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Wow, what a winter we have had. We either deal with -46 degree wind chills or 50 degree Colorado bluebird days, with few normal days in between but I think that is what living in Colorado is all about! I had so hoped that we would get through a season without a snowmobile related death but unfortunately it didn’t happen. All of us at CSA offer our deepest condolences to the family of James Sizemore who was killed by an avalanche on Sunday, February 20 in an area northeast of Meeker, his hometown. Unfortunately James was not wearing a beacon which extended the search and recovery of his body into Monday. Once again we have had an up close and personal look at the importance of continued education about the dangers of avalanche in Colorado’s backcountry. Bob and I were fortunate enough to visit the Steamboat Springs area and do some riding on Rabbit Ears and Buffalo Passes recently. The snow was epic and the hospitality was exceptional. We participated in an Enlightenment Ride sponsored by the American Council of Snowmobile Associations. (See related article and pictures). On the invitation list were local, regional and national Forest Service leadership, Colorado and Wyoming Snow Program Managers and national snowmobile leadership. We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Steamboat Springs and I want to take this opportunity to thank them for their
outstanding hospitality and service. I want to reiterate the excellent job the Wolf Creek Trailblazers did in hosting the CSA Convention and Annual Meeting in Pagosa Springs at the end of January. I didn’t hear anyone that had a complaint about anything. The rides were great, food was excellent, time with friends invaluable and hospitality wonderful. During the meeting elections for CSA officers were held. Elected to the president’s position was Randy Miller (current CSA vice president), Karen Ball as secretary, Bill Rexford, John Movius, Lee Roth, Curt Miller and Jimmy Britton to the District 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 positions, respectively. To fill the vacancy left by Randy, Scott Jones was elected by those present at the meeting as the new Vice President. For those taking over new positions the transition will be taking place between now and May 1. The next item of business was the acceptance of the resignation of newly re-elected John Movius as District 3 Rep and Bob Brownlee as District 4 Rep. Both had family and business interests that made it very difficult to fulfill their responsibilities to CSA. Fortunately, we were able to successfully fill the District 3 position quickly. I would like to welcome Dennis Lynton from Westminster as the new Representative. Dennis is a member of the Mile Hi Club and has been active in that club as well as works closely with the Grand
CSA President
Janelle Kukuk
In This Issue... 3-8 Executive Board/Chair Reports... CSA Contact Directory... 4 District and Club Reports... 8-18 News...19-27 Business Sponsors...22-25 Classifieds...27
Colorado Snow Scoop (ISSN: 0746-3073, USPS: 703-590) Copyright © 2010 by the Colorado Snowmobile Association is published four times per year by Boondocker Publishing at 311 Main Street, PO Box 400, Sundance WY 82729. September, November, January and March. Business and Editorial Offices: 311 Main Street, PO Box 400, Sundance WY 82729. Accounting and Circulation Offices: Boondocker Publishing, Jeff Moberg, 311 Main Street, PO Box 400, Sundance WY 82729. Periodicals Postage Paid at Sundance WY 82729 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PO Box 400, Sundance WY 82729.
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Advertising Information: 307-283-3411 or Jeff@sundancetimes.com
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Lake Club on the annual Flight for Life Poker Run each year. I know he is very excited to work with his clubs and constituents. Welcome, Dennis! Unfortunately we have not been as successful at filling the District 4 position. So, if you are a member of one of the District 4 clubs (Rifle, Flattoppers, Mt. Sopris Rec Riders, or Mid-Valley Snowmobile Clubs) and would like to know about the position please contact me ASAP. The day after President’s Day CSA and the Holy Cross Powderhounds again hosted the Safe City Youth group from downtown Denver at Nova Guides for a ½ day snowmobile ride. This is the second year these young people have enjoyed this adventure. The kids so enjoyed last year’s ride that they asked to come again last fall. The group works with Choose Outdoors, a statewide organization that promotes getting young people outdoors and into the forests.
They have a year round program that includes river rafting, hiking, chuckwagon/hay rides, downhill skiing, and now snowmobiling. We see great things to come from these exciting kids. Thank you, Lance and company, for seeing to it that the kids had a great time. We also want to give kudos to Steve Pittel, owner of Nova Guides, for his generous help with this event. Finally, the EA on the Columbine Bypass Project in the North Routt (Steamboat Lake area) is due to be released very soon. Hopefully by the time you are reading this we will have it and all the necessary information you need to digest it posted on CSA’s website (www.snowmobilecolo.com). Please stay tuned for this important decision. We are coming up on that time of year that makes for good riding but not always good riding conditions. Ride safe!
