March Update and Events

Hello High Country Snowmobilers,

We will be having our club meeting Tomorrow, March 13th @ 6:00 pm at Q4U in Frisco. Heres some updates on what we have had going on:

Events:

Thanks to the Leadville Club for hosting us on last month’s club ride. We had about 12 riders show up and we rode around Turquoise Lake and up to the top of Hagerman Pass. While the snow at the bottom of the drainage was thin and sugary, the snow up high was quite good and we all made it in and out (with minimal damage to one Skidoo).

Our club ride this month is scheduled for next Sunday March 18th. We don’t have a location picked out just yet, but we can talk about it at tomorrow’s meeting. Open Snow is forecasting a good storm on the way for next weekend so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Grooming Update:

We kind of kept it quiet but our Bombardier BR275 blew a turbo in the beginning of February on the first connector trail up at Spring Creek. The breakdown stranded groomers Ron Lewark and Mike Stoveken on the trail. Volunteers were able to pick up the guys that evening and thanks to the hard work of our grooming crew, our turbo guru Bruce Mallinson and our mechanic Pat Willman, we were able to get the cat repaired on the trail in early March. The guys have been out grooming ever since.

To try and help us with the repair costs, the State has increased our available grooming funds for the year. To make the most of the available funds, we are planning to try and get out once or twice a week for the rest of the season. The trails at Spring Creek should be in great shape from all the extra grooming, all we need is some more snow!

We think the loggers have packed up for the year but since they were snow plowing the lower road all season we haven’t tried to groom the lower road. We have been pulling snow off the banks and onto the first mile of the trail and have started our trail grooming just past the forest service gate on the upper trail to Elliot Ridge. We have our Avalanche Beacon Checkpoint at the start of the groomed trail, you can’t miss it.

Stop by and make sure the checkpoint is picking up your avalanche beacon’s signal as the sign has really sophisticated electronics that actually test the tolerances of your beacon to make sure they meet manufacturer specs. It is a whole lot better than just turning it on and making sure it beeps.

Thanks again to Alpine Motorsports in Kremmling for sponsoring the checkpoint for our second season.

Club Meetings:

As a reminder for the new folks, our club meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month, 6 pm. at Q4U in Frisco. For those of you who don’t know, Q4U is scheduled to close their doors May 1st. The property is pending a future development this summer and Sheila’s lease on the space ends April 30. Come on down and get some great BBQ before she closes the doors!

Thanks,
Rich Holcroft, President
High Country Snowmobile Club