Winter is a challenging time for mountain goats.
It takes a huge amount of energy for them to move through deep snow. At the same time, access to food sources is dramatically limited and goats are often forced to forage on low-nutrition foods — like balsam fir needles, and lichens or dry grasses on wind- or avalanche-scoured slopes and areas of soft snow.
The result is that mountain goats generally spend winters in a form of managed-starvation, during which their main goal is to survive until warmer weather and its accompanying new green plants arrive1. Right now, in late winter, goats are in many ways at their most vulnerable. So how can we, as backcountry recreationalists, take a load off mountain goats?
Every calorie counts
If any extra energy demands are placed on mountain goats during the winter period—like trying to escape people in the backcountry—it becomes a huge drain on their precious energy stores. Mountain goats are highly sensitive to human disturbance2 . If mountain goats sense you and your friends nearby, they’ll likely move away—often into potentially lethal terrain.
The cost of living in avalanche terrain
Lost calories aren’t the only threat we pose to goats in the backcountry. When goats flee our presence, they almost always do so into ‘escape terrain’—steep, rocky cliffs that are prone to avalanches. In areas with frequent human recreation, goats will actually opt to remain close to those dangerous areas.3
Avalanches are a major source of mortality for mountain goats. One study of four goat populations in Alaska’s Coast Mountains found that avalanches were responsible for 23% to 65% of all mountain goat deaths 4. As climate change further destabilizes our snowpack, we should be doing whatever we can to alleviate—or at least not worsen—the problem.
The video below demonstrates some ski-tourers unknowingly pushing a herd of mountain goats into avalanche terrain.
“But they don’t seem concerned…”
Just because a mountain goat appears docile or unaffected by your activities doesn’t mean it’s not highly stressed. If the goat decides to stay put, it’s because it’s weighed the cost of being stressed as less life-threatening than moving away from its current location 5.
A recent study in Yoho and Banff National Parks tested hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in shed goat hair, and confirmed that goats in areas with higher human use were more stressed than those with little human disturbance. 6 Chronic stress can reduce physical health, and the ability to reproduce and fight off disease. 7
Non-motorized recreation (ski touring, snowshoeing, etc), and motorized recreation (snowmobiling, helicopters) encounters can both elicit strong stress responses in mountain goats. Studies show that goats move more (especially toward dangerous terrain) in the 48 hours following a helicopter disturbance. 8
So how can we reduce our impact on mountain goats in winter?
Acknowledging that we can and often do pose a threat to mountain goats when we venture into their alpine domains is a great first step to reducing our impact. But the real change happens when you turn that knowledge into action.
1.Know where mountain goats are most likely to appear
In winter, goats can often be found on or near steep snow-shedding or windswept slopes as they look for forage. If on ridgelines, they’ll almost always be in close proximity to escape terrain. They can also be found in lower elevation, forested rocky outcrops on warm aspects to avoid deeper snowpacks.
2. If you see tracks or goats, change your course.
If you’re in high-altitude backcountry terrain in the winter and you see hooved tracks, they are most likely from mountain goats. Change your route if it’s safe for you to do so, and angle away from the direction the tracks lead. If you see goats, back away and try to keep at least 500 metres between them and your group. Do not try to out-manoeuvre them by traversing above, as you could trigger an avalanche.
3. Respect winter closures
Some alpine areas are closed during winter to protect different ungulates, like mountain goats and caribou. There are currently three Ungulate Winter Range closures for mountain goats in the Kootenay region—you can view them here.
By following a few simple steps this winter, we can reduce the threats we pose to mountain goats while out recreating in the backcountry.
If you want to learn more about how recreationalists and mountain goats interact in the backcountry, check out this video from a Wild Spaces event in Kimberley, featuring wildlife biologist Kim Poole and Kootenay conservation specialist with BC Parks Amanda Weber-Roy.
- ‘Mountain goats: ecology, behavior, and conservation of an alpine ungulate’. Festa-Bianchet, M., and S. D. Coˆte´. 2008. Island Press, Covelo, California, USA.)White et al. 2011. White, K. S., G. W. Pendleton, D. Crowley, H. J. Griese, K. J. Hundertmark, T. McDonough, L. Nichols, M. Robus, C. A. Smith, and J. W. Schoen. 2011. Mountain goat survival in coastal Alaska: effects of age, sex and climate. Journal of Wildlife Management 75:1731–1744.https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.238
- ‘The Impacts of Recreation on Mountain Goats in Banff and Yoho National Parks’, UBC 2024, Madeleine Claire Wrazej. https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/24/1.0444032/3
- ‘The Impacts of Recreation on Mountain Goats in Banff and Yoho National Parks’, UBC 2024, Madeleine Claire Wrazej. https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/24/1.0444032/3
- ‘Snow avalanches are a primary climate-linked driver of mountain ungulate populations’. Kevin S. White, Eran Hood, Gabriel J. Wolken, Erich H. Peitzsch, Yves Bühler, Katreen Wikstrom Jones & Chris T. Darimont
- Gill, J. A., Norris, K., & Sutherland, W. J. (2001). ‘Why behavioural responses may not reflect
the population consequences of human disturbance’. Biological Conservation, 97(2), 265-
268. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00002-1. - ‘The Impacts of Recreation on Mountain Goats in Banff and Yoho National Parks’, UBC 2024, Madeleine Claire Wrazej. https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/24/1.0444032/3
- ‘The relationship between physiological stress and wildlife disease: Consequences for health and conservation’. Hing, S., Narayan, E. J., Thompson, R. C. A., & Godfrey, S. S. (2016). Wildlife Research, 43(1), 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR15183
- ‘Responses of Mountain Goats to Heliskiing Activity’ Becky A. Cadsand, MSc Thesis, UNBC 2012