Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 8022 | Snowmobile VERMONT Andrew Evans & Adam Newton VERNON TRAILBREAKERS By Don Rosinski I guess we are old school when it comes to grooming. Our trails and landowners keep us in a class that eliminates being IN the groomer. Our guys are ON the groomer, our vintage Yamaha VK or our SkiDoo Skandic. These guys are crazy enough and young enough to enjoy it! No radio, no heater, no defroster; just the great outdoors. I would guess that there are many clubs in our situation but I have to say that at my age (and I’m only sixty something) it’s important to have guys like this to get the job done. That is why, as president of the Vernon Trail Breakers, I feel these two deserve recognition for what they do. They are Trailmaster Adam Newton and Secretary Andrew Evans. I know that us little clubs with little trails may not be the in the big leagues, but we keep the sport alive in places where it may otherwise falter. Interview with Andrew Evans When did you start grooming? I started in the 2014/15 season What is your favorite part about grooming and why do you groom VAST trails? Scenery most of all, and the look of a freshly groomed pad. Do you also ride the trails? I do have a sled that I also ride. I like to take my son with me. He is only 3 1/2 years old but he enjoys short trips in the woods especially. How many miles of trails do you groom each season? It depends. Our corridor is 13 miles long and we do it back and forth due to the narrow nature of our drag. Some years, we groom the whole season. Other years, we can only groom when the conditions allow for it. Describe your grooming equipment. We have two snowmobiles for grooming. We have an old 1989 VK540 with which we pull an old Mogul Master or “Frenchie” most of the time. We also have a 2006 Ski-Doo Skandic WT 550F. We pull a new Mogul Master with electronic controls. Both sleds and drags perform well. We have heard mixed results about the use of side-by-sides for dragging. The jury is still out. We would like to try one and see how it works for us. I think as technology improves, their viability with become more apparent. Do you work on your grooming equipment? We do all the work on the drags and we do the maintenance on the sleds. A mechanic who is with the Guilford Pitstoppers helps us out with major repairs at a low cost. Do you prefer grooming at night or during the day? I prefer grooming during the day during the week, but find that we actually do most of it at night. What is your club’s biggest accomplishment pertaining to grooming? Obtaining the new Skandic and drag was a really big deal for us. What are biggest challenges you face and what advice would you offer to help? We try to groom in groups of at least two. When we run in to problems, it almost always takes more than one person to fix it because the sleds and drags are heavy. It can be hard to coordinate between people to get out there and groom. Do you ever take along guest riders? We do take guests and people interested in grooming or the sport in general. How did you first get started grooming? Our last trailmaster decided to give it up so it ended up in my lap. I then convinced a friend, who I ride with a lot and is very capable, to step up and since then he has done just that! We didn’t get any training. Our first year was a learn-as-you- go experience. Andrew Evans takes a break from grooming with the club’s Ski-Doo Scandic and Mogul Master drag.