16 | Snowmobile VERMONT MOST IMPROVED TRAILS OF THE YEAR This club’s trail system covers over 40 miles. All year long, they work on the trails ensuring they are safe for riders by caring for debrushing, signage and ensuring their trails are up to the standards set by VAST. Before the season even ends, they have met as a team and outlined their list of projects for the “off season.” Over the past couple of years, they have done the following: replaced or relocated bridges, improved trail surfaces, improved grooming, upgraded signs, increased debrushing and pro-actively moved several trails which were at risk of being closed. This club is the result of two merging clubs. They went from being almost done and calling it quits to a premier club with a vital link to a major trail system. After a transition period, this club has instituted and executed a plan for the betterment of their piece of VAST trail system. This year’s 2018 Most Improved Trails goes to the Cold Hollow Bearcats. BEST SIGNED TRAILS This year, the winner of Best Signed Trails goes to a club that takes special care to make sure their entire 127-mile trail system is properly signed using the VAST trail signing manual. This club also spends countless hours working on their trails because of the number of VAST members that go to ride in their region. Up until last year, the majority of the trail signing and planning was done by one man. Last year, because of a tragic snowmobile accident, that person passed away and left a very large hole in the club and massive shoes to fill. Many club members have now stepped up to fill those shoes and to make sure his legacy of guaranteeing properly signed and groomed trails continue. This year’s Best signed Trails award goes to the Brighton Snowmobile Club. BEST GROOMED TRAILS We believe most groomers would agree with this statement, “With the freeze/ thaw cycles this winter, it was difficult to decide on whether or not to groom on some occasions.” This club’s five groomer operators communicated very well during these times and each pulled from their previous experience regarding these conditions and operation of machinery.  On at least two occasions, the decision was made to groom when there was some doubt as to whether or not snow conditions were right or if the weather forecast would eliminate the work done by the groomer.  On both these occasions, the club passed the test by making the right decision. They groomed at just the right time and the result was that the trails turned out excellent. During some of the larger snowfall events, the decision was made to track pack without the drag and operators coordinated to get all of the club’s 50 miles track packed and dragged in a two day period.  When there was little to no riding in many parts of the state, this club’s 50 miles of trail were ridable throughout the winter as a result of the efforts put forth early on in the season to establish a solid base. Grooming logs were kept and submitted, the machine was kept clean, operable and full of fuel and the trails were fantastic. This year’s Best Groomed Trails award goes to Mountain Tamers. Annual Meeting