Danny Smyl, president of the St. Paul Trailblazers snowmobile club, was born and raised in St. Paul. An avid sledder for more than 40 years, Smyl started out on a ’68 Ski-Doo.
A Ski-Doo man at heart, Smyl now rides a Summit 800. His dream sled is a “totally modified turbo sled” but Smyl jokes that he’s not sure, at his age, if he should take on such a machine.
As far as riding goes, Smyl loves boondocking and bush trail riding in northeastern Alberta, where, if you know where to go, there are tons of great riding areas, he said.
Future rides will hopefully include exploring new areas in the B.C. Rockies, where Smyl said he plans to put on as many miles as possible every day he’s there.
For Smyl, one of the best parts of being a sledder is volunteering with the club, promoting the sport and helping to build and maintain the trails.
“We are running out of snowmobiling land bases in Alberta for the sport of snowmobiling,” he said. “I strongly feel we need to get all sledders involved on a volunteer basis.”
Smyl knows what he’s talking about. Not only is he president of the Trailblazers, he is also president of the Iron Horse Grooming Foundation, as well as an active member of the Alberta Snowmobile Association and the Iron Horse Trail steward co-ordinator. One can’t help but wonder when he has time to ride.
