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DON MARTIN, of West Vancouver, has lived and
worked in the outdoors for years.

Now he’s out to promote
snowmobiles - often seen as
an enemy of the wilderness -
as a means of getting the
average city dweller into the
outdoors.

If Martin had his choice,
he'd hike or cross country
ski into mountains. But with
most people only off a day
or two each week, they
need a quicker way into the
heart of the wilderness.

So Martin, 28, and Robert
Meilleur, 29, set up Whistler
Snowmobile Services in
mid-December. They sunk
their savings into the pur-
chase of six snowmobiles,
and now guide wilderness
snowmobile tours in and
around Whistler seven days
a week, :

“I'm a wilderness type -

person, and I'd like to see
more people who only have
one day cff work out enjoy-
ing the wilderness,’’ said
Martin, who is a volunteer
with the North Shore Search

and Rescue unit, and who.

has worked carving hiking
trails into several North
Shore mountains. .

(He was foreman of the
group which put a 22-
meter-long log bridge across
Mosquito Creek, and of
another group which: ex-
tended the Howe’ Sound
Crest Trail.)

For $30 ($15. for. passen-
gers), Martin or Meilleur will
pive a quick lesson in how to
andle a snowmobile.
Novice ders are then taken
on an, hour-long ride to a
ghost town called Parkhurst.
This sawmill town, aban-
doned in 1958, was the orig-
inal settlement in the
Whistler area. Now, there
are only a few buildings re-
maining of. the original
shanties, hotel, general
store, and communal bath

W. Park Royal
922-9650

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house. The tour includes a
hot lunch in a restcred cabin
and a chance to explore the
town.

For the more avid
snowmobile rider, there’s a
day-long trip to Meager
Creek Hot Springs that costs
$115 ($80 for passengers).
This tour includes both a
soak in the outdoor tubs at
the hot springs and a
gourmet lunch. And for
night owls, there’s a
moonlight trip to Parkhurst
which allows the group to
explore the shanties by kero-

DON MARTIN
«. @ wilderness type

sene lantern. |

Martin has been riding
snowmobiles since he was
nine years old. He says
anyone can learn to ride a
snowmovile, which has only
simple gas and brake con-
trols on either side of the
handlebars. From there, he
said, it’s just a matter of
leaning in the right direction
on the turns so the machine
doesn’t roll over,

**Anybody, no matter how
much of an office boy they
are, can do it,’’ Martin says.
“Once you get used to a lit-

Lightweight,
perfect for

business or
travel.

Richmond Centre
276-2606

Selling adventures

tle snow down your pants
you can enjoy it.”

Martin says that the tour
groups have a good reputa-
tion with cross-country
skiers, who often use the
packed trails he and Meilleur
have developed. ‘‘We're try-
ing to introduce snowmobil-
ing in a way that doesn’t in-
terfere with cross country
skiing,’’ he said. ‘*The last
thing I'd want is to have a
snowmobile whiz past me
when I'm skiing. I'd proba-
bly stick my pole in him.”

In fact, one of the approx-
imate 30 tour groups Mar-
tin has fed to Parkhurst
rescued a stranded cross
country skier.

“She got off the trail and
had skied all day following
our tracks,"’ Martin said.
“When we ran into her, she
was exhausted.”

The woman, in her 20s,
was considering building a
snow cave when Martin's
group found her at dusk -
but she didn’t have the tools
or the knowledge to survive
in the wilderness. ‘‘Too
much TV, I guess,”’ was
Martin's comment on_ her
snow cave idea.

Snowmobile tours can be
arranged by phoning
Whistler Snowmobile Ser-
vices at 932-4086. Up ta 15
people can participate in a
tour, using the six
snowmobiles and two
sleighs. Everyone must wear
helmeis, and all tours are led
by a guide who is qualified
in Industrial First Aid.

“Some of these machines
are pretty peppy, and if you
don’t hold on tight you'll
fall off the back.’? But,
Martin says, he has never
had an injury on any tour.

“Our policy is that the
tours that we're doing are on
designated routes,’” he said.
**We don’t just jump on the
snowmobiles and ride ail
over the alpine country.”’

ren \ PT A i

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PAGE 38

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