If grooming didn't

[raceu4it]

exist how many sledders would give up the sport and go back to the couch. Myself i came from the days of no grooming, and i do believe people don't truly appreciate the efforts. Cause many many moons the trail conditions were the trail conditions, and it was the price of admission to the back country and all was good with good friends and fires with smokie sticks. I'd be pretty hard pressed to complain about grooming and yes I've ridden whooped out trails which would make the finals at the snocross in Yellowstone look like a cake walk. I truly believe all the groomers do there best with what they have for equipment, time, money and snow conditions. And sometimes I do believe grooming in some ways has hurt the sport cause now everyone expects it and gets quite vocal about the trail if it's not to their standard. And yes there are fees collected daily, but if you ride a certain area lots, buy a club membership, get involved, be helpfully and try to learn how to become a groomer then everyone will be happy. Maybe Lol. my morning rant.

 

[RXN]

There'd be a lot more bush riding thats for sure, everyone be trying to make their own trails up.

 

[cokecrazed007]

exist how many sledders would give up the sport and go back to the couch. Myself i came from the days of no grooming, and i do believe people don't truly appreciate the efforts. Cause many many moons the trail conditions were the trail conditions, and it was the price of admission to the back country and all was good with good friends and fires with smokie sticks. I'd be pretty hard pressed to complain about grooming and yes I've ridden whooped out trails which would make the finals at the snocross in Yellowstone look like a cake walk. I truly believe all the groomers do there best with what they have for equipment, time, money and snow conditions. And sometimes I do believe grooming in some ways has hurt the sport cause now everyone expects it and gets quite vocal about the trail if it's not to their standard. And yes there are fees collected daily, but if you ride a certain lots, buy a club membership, get involved, be helpfully and try to learn how to become a groomer then everyone will be happy. Maybe Lol. my morning rant.

X2 I remember those days quite well and our grope always comments on how this newer generation would handle it.

 

[dinlaroche]

Grooming is great because it tends to concentrate the masses, it seems like if there is no grooming and no cabin, then a lot of people are not interested, which a leaves a lot of great riding areas off of the radar.

 

[etecheaven]

X2 I remember those days quite well and our grope always comments on how this newer generation would handle it.

i think it would be handled very well. People complain cause they pay for 3 days in a row and dont see a single smooth ride up or down. Plus if people came knowing that it was gonna be rough then it was their call. Its this unknown hope that the ride will be smooth because u pay that drives people wild.

I think i agree, cancel the groomers, it may be rough but way less traffic up top, more fresh for those committed to the ride. Plus save 20 bucks a day.

 

[Steve D]

Only have one trail I ride that sees a groomer, and it went a few years without being groomed. While it's great shape now, it never stopped me. Encouraged me to buy a sled with better suspension! LOL

 

[catinthehat]

I remember the old days when our main riding area (Lumberton) was not so affectionately called Bumperton.
It sure is a treat to have a smooth ride back 15 or 20 kms to the truck after a hard day of playing, especially as we get older.
The other great thing about grooming is that, yes while it does concentrate more people in one area to take advantage of smooth trails,
that leaves less people riding other areas so those places don't get whooped out as bad for those riders going there.
If 20 bucks is to much to spend for a days entertainment maybe the couch is the place for you. ( from one volunteer groomers perspective. )

 

[moyiesledhead]

I buy a club membership every year (2 clubs actually), I spent many years running the groomer....but I actually spend most of my time riding ungroomed areas. Groomed trails attract a lot more riders. I prefer the relative solitude of ungroomed areas. A few bumps are nothing when I think back to the "suspensions" we had back in '68!

I have no problem paying for a groomed trail when I do ride them, but nothing pees me off faster than paying money to ride a 40km snowcross track. Done that a few times in one particular area! They owe me some free riding if I ever get there when it's actually groomed!

 

[catinthehat]

what the hell is a groomed trail ?? lol i hear maxipads r good for those groomed trails ...

You must be referring to the same trail moyiesledhead rode a couple weeks ago in your area. lol

 

[jbb]

for the most part i never ride on trails. only time i do is places like revy where you have to to get up top.

 

[moyiesledhead]

You must be referring to the same trail moyiesledhead rode a couple weeks ago in your area. lol

A case of maxipads wouldn't have helped that trail! At least I didn't pay this time!

 

[lightening1000]

but your forgetting years AGO there was not 250 sleds on 1 hill at one time!!!! whe ni was riding years ago there was very few riders in the mountains so the trails did not get all whooped out so fast as they do now.. and if i ride a rough trail on a friday and pay my 20 and the parking lot is full and no grooming then i ride the same area sat and it is packed again and no grooming was done i should not be expected to pay the 20 to ride a rediculous trail up and down again..

 

[polarice]

so you go to all the club workbees and help out doing trail clean up and cut wood for the cabin ????

but your forgetting years AGO there was not 250 sleds on 1 hill at one time!!!! whe ni was riding years ago there was very few riders in the mountains so the trails did not get all whooped out so fast as they do now.. and if i ride a rough trail on a friday and pay my 20 and the parking lot is full and no grooming then i ride the same area sat and it is packed again and no grooming was done i should not be expected to pay the 20 to ride a rediculous trail up and down again..

 

[pete gads]

sounds like not to many of you riders know what it cost to groom, pay someone to work booth, pay someone to keep cabins trails and watch bondaries for out of bounds riders and most of all the time and money when people have to go out of thier area to go to meetings to fight for the rights for us to ride in these areas. Just ask curtis how much time and money it cost to operate varda so we have an area. I have been riding 21 yrs up in vale and the areas have gotten smaller. Same in revy, and golden So your 20 bucks doesn't just cover trail. So when you pay 20 and the trail is not like a hi-way, then go play on hi-way.

 

[TheMuffinMan]

Doesn't bug me to ride a rough trail. I'm planning to ride the Baja 500 next year so think of it as good cross-training, haha!

 

[slednek]

I remember riding Renshaw before they groomed. Spent 3 hrs breaking trail through the trees and spent 3 days with 4' of untouched. There was about 30 of us and that was it. Still the best ride I have ever had. With the amount of users now I don't think the trails would hold up like they did.

 

[oler1234]

those where the days... your legs would be complete jelloo after a ride, and walked bow legged for atleast a day. i remember parking on hwy 1 to go up boulder. Just getting to the cabin was a nightmare. Whooped to crap. but like others said, back in them days if you saw 30 sleds at the cabin.... that was HUGE!@! Ever since they start running tours and groomers i have never been back. Quartz was always a bad one as well, that last part through the trees to the cabin took forever. Hell the worst i remember was up corbin at CNP, the whoops down there always seem like 3 ft heigh and 3 ft apart.

Well as sleds evolved, so did my riding areas... i think i pay for a trail pass 3 times a year now

 

[takethebounce]

People pay taxes every day of the week in some form or another to drive on roads that are in need of major repair and don't get cleaned every day of the winter when snow covered.

Sure they bitch about it but still drive to work in the morning, but should they pay a trail fee a few times to ride on an ungroomed trail once or twice a winter its the end of the world as they feel the trail should be groomed each and everytime they bless the trail with their existence.

 

[my mod]

yes, Corbin was the worst. We tried to go full throttle to skip across the tops, sometimes when you looked down between the humps you could see a sled or two parked in them. many suspensions gave up along that main trail.

 

[snopro]

I've cried on the Keystone trail a time or two......Lol.