Traversing sharp bends and snow-coated hemlocks up to Boulder Mountain, Amber Lane sees how the thousands of snowmobile trips through this precious caribou woodland can promote environmental awareness while boosting local economy.

The executive director of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club (RSC) has a team of 15 supporting her during these peak winter months, but during the off-season, she runs the show alone.

Overseeing 150 kilometres of well-signed trails across the Boulder, Frisby and Keystone peaks just north of Revelstoke along the Jordan River, RSC sees some 30,000 riders per year snowmobile through its network. Last year, they contributed about $17.5 million of direct spending in Revelstoke, excluding what they paid at RSC.

Lane said RSC's economic contribution to the city almost doubles that at $31 million annually. Across B.C., the economic impact reaches nearly $300 million per year, according to the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation.

"Snowmobilers are supporting local businesses and staying at hotels that are more off the beaten track," Lane said. "One of the reasons I'm really passionate about snowmobiling in Revelstoke is it's dispersed recreation, and it is dispersed economic impact as well."

But snowmobiling also has a large role to play by finding ways to tread more lightly in this one-of-a-kind inland temperate rainforest, Lane noted.

"We can impart more responsible recreation toward (our members)."

RSC staff not only maintain trails but mitigate wildfire fuel by removing dead standing and fallen trees, which provide wood for heating the club's cabin shelters. They also teach riders avalanche preparedness, and have held successful voluntary trail closures on Frisby Peak in past years for wandering caribou herds that have become rarer here due to snowmobiling.

"In terms of trail-building, we're also managing erosion, doing some brushing and ditching, to ensure that water is flowing and we're not messing up the land," Lane explained.

Visiting RSC's trails, Gus Schibild from Full Speed Rentals and Great Canadian Tours said it's advisable to always snowmobile with avalanche safety equipment, ride with a buddy, and pack out any accumulated waste.

"Take care of the environment and make it so we're acting as good stewards of the land, and continue to be able to that," he said. "We've seen a huge influx in customers and ridership."

RSC operates three public, 24/7 shelters on Boulder and Frisby peaks that double as waste facilities and remain open to anyone seeking refuge.

"Anyone encountering them is welcome to use them in any kind of emergency situation," Lane said.

Used for four hours, a standard two-stroke-engine snowmobile emits upwards of 10 times more carbon monoxide and 45 times more hydrocarbons than a car driving 160 km, according to the U.S. National Parks Service.

One of RSC's newest features, however, is a grant-funded electric Ski-Doo that doesn't emit gas and runs almost silently. It's an important step forward for reducing the club's emissions footprint, Lane noted, though it does bring its own limitations for charging infrastructure and horsepower.

"To be honest, it struggles to make it up to the cabin and back," she said, but "it's an effort to advance electric technology in snowmobiling. It's not quite there yet, but if we don't invest in that technology then it's not going to be there."

For now, staff say the Ski-Doo bears enough power to make meaningful emissions-cutting supply runs between the shelters and main building. And while the club's four snow groomers all burn diesel, companies such as Prinoth Snow Groomers in Italy have been experimenting with hydrogen-powered vehicles, which RSC staff note could potentially be added to their fleet in the future if the necessary infrastructure comes to Revelstoke.

In addition to collaborating with the Shuswap Trail Alliance, RSC collects trail fees at checkpoints that Recreation Sites and Trails BC allows the club to keep on a cost-recovery basis. The money helps finance RSC to maintain the trails and shelters on this province-owned land that the club and snowmobilers can freely use.

"Revelstoke has always been known as the Mecca of snowmobiling," Schibild said. "Right from very beginners, all the way to the most experienced riders in the world, they all flock here. The community is usually pretty open to anybody and everybody to be inclusive and have as many riders as we can up here, trying to show good, responsible riding."