The CSA elections at the annual meeting in Pagosa Springs have left us all with a new president and other officers for the upcoming year which actually starts on May 1, this year. As the President Elect, I would like to begin thanking Janelle, John Movius, Jack Sheets and Bob Brownlee for the time and dedication that they have given to CSA over the years to help further our mission in providing safe and responsible snowmobiling for our members through education, land stewardship, and constructive partnerships. There has been a lot of progress in recent years by everyone to move CSA to an organization that is financially healthy, respected by other state and national organizations, respected by federal, state, and local governments, and attracted quality members and leaders that are dedicated to the sport of snowmobiling. Janelle has led CSA to all of these successes and we all owe her a big THANK YOU! Janelle has left some pretty big shoes to fill, but I will do my best to do so. Since most of you know me by now because I was the District 1 Rep for four years, Vice President for one year, and Raffle Chair for five years, I won’t bore you with a lot of details. Let me summarize by telling you that my professional background is in Civil, Petroleum, Environmental and Electrical Engineering and Land Surveying for the last 28 years. My recreational interests have been very dispersed for all of my life (of 49 years) and include: hunting, fishing, dirt biking, horseback riding, hiking, diving, ATVs, snowmobiling, skiing, and Jeeping . My personality is pretty focused on getting things done and not beating around the bush. My plans with CSA are to continue in a fiscally conservative manner that supports our 501C3 in promoting the sport of snowmobiling through safety, education and access. We will have another planning meeting with the executive board in May to get into the details of issues and problem solving on our way toward a successful year. I would also like to introduce Scott Jones, who was appointed by Janelle (with my support) to fill the Vice President vacancy. I have known Scott since he joined the Colorado Blizzards a couple years ago after moving from New York. His enthusiasm and previous experience in ATVs and snowmobiling was met with open arms when he arrived on the Front Range. Scott has a legal background in land use which has led to his interest and involvement with the Colorado Blizzards and also his rapid interest in CSA as the COHVCO Representative when the position was vacated a couple years ago. I was fortunate to be able to get to know Scott on trail work days and club rides and can attest to his common sense and good nature. I also feel that he has also demonstrated good judgment in all that I have seen and heard in his dealings with CSA and COHVCO. It is my pleasure to bring Scott Jones to the CSA Executive Board. I respect the wishes of everyone in CSA and I will do my best to lead the charge for CSA. Thank you for your support!
CSA Vice President
Randy Miller
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Colorado Snowmobile Association Contacts
Executive Officers
President - Janelle Kukuk 2889 USFS Rd 509, Creede CO 81130 kukuk@GoJade.org 719-658-2221 Vice President - Randy Miller PO Box 395, Walden CO 80480 randy@npeng.com 970-723-3725
Clubs
