With powder on the ground and a chill in the air, local snowmobilers are revving up for the upcoming sled season.
The Grenfell Snow Drifters and Broadview Snowbusters snowmobile clubs are waiting for a few more inches of powder before they mark the trails and start grooming.
“It all depends on Mother Nature and when the snow comes. This year it looks like it might be sooner than later,” said Dennis Richter, president of the Broadview Snowbusters. “We probably need a good 20 centimetres just to get it covered up enough to start sledding.”
Last year’s winter delivered an extended snowmobile season, starting in November and ending in April.
Lois Warner, treasurer of the Grenfell Snowdrifters, hopes the trails will open for the holidays.
“We hoped to have the trail marked by Christmas most years because so many people come home for the holidays.”
Warner said about 60 families join the Snowdrifters club, supporting its mission and mandate for trail safety.
“The benefit of being a member of the club is that the trails are marked, maintained and safe,” said Warner. “If the trails not marked or groomed properly there’s more chance of an accident happening.”
“With a marked trail you know where to go and any obstacles are cleared, so it’s very safe,” said Richter.
The Grenfell club re-emerged 11 years ago, after a lull in membership and community interest. The Snowdrifters Club 313 has since expanded to include 75 kilometres of maintained trails. The trail system begins south of Grenfell at the junctions of Broadview and Moose Mountain, and heads north through the Pipestone into the Qu’Appelle Valley. The terrain varies throughout the system, giving diverse riding conditions through hills, trees, bushes and around the lake.
The Grenfell trails also include Ed’s Shack- a north shelter, and the Pipestone Hideaway- a south shelter.
The Broadview Snowbusters Club 301 has operated for more than 30 years, and has a membership of about 30 riders. The trail system includes 120 kilometres of groomed and maintained routes extending through Pipestone, Cowessess, coulees, and to Oakshela where the warm-up shelter is located.
The clubs’ membership fees are used for upkeep and to purchase reflective trail markers, wood for the shelters, trail/ hazard and speed limit signs. The fees are also used to pay for the south shelter’s solar panel batteries, timer and maintenance and the north shelter’s
electricity.
“Any money that we raise through membership fees and advertising goes toward the maintenance of our trails and the maintenance of our groomer,” Richter said of the Snowbusters Club.
Both club executives say the organizations and trails benefit the entire town, not only the sledding community.
“It’s bringing winter tourism into the province,” said Richter.
“We get a lot of people from the city where there aren’t many trails. If you go out to Schlumps Tire or to the Esso on a weekend, once our trails are open, there will be 10 or 12 trucks and trailers there with people who have come from other places to ride our trails,” said Warner. “They buy gas at the Esso or the Co-op, they eat in our cafes and they go to our bar.”
“We’re looking forward to another good season,” said Richter. “From what we’ve heard, there should be quite a bit of snow this year.”
The Snowmobile Safety Association requires all snowmobilers, born after Jan.1, 1999, to participate in a Snowmobile Safety Course. The Grenfell safety course is booked, but those interested can visit sasksnowmobiling.sk.ca, for more course dates and locations.
New members are always welcome. The Grenfell Snowdrifters will meet next on Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Grenfell High Community School. The Broadview Snowbusters meet the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m., at the Broadview Curling Rink.
