b'TRAILS REPORTBy Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails AdministratorWheres the groomer at?It has been an interesting year, to say the least. We all know about it. Weve all been upset about it and maybe even said a few curse words about it. Conditions have varied considerably and the only thing that has remained certain is uncertainty in the weather. This has left many clubs and groomer operators scratching their heads about what to do. Is it worth grooming, or is it better to leave the minimal base alone and not move it around? Do we pan it, or do we use the cutting blades on the drag? Do we drag everything flat, leaving little base behind, and then hope for more cold weather and snow? Will we break something while we are out in minimal conditions? Will we make it back without doing repairs out in the woods? These are just a few of the questions that go through the heads of the volunteer club members making the decisions. Keep in mind that these decisions are being made amongst all their other life decisions, like what do I get my wife for her birthday? Should I make that checkupGroomer operators have relentlessly battled mud holes and open water bars this season. appointment tomorrow? What should I make for dinner? Is the oil in mytimes when the groomers have rolledto amount to much in terms of trails or vehicle due for a change? Do theseon marginal conditions, and endeda base.pants make me look chunky? up ruining what little was left of theNow, combining the paragraphs above These volunteers all want what istrail in the process, or even worse yet,into a synopsis here, just because the best for the membership and theirended up costing the struggling clubground is white, doesnt mean the trails because they are proud, but atthousands of dollars in track or othergroomer is headed out. As noted, there the same time, they have busy livesrepairs to the equipment. For all thoseis science behind it, whether anyone too and must balance benefiting thetimes when the operator had 20/20wants to agree with it or not. The trail vs sacrificing the integrity of thehindsight and said, I shouldnt havescientific facts have been published for grooming equipment. They know thedone that. many years, and again, most seasoned whole time that if something breaks,Our membership has also beenoperators would agree with this logic. they will be the ones spending thescratching their head this winter,The IASA Guidelines for Snowmobile next day retrieving the machine fromwondering what would be open, ifTrail Groomer Operator Training ( the woods and/or repairing it outthey should ride, and if the answer ishttps://www.snowiasa.org/wp-there with their own personal toolsyes, then where? And, if they decidedcontent/uploads/2013/05/groomer-and equipment. The adage is the juicewhere, then how come the groomerguide.pdf) has been the standard worth the squeeze. hasnt been out or when is it coming?for many years. State associations Much of this is based on the opinionWell, there is no groomer route thathave tailored their groomer operator of the club and its groomer operators,is like a bus route. It doesnt pass bytraining from these guidelines in most which comes from years of experiencethe same location at 10:52 PM everyinstances, and eventually, we will be grooming snow. There is sciencenight, although it might when there islooking to do the same. I digress a behind it but truthfully, not many offrozen ground and ample snow in alittle, as that is probably an article for the groomer operators are scientists.good ole Vermont winter. This winter,another issue. Stay tuned! Although, I am sure somewherewe havent even been able to establishThis manual is a total of 111 pages and that at least one is! This intuition orfrozen ground beneath the trail inis packed full of information. I wont knowledge is from what we refer tomost places, let alone receive enoughbore you with too much detail here, as the school of hard knocks. Thoseconsistent snow or conducive weather 14 | Snowmobile VERMONT'