If you are one of the few that have not ridden Valemount yet, what are you waiting for? There are many reasons to come and see what Valemount has to offer. With an average annual snowfall of over 1400 centimetres at 1800 metres, Valemount is one of British Columbia’s premier mountain sledding destinations.
Snowmobiling is an integral part of Valemount’s annual economy and our small community caters heavily to our winter visitors. Centrally located in the middle of mountain sledding heaven, Valemount is an easy choice as the base of your winter sledding holiday. Enjoy a relaxing ride up one of our groomed trails to a nice alpine cabin in a managed area or venture far and beyond into some of the lesser-explored terrain in the Cariboo, Monashee and Rocky Mountain ranges. Abundant hotels, restaurants and services are all here, offering amazing hospitality. The sledding communities of McBride and Blue River are a short drive away. While using Valemount as your vacation headquarters, the opportunities and variety of riding areas are endless.
Leading the helm for recreational snowmobiling in the Valemount area is the Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA). If you have not already done so, please check out our new website at www.ridevalemount.com
The site has a great look and is very user friendly. There you will find useful information on the Valemount area, including year-round activities, updated information, recent posts, downloadable files, amazing pictures and videos and—most importantly—this is where you will find the forms necessary to fill out your club membership for the season. Please sign up and support your favourite riding destination.
By this time of the year the VARDA office has already received numerous phone calls and emails from diehard fans of the Valemount area asking, “Any snow up top yet?” One thing is on their minds and that is hitting their favourite riding spot and feeding that hunger that has been growing all summer long.
As hard core sledders, we here at VARDA headquarters feel your pain! But we haven’t just been sitting around awaiting that first snowflake. We have had a very busy summer clearing and maintaining trails, cutting ski runs, repairing cabins and planning to ensure that the 2013/2014 sledding season is the best one yet.
While Valemount is known for its amazing terrain and abundant annual snowfall, we also want to be known for our commitment to rider education and safety. We want everyone to be as aware as possible, enjoy your time here and most importantly play safe and stay healthy. As you are planning your winter trips to the mountains, be sure to set aside some time to take an avalanche skills course, go through and maintain your equipment and—last but not least—practice with your equipment.
There are tools available in the area to help you practice and become “avy savvy.” Be sure your transceiver is turned on properly by completing group checks first, and then utilize our BCA beacon checkers at all of our managed trailheads to ensure you are transmitting. Practice your skills in the BCA beacon training park and if you see the VARDA Snowhost team on your travels, grill them for information or even ask them to set up a scenario for you.
By riding in Valemount you are contributing to snowmobiler avalanche education, as a dollar from every trail pass sold goes to the Canadian Avalanche Centre to further snowmobiler avalanche education. Last season VARDA donated just under $16,000 to the CAC under this Buck-a-Head program.
For more information on Valemount and its great opportunities, please visit our website at ridevalemount.com and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/ridevalemount. You can also call our office directly at 250-566-4817 to speak with the VARDA staff.
Happy sledding!
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Curtis Pawliuk
General Manager, VARDA
