Maintain a superior and safe snowmobile trail system supporting the needs of the snowmobile enthusiasts which contributes to the economic vitality of our community.
Mid-February 2025 Groomer Report
It has been a challenging couple of weeks for our Groomer Advisory Board. The really clear news is that we have worked together to resolve several challenges.
Our challenges began a little over two weeks ago when our Westside Groomer sustained substantial failure to its’ framework where new parts had to be made for replacement and repair. Once the parts were received, a week later, our volunteers and mechanics repaired the damage over the weekend so we could get back out grooming.
Near the end of the first day of grooming, it was discovered that we had catastrophic failure within our front differential. One could say it is now on the disabled list and unable to play. Major parts and labor are necessary to get it back into the game.
Our priority is always to regularly groom all of our trails so our grooming community has a great snowmobile experience. We were able to put our plan together to accomplish our goals with a revised grooming schedule using our Eastside Groomer on both the Eastside and Westside. What this means is that we are now doing longer days of grooming each day and grooming up to six days a week throughout our whole trail system. Great appreciation has to go to our operators who are willing to make this happen.
The trails have really improved since we received the recent snowfall. I really appreciate the positive comments and understanding of how difficult it has been to maintain good trails where in many cases we were trying to groom trails with no new snow and were frozen solid with ice. I’m hoping we continue to get even more snow as we work toward the end of the grooming season in March.
Here is a “Save the Date” opportunity. On Saturday, February 22nd, The Groomer Board is sponsoring a “Lunch at the Hut” at the Mollies Warming Hut from 11 am – 2 pm. We will be serving Hamburgers and Hot Dogs. We are doing this as recognition to our Snowmobiling Community and an opportunity for you to meet with members of the Groomer Advisory Board. We hope to see you come, visit and enjoy the ride.
As lastly, I want to remind everyone of the Vintage Snowmobile Ice Oval Championships being held February 15-16 at the Forest Service Airport on the Westside of Priest Lake. Racing starts each day at 10:00 am. Event entry is free, with a donation going to support the event. Bring the whole family so they can enjoy this great community event.
Be sure to make plans to get out and enjoy the beauty and experience of our Priest Lake area.
Happy trails to you,
Larry Bryant, Chairman