People are attracted to snowmobiling for a variety of reasons: thrills, speed, exploration, even boredom. That’s how Dwayne Andrychuk found his way into the sport, and since then snowmobiling has kept the boredom at bay.
“Back in the day, we didn’t have much to do in the wintertime on the farm,” Andrychuk said. “We had tons of snow, so every neighbourhood where parents could afford to buy their kids a sled, they’d buy them a sled. My first snowmobile was a John Deere 1973. We drove across country and went through wherever we could to have fun. We used to race through the fields as fast as you can go to see who could beat who.”
Staving off boredom isn’t the only reason Andrychuk rides. “Basically it’s adventure and fellowship,” he said. “I try to meet a bunch of people.” Getting out of the house to socialize has helped keep his hobby alive.
Convenience and location have been a winning formula for Andrychuk too. “We live in a park so we park our sleds right outside the door. You can just jump on and go. Once the lake freezes over, you can go for a spin and try your new sled out if you get one.”
Kamsack is the only home Andrychuk has ever known. He’s been sledding the area since 1973 and has owned 25 snowmobiles during that time. If anybody knows the ins-and-outs of where to ride in Kamsack, it’s Andrychuk.
“We’re at Duck Mountain Provincial Park,” he said. “Through Togo, Saskatchewan, there’s a lot of valleys and bush. We go up north into the Thunder Hill area. You get a few feet of powder in Norquay. It has trees, hills and jumps. You can do all kinds of goofy things if you want to play around. It’s kind of neat. From there you can take the trails up north through the valleys and hills to do flatland sledding. We’ve got a pretty nice park.”
