Are we ready? Summer passed us by in a rainy haze, but the upside to all the rain was that forest fires were next to none once it started raining. The good news is, with all the rain, the water table has come back so the ground will be moist again and we all know that with the moisture comes growth and that is great news for us sledders. It makes the mountains, forest and land so much greener, and when we get out in the mist of winter it is a beautiful sight to see. But to get out there, the clubs do a vast amount of work all year long. It’s kind of like the postal workers who say, “Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night . . . ,” and so with the snowmobile clubs it’s the same thing—no matter the weather or the season, work is being done.
Here’s a little update on what happened over the summer months with the clubs in the Northwest Region:
The Swan Hills Snow Goers have been meeting with logging companies to go over their harvesting plans this season. They are also working with Atco Electric doing some dangerous tree removal on some of the rights-of-way that we use for trails. The Swan Hill Snow Goers Rally this season is February 22, 2020.
The Whitecourt Trailblazers are celebrating their 40th anniversary and they have decided to celebrate a different club member each week for 40 weeks. Each week an article will be written up and posted on the website. In September, the years from 1970 to 1980 were highlighted, in October it will be the 1990s and November will be the 2000s so they are really looking at what has happened over the past 40 years.
To help celebrate their 40th anniversary, the Whitecourt Trailblazers are co-hosting with the town and county of Whitecourt the “40th Anniversary Invasion.” The plans are still in the works but they are hoping to break their world record for the longest snowmobile parade on the Friday of the Family Day long weekend in February of 2020. The community is also planning a concert and other activities for that weekend. On March 7 and 8, they are holding the teen challenge again, and there will be more information about that at the Alberta Snowmobile & Powersports Show.
The goal of the Northland Sno-Goers this summer was to tackle a project at Harold’s Hut. The cabin got a scrubbing inside and out, and then the entire outside of the cabin was stained and there was even time to cut some firewood. We plan to do more upgrades to Eagle Tower this season as well. We are replacing the floor and doing the walls with tongue and groove and hope to wash and stain the outside. We are also working on a staging area, so hopefully we will have a location picked soon.
The rally is February 2, 2020, but we are planning a big weekend event as it is the club’s 50th anniversary. We will be doing a Friday night social and registration. Saturday will be the same ride, dinner and dance. Sunday will be a second fun ride with the location to be announced.
The Edson Sno-Seekers Club is a non-profit family-orientated organization that consists of volunteer members to host numerous events throughout the winter season. We have been a part of the community since 1965. The Edson Sno-Seekers is part of the Alberta Snowmobile Association. Throughout the winter season, we attract many riders from outside communities within the province. The Edson Sno-Seekers are very active with respect to preserving and maintaining the snowmobile trails in and around the surrounding area of Edson. The club works closely with government departments including forestry and sustainable resources to provide a voice for all snowmobile enthusiasts in our area.
The Edson Sno-Seekers invest many volunteer hours to maintain the trail system (approximately 300 kilometres) and our five warm-up shelters. Grooming and maintaining the trails are important in order to keep them open and for our community’s enjoyment. The Edson-Sno Seekers have a registered trail system in place. The trail from Edson-Robb has a warm-up shelter (Schwartz Creek). The Edson-Silver Summit trail has a warm-up shelter (Pepperhill). That trail connects them to Whitecourt’s trail via our Tom Hill warm-up shelter. The Sundance staging area has a warm-up shelter. Also the Lovett staging area has a warm-up shelter.
Please remember that I am still the sign gal, and if you need any signs, get in contact with your regional director as your order must be signed by them.
Until then, ride safe and ride sober!
