Grooming The Trails... What's The Story?


The Definition of grooming:
       1) To prepare or to make neat and trim
       2) To train for a particular purpose


Has The Trail Been Groomed or Not, And Why? The Eternal Question:
Once the snowmobiling season begins, the condition of the NYS snowmobile trails are on everyone's mind. When snowmobiling, we all want perfectly groomed trails with a solid base and no drifts, no bumps, no holes and every sign in place. That is this writer's expectation. When one's expectations are not meet we tend to get angry... for lack of a better word.

It's a certainty that each one of us has traveled a snowmobile trail that was not groomed or had big moguls or had a sign or two missing and in the worse case scenario all of the above. Any snowmobiler with reasonable expectations knows that they will encounter trails like this and must be prepared for them and understand why they are the way they are. When this type of trail is encountered one must ask themselves why might this trail be the way that it is? It must also be remembered that the ones setting up and maintaining these trails are volunteers.

Some of the questions to ask yourself are:
1) Has it been storming?
2) Is the snow drifting?
3) How many people have traveled this trail today 
    before me?
4) What type of snow is it (Dry or Wet?
5) Is it early morning, Day or late at night?
6) What irresponsible person took or hit the sign?
7) I wonder if the groomer is 30 to 60 minutes behind
    me ?
8) Is the groomer broke down?
9) Has the club run out of money to pay for all the
    grooming expenses such as fuel and oil?
10) Are the current conditions like snow drifting or
      falling masking previous grooming?

Grooming is done by NYS member clubs or grooming associations. Trail maintenance is financed through snowmobile registrations. These funds may be applied to the building of bridges, posting of signs and the overall maintenance of the trails. The truth is, up to 80% of a clubs funds are raised privately through fundraising events. Many clubs work tirelessly to meet budgets in an effort to pay for trail grooming expenses.

NYS is a diverse area with a wide variety of terrain. In order to groom the trail through this wide variety of terrain, the proper type of grooming equipment is needed. There are many types of grooming equipment used in this state. This grooming equipment is very expensive and ranges in price from $70,000 to $180,000 per piece of machine. This is only for the tractor part as there is also the drag that actually levels the snow. These drags can cost upwards to $13,000. Clubs borrow money from the banks to pay for the equipment and usually before the loan is paid off the equipment is worn out and must be replaced. It is figured that there should be at least one piece of grooming equipment for every 50 to 60 miles of trails maintained. With over 8160 miles of trail in the state, correlates to approximately 149 pieces of grooming equipment on the NYS trail system.  Now they have to be fueled and maintained. The state has provided grants for better equipment, however with the increase in fuel costs, makes it difficult for clubs to groom the trails with the consistency they require.  This is why it's vital to join a local club for your registration voucher.

Actual grooming does not always start with the first snowfall. A lot of the trails are on private property and these landowners require that there is sufficient snow cover before the clubs are allowed to start grooming.  Some trails cross water and a minimum of 8” of ice is needed to carry a Sled Groomer safely. Some clubs, because of the variance of ice conditions do not allow their groomers to cross ice for safety reasons. In other places, the ground has rocks and stumps which must have sufficient snow cover before grooming can start. The first thing that must happen to form a good trail is the base. Some clubs do not wish to open their trails until the base is established. When the base is tore up by snowmobilers who use the trail before it's ready, delay having good trails that much longer.

One finds it hard to believe but there are different kinds of snow. Each type of snow results in different types of trail conditions. The dry, sugar type of snow once disturbed, whether by a groomer or a snowmobile does not pack well and after five sleds travel over a freshly groomed trail, it may appear that the groomer has not been through for several days.  Much of the lake effect snow our area receives off of Lake Ontario is this dry type snow.  Many times you'll see me say on the trail reports page how a little rain or a warmer sunny day will be a good thing, because it'll add some moisture to the snow, which will allow the snow to pack down flat and stay flat.  The best snow that can fall is a heavy, wet type snow.  I highly suggest you read the Grooming School Section, as it describes all of this in a little more detail.  You will also be able to learn the difference between bad snow conditions and bad grooming.  The Spring snow has no body (Slushy) and once it arrives, the groomers are taken off as they will do more damage to the trails than good.

Bumps in the trail can be caused by several things such as part of a rock, a small stump, a log, uneven ground and those little piles of snow left by a snowmobiler who starts up fast or excessive track spin. Once there is a small pile of snow each snowmobile that travels over the little bump digs in on the other side and gradually the big black hole develops. These are sometimes called moguls, shutter bumps or "Back Breakers".

In farmland area, some trails cross plowed fields. Some clubs go out as soon as the field is plowed and pull a drag across the field where the trail will be going. This is of course with the permission of the landowner and on volunteer time.

Club groomer operators are usually volunteers who do this in their spare time when they aren't working at their regular jobs. Groomer operators can spend up to 14 hours a day/evening and sometimes longer. In some cases clubs who were having difficulty finding volunteers willing to spend so many hours grooming are hiring operators to run the equipment.

One of the hardest things that clubs have to deal with is getting trails ready after a storm. Clubs have found that some snowmobilers seem to expect that the trails should be open and ready as soon as the snowstorm stops. These same snowmobilers become quite upset that the trail isn't groomed and either call the area Club representative about the poor condition of the trails or send an email to the www site available or NYSSA, or bad mouth clubs on various Websites with message boards. They seem to forget that like snowplows, groomers are pulled off the trails when visibility is poor. They are also pulled off because grooming during a snow storm is a waste of your snowmobiling dollars as a trail will fill in and drifts appear almost immediately and one wouldn't even realize that the groomer had been through. Many times while grooming is taking place, there is what is called ground drifting of the snow. This can put small drifts across the trail, which can cause havoc to a trail conditions. Especially when it's a hard packed snow. The key is to set up the trail and groom before a big storm. When done properly, even a day of rain could be a good thing, firming up a base. Most of the time a bad trail can be attributed to snowmobilers tearing up a trail before it has a chance to set. Most clubs groom at night for safety, and in an effort to get the most for their clubs dollar. If you could only groom once a day, you would do it after midnight. The temperatures and sled traffic are usually at its lowest points. The groomed trails would last much longer if they had proper time to set.

When traveling the NYS Club Trail system, which is set up and maintained by club members, be prepared to stop when meeting a groomer along the trails. By law, they have the right of way. Always remember they are bigger than a snowmobile and one could say, they have the right of way anyway.

Grooming, years ago, was a snowmobile dragging a set of old bedsprings around. We've come a long way over the years. Talk to anyone that rode the area many years ago and they will tell you the trails now are a great improvement.  Clubs don't groom because they don't feel like it. Unfortunately because of mother nature and the lack of funding, it's always an up hill battle. You can help by joining a club. Most clubs realize most of its members live a good distance from the area. Participation is always encouraged and some have a news letter to keep you informed about club activities. Take a chance with the many raffles the clubs host. You can win a variety of prizes, ranging from hunting equipment to your choice of a four wheeler or a sled. PLEASE REMEMBER... YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!

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