The Ontario trail base is hanging in there!

I was out visiting friends today and checked out some Fergus area trails, and also checked out the OFSC trail reports. While the trails in the southern half of the province are temporarily closed, the trail base is still strong, so it won't take much snow to have them open again.

As you can see in these pic's, the trails in the Fergus area are hanging in there, but they need snow and temperature help from Mother Nature!

Just a little soft out there today.......

I was up in the Clifford area today doing a little Christmas visiting. While en route, I was checking out the trail conditions north of Elmira and Listowel. Some areas were doing OK after this morning's heavy rain, other areas were not doing so well.

It is really soft, so if everyone stays off the trails, we should have a solid base when the cold temperatures return.

"Buddy" thinks he is a trail warden, so you better have your permit! That soft trail base you see will hold up if it's not damaged by sled or 4x4 traffic.

Ooops, I spoke too soon! Someone has decided to drive down this closed road and ruin the snowmobile trail. This trail was groomed and saw a lot of sled traffic last week. The groomers had done a fine job, but now all that work will start over again.

Stuck during first ride, Dec. 17, 2007.

I was out checking to see how the local trails were shaping up after yesterday's storm. We are way ahead when to compared to previous years, so a few people are jumping the gun and getting out there to ride. Many areas are getting ready to open, but some clubs have finishing touches before their trails are officially open. I came across this fellow while I was checking trails outside of Kitchener. He was getting in a quick ride before work.

This is what happens when you wear Yamaha clothing and ride an Arctic Cat. The rider said his Yamy got T-boned last year, and the deal on this Cat was too good to pass up! This is how you get a sled stuck when you turn around in a deep ditch full of fluffy snow.

When you're stuck, a cell phone call to a friend with a 4x4 and tow strap is always well timed!

This trail crosses highway 7 between Guelph and Kitchener. These conditions are rare for mid-December but they are very welcome!

Southern Ontario storm

Well, we had quite a bit of snow drop on us this morning here in Kitchener. I had to use the Exporer in 4x4 mode to get us and the neighbours to church. I love the "4x4 LOW" option!

Things have settled down a bit, so I ran outside in my T-shirt to snap a couple pic's:

Above, is my street, which is in the central part of Kitchener, Ontario.
Below is my backyard. Somewhere under that snow is the BBQ cover.......

Guest riders, a dad and his teenage daughter.

At SnowGoer Canada, we try to introduce new people to this sport.
Last winter (January, 2007) I took two guests out for a ride in the Elmira area of Ontario. Bob Tiffin used to ride back in the 70's (Everest 444lc) and his daughter Nicole had never been on a sled.

We did an afternoon of riding, and although it was not a full day of riding, the smiles indicated they enjoyed themselves! Yeah, we'll go out again for a full day of riding this winter!

Yes, that is an old style maple syrup shack in the background.

Taking new riders out is enlightening, especially with two different makes of sleds. Even after many years of not riding, Bob said he still felt like a "Ski-Doo" guy. He liked the seat and handlebars on the Cat, but said there something about the layout of the Ski-Doo that felt more familiar to him. Interesting eh?

Rookie courage on Team Kodiak

After my first snow-X race, I had a new level of respect for anyone who enters a race. Whether you are 5, 15, 25, 35 or 45 years of age, you get my salute for taking to the track!

Team Kodiak Boots, Sloot Racing, Team Vincent Motorsports had an experienced trail rider take to the Searchmont track on a 2007 440 race sled.

Here is a smiling Trevor (and Melissa) after his first ever Snow-X race. He gave it 110% and he earns my Snow-X racer salute!

(If you meet Trevor on the track or trail, please ask him where my Ibuprofen supply ended up)

The Reinforcements worked!

The Reinforcements worked this past weekend. Ski-doo's Mike Island bent his rails the weekend before, it was questionable, would these reinforcements hold the rails straight? After racing all weekend at CRSA races held in Sault Ste. Marie, Island raced all 3 qualifiers and rode to a 2ND place in the final. After all this, the rails were perfectly straight.
There was a Ski-doo factory representative at the races this past weekend. He came with updated parts for all their racers, just in the nick of time. If you have a new '08 MXZX RS 600, check with the Ski-doo Race Department for the latest list of updates, to keep your race sled in the winner's circle!

Searchmont Snow-X in The Sault.

Well, it was a long drive there and a long drive back but WOW it was sure worth it! It was a great weekend with fresh natural and man-made snow on the ski hill. The track was big and challenging and the CSRA and WSA racers put on a great show.

The drive up through Parry Sound was scenic. Lake ice is VERY thin!

Two views of the track from the hill. It's a long way to the top, and when you turn and look at the downhill jumps, it's a whole new type of racing!

Look at the size of the people in the lower right corner, compared to the moguls. Standing in the bottom of one those swells will give you a new level of respect for snow-X racers.

Prototype vs. Production

I just spent all morning, making reinforcement parts for the new Ski-doo production Race Sled, (MXZ 600RS) the parts are to hold the rear suspension rails in place. Last weekend, Ski-doo racers were bending the rails within minutes of track time in Northern Quebec. These new reinforcement parts will be tested on the race track in Sault Ste Marie, this weekend. Hopefully the reinforcements will hold the rails in place.
Strange thing, last season both; BMRT (Blair Morgan Racing Team) and Warnert Racing tested and raced with the Ski-doo prototype race sleds, for half the season with no problems. The new production race sleds seem to have developed a problem of soft rails. Certainly this is unusual for production, stay tuned for the results of our reinforcement parts!

Team Kodiak at Rouyn-Noranda Dec 1+ 2 2007

The weather for the test and tune race days at Rouyn-Noranda, seemed more like mid-January then the first days of December. Race teams woke up to -25 degree temperatures on December 1 as they got ready for the first race venue of the year. Event organizers had great snow on the hill, and the cold temperatures ensured that the track held together for the race sleds. Now that the teams' sleds and racers are dialled in, they are ready for the first CSRA race of the year, Dec. 8+9 in Sault Ste.Marie.


This the 2007-2008 team, ready to grab a burger after a long day of testing on the track.

The team hard at work and showing how it's done on the challenging Rouyn-Noranda track:

"Rookie" or "New Guy" as I was called on day one, challenging the laws of gravity.

Two views of the track:

Snowgoer Canada Blog

Welcome to the Snowgoer Canada Blog!!

Watch this space for regular posts from SnowGoer staffers as they relate "Tales from the Trails" of their rides around North America.

Also, watch for Phil Molto's exclusive reports on vintage sleds PLUS his take on life in the CSRA as Phil joins Team Kodiak for his rookie season on the circut.