By: musicianonskis
Tags: fumes, North Loop, snowmobile
Category: Cross Country Ski Photos, Gatineau Park, Winter, Winter Trails
| Aperture: | f/4.5 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 30.5mm |
| ISO: | 80 |
| Shutter: | 1/500 sec |
| Camera: | Canon PowerShot G12 |
Are other ski areas so rife with snowmobiles? This one was idling in the middle of the skate lane this afternoon while the driver did his work at the edge of the forest. The North Loop does, incidentally, have a separate side lane for snowmobiles. In any case, the smell of the 2 stroke engine was very strong. Ironic that we frequently have to breathe these fumes while seeking exercise and fresh air in a park that prides itself on “conservation”.
Other than the fumes, conditions were very good.
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I think it was idling. The scene doesn’t look very idyllic to me.
Is this the new Mark II Demsis-class trail groomer?
Seriously, I wish the NCC (or Demsis) would invest in low-pollution snowmobiles.
I did the Ridge Road Loop from P5 and met Jo Ann on the Doldrums. The machine in question had been turned off for quite a while by the time I arrived and then we chatted for a bit. The the smell of gasoline and pollutants as we skied past was enough to make one gag quite disgusting. Imagine what that must do to your lungs when you are skiing hard and breathing in hard.
Oops. Corrected the spelling. Too much classical music and poetry this week and not enough skiing.
Agree it shouldn’t be idling but I am confused, we want grooming and trails to be perfect, we must realize that is going to take carbon footprint machines. If we were full time backcountry skiers then ok.
I was thinking more of the hydrocarbon emissions produced by burning the gas/oil mix in 2-stroke engines (when the snowmobiles pass by, it sure smells like 2-stroke) rather than the CO2 produced. It’s a bit like running a car with a worn-out engine and no emission controls. I believe there are now snowmobiles with 4-stroke engines and greatly reduced hydrocarbon emissions available. It would be nice to see these used in the park. Yes, when we rely on machine grooming we can’t consider XC skiing a completely “green” activity. It would be interesting to compute the per-skier energy cost of… Read more »
Agree, it would be great to replace the snowmobiles with ones with fewer emissions. However to play devil’s advocate, is it more green to replace a fairly new ‘polluter’ snowmobile (no idea of the age of the unit but it doesn’t look ancient) with a completely new unit? What emissions were used to make the new unit. Note if the snowmobile in question has had a good life then agree but perhaps we need to look at the final net impact from all aspects. Just a few thoughts.
Thank you