Peak, east of Bass Lake. Biglione and his friends are part of a growing interest in snowmobiling. Mark Crosse / The Fresno Bee     Want To Go Snowmobiling? Thanks to this year's snowpack, the deepest in nearly a decade, enthusiasts expect to continue "sledding" into May. RENTALS & TOURS Rancheria Enterprises (Huntington Lake): (559) 893-3234, www.rancheriaenterprises.com High Country Adventures (Oakhurst): (559) 760-1869, www.yosemiteadventures.com LOCAL CLUBS Team Summit: www.teamsummit.net Sierra Snowmobile Club: www.sierrasnowmobileclub.com Sequoia Snowmobilers: Email at mountaintop@lightspeed.net REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS California Nevada Snowmobile Association: www.cnsa.net

Not all that long ago, Jeff Aiello hated the sight of snow in his beloved Sierra Nevada.

"I used to get bummed out every winter," Aiello said. "The snow would come and the Sierra would shut down."

Skiing and snowboarding never appealed to the Fresno native. He wanted something different. One night in 1997, Aiello found what he was looking for when the Outdoor Life Network aired a program on snowmobiling.

Aiello rushed out the next day and bought his first "sled." Eight years later, he's on No. 5.

"I loved the access it gave me to the mountains," Aiello said. "Just total quiet. Peaceful. Awesome."

Fortunately for Aiello, the Sierra National Forest east and north of Fresno offers some of the best snowmobiling opportunities in the state. Besides the 234 miles of designated trails along Highway 168 near Huntington Lake, excellent backcountry terrain can be found south of Yosemite.

Friday afternoon, I accompanied Team Summit, a local snowmobiling club co-founded by Aiello, on a half-day ride in the mountains above Bass Lake. After gassing up at the Pines Resort, we hung a quick left onto Beasore Road and drove about 6 miles until snow stopped further progress.

Time to mount up and for a quick orientation. For an avid cross-country skier who normally avoids snowmobiles whenever possible, this was a view from the opposite spectrum.

After getting used to handling the machine over bumps, I was amazed at how much ground could be covered in so little time and effort. (The next day, my plank-stiff lower back and sore arms bunked the "effort" part.)

We buzzed up Beasore Road before topping out at Cold Springs Summit and turning east on a summer four-wheel-drive road. There was still 7 feet of snow on the ground, easy. Soon thereafter, I got my first taste of hill climbing, a task made significantly easier by the 700cc engine beneath my seat. Upon reaching Chilkoot Lake, it was obvious why this place is so popular with snowmobilers. Besides the flank of Little Shuteye Peak, already carved with tracks, there's a drop-dead view of the Ritter Range, Mammoth Mountain, Silver Divide and Mono Divide.

"Six years ago if you saw six snowmobiles on a weekend, that was huge," said Team Summit member Bryan Wilson of Oakhurst. "Now you see 50. It's exploding."

Dave Newton, co-owner of Rancheria Enterprises, also can testify to the sport's growing popularity.

Six years ago, his first in the business, Newton said his Huntington Lake dealership sold 20 snowmobiles. This year, he sold 43. In addition, Rancheria's fleet of 20 rentals is typically reserved on weekends.

"From Christmas to New Year's, the Sno-Park at the boat launch was jam packed," Newton said. "You couldn't squeeze another car in there."

Anyone who hasn't ridden a snowmobile in a while would be amazed at recent advances in technology.

While the use of motocross-inspired shocks has improved suspension and handling, the rubberized tracks that power the vehicle have undergone even more radical change.

"Five years ago, a powder sled track was 136 inches in circumference," said Jerry Ham, southern regional director of the California Nevada Snowmobile Association. He's also sales manager at Clawson Motorsports, Fresno's only snowmobile dealer.

"Now they go as big as 166 inches and can climb straight up hills in 4-6feet of powder."

With today's snowmobiles capable of carving up more rugged terrain comes the concern that users will take them in places they're not supposed to be.

Snowmobiles generally are illegal in national parks (with Yellowstone the main exception) and wilderness areas but permitted on national forest lands.

In California, snowmobiling groups and the Sierra Club recently went head to head over their continued use in a proposed wilderness addition near Sonora Pass. Last month, the Forest Service issued a report proposing a 7,000-acre corridor around Leavitt Lake. The decision widely was viewed as a compromise.

Closer to home, Sierra National Forest winter sports coordinator Mike Robinson said two flyovers this winter produced one confirmed sighting of a snowmobile track in the Kaiser Wilderness. No one has been cited.

Devotees such as Aiello say they aren't tempted to venture into places such as Yosemite because of the abundance of legal terrain.

"We'd never be caught, but there's a respect factor there," Aiello said. "Most of the places we ride, there's nobody using these mountains in the winter but us."

The reporter can be reached at marekw@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6218.

© 2005, The Fresno Bee

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