volunteering their time to, if you will, pay it forward to the
snowmobiling patrons that come in here.”
Every winter, about 12 to 15 Washburn Trail Runners’
members volunteer their time to groom the club’s trails,
which is done using a 2005 Cat Challenger MT745B tracked
tractor and Trail Paver II drag.
According to Stitham, the grooming volunteers rep-resent
“a really good mix of beginner, intermediate and
experienced operators.”
Stitham says beginners don’t go out on the trails alone
at first and are always accompanied by other, more experi-enced
operators who can show them the ropes.
“It’s a two-year process with the new guys. Once they get
that experience, then they move into that intermediate stage
and then it’s up to them to show the next group that’s coming
in how to do this as well,” Stitham said.
“When I’m out with somebody who doesn’t have a lot of
experience, I’m trying to teach them about the things to not
do, like don’t get too close to the edge of the trail or don’t
take your eyes off of where your tracks are at all times.
“Once we get them so they’re not doing those things, then
we really focus on understanding how the drag itself oper-ates
and the finer skills needed to make a really good trail.”
Stitham says the area gets a good supply of snow – usually
around 10 to 12 feet each season – and the snowmobiling
TRAIL TALES
THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR SLOPE LIGHTING
28 January 2021 | snowopsmag.com
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