Arrowhead Snowmobile Club Eric and Star Johnson 150 Ridge Rd, Cimarron CO 81220 970-862-8399 Buena Vista Snowmobile Club Coby Vidakovich PO Box 921 Buena Vista, CO 81211 SECRETARY - Karen Ball 866-Buff-Joe 14860 Rolling Hills Dr Coby@buffalojoe.com Montrose, CO 81401 Colorado Blizzards 970-240-4036 Scott Jones snokraz5@msn.com 508 Ashford Dr, Longmont CO 80504 518-281-5810 TREASURER - VACANT scott.jones46@yahoo.com Administrative Manager/Membership Delta Snokrusers, Inc. Jeanna Whipple Katie Himes 325 River Rock Dr, Johnstown CO 80534 PO Box 162, Mesa CO 81643 jeannaw@comcast.net himes.kate@gmail.com 970-587-0364 Flattoppers Snowmobile Program Administrator - Tom Metsa Peter Hayes 13787 S Hwy 85, Littleton CO 80125 2032 Chickadee Ct, Silt CO 81652 thomas.metsa@state.co.us 970-876-2320 303-791-1957, ext 132 hayes_57@msn.com Grand Lake Trail Groomers Right to Ride Chair - Roger Pennington Ami Mitropoulos 164 Sandia Cir CR 520, Bayfield CO 81122 PO Box 1247, Grand Lake CO 80447 rogerap@msn.com 970-531-1049 970-884-2101 trailgroomers@yahoo.com Charity Chair - Luan Dody Gunnison Sno-Trackers 93 Pebble Dr, Durango CO 81301 Phil Chamberland ldody@durango.net 23501 Hwy 135, Crested Butte CO 970-375-2527 81224 970-349-5398 Raffle Chair - Randy Miller pchamberland@hughes.net PO Box 395, Walden CO 80480 randy@npeng.com Heart of the Rockies Snowmobile Club 970-723-3725 Chris Collins 445 W Rainbow Blvd, Salida CO 81201 Safety Chair - Ralph Stewart 719-539-7251 895 Van Dorn Dr, Craig CO 81625 chris@a1autosalida.com rcstewart@bresnan.net 970-824-4198 High Country Snowmobile Club Rich Holcroft Awards/Scholarship Chair - Katie Himes PO Box 2215, Frisco CO 80443 PO Box 162, Mesa CO 81643 970-547-0317 himes.kate@gmail.com HLCRFT@aol.com 970-268-5768 High Riders Snowmobile Club, Inc Grooming Chair - Joe Tonso Derrick Wood 941 School St, Craig CO 81625 512 E 7th St, Leadville CO 80461 jtonso@msn.com 719-966-4784 970-824-5821 mtnbiker21@hotmail.com Holy Cross Powder Hounds Snowmobile Club District 1 Rep - Bill Rexford Lance Trujillo 11361 County Rd 70, Windsor CO 80550 PO Box 7116, Avon CO 81620 billrexford@thinair.net 970-376-3856 970-481-0230 lance@holycrosspowderhounds.com District 2 Rep - Ron Spencer Lake City Continental Divide Snowmobile 1085 Harris Dr, Craig CO 81625 Club sspe263865@msn.com Bill Broadhead 970-824-3745 PO Box 591, Lake City CO 81235 District 3 Rep - Dennis Lynton 970-944-0306 11091 Wolff Way lcsnowmobile@centurytel.net Westminster, Co 80031 DennisLynton@gmail.com MidValley Snowmobile Club 303-253-7743 Richard Condon District 4 Rep - VACANT PO Box 2416, Basalt, CO 81621 970-701-0497 District 5 Rep - Jack Sheets rcondon@sopris.net 2350 Stoneridge Dr, Colorado Springs CO 80919 Mile-Hi Snowmobile Club of Denver, Inc jsheets@cohvco.org Chris Vogelsang 719-593-0711 147 S Lookout Mtn Rd, Golden CO District 6 Rep - Carrie Kroschel 80401 685 Alpine Circque, Leadville CO 80461 303-898-8042 travelwithcare@hotmail.com chris@ovllc.com 719-486-8456 MT Sopris Recreational Riders Inc. District 7 Rep - Curtis Miller Sean Martin PO Box 742, South Fork CO 81154 PO Box 654, Carbondale CO 81623 curt800@msn.com 970-704-9893 719-873-0208 North Fork Snowmobile Club District 8 Rep - Aaron Todd Steve Hicks PO Box 1141, Norwood CO 81423 PO Box 472, Hotchkiss CO 81419 lank88@yahoo.com 970-872-3654 970-327-4118 North Park Snow Snakes District 9 Rep - Jimmy Britton Ron Gomer PO Box 83, Pagos Springs CO 81147 PO Box 61, Walden CO 80480 rhondabritton@ymail.net 970-819-9115 970-264-2711 randy@npeng.com
Committees
District Representatives
Northwest Colorado Snowmobile Club, Inc Rob Albert PO Box 882802, Steamboat Springs CO 970-846-8516 robalbert801@hotmail.com Pikes Peak High Riders Ray Doble 17335 Herring Rd, Colorado Springs CO 80908 719-495-2316 doblerg@msn.com Pueblo Snowmobile Club Brad Hensley 229 Midnight Ave, Pueblo CO 81105 719-564-8720 b_hensley@yahoo.com Rifle Snowmobile Club Carelton Hoffmeister PO Box 692, Rifle CO 81650 970-625-0134 Hoffy1@willowwisp.net Routt Powder Riders Mary Sue Sorenson 1815 Bear Crk, Steamboat Springs CO 80487 970-870-1573 msorenson3@msn.com S & W Adventure Riders, LLC Jack Sheets 2350 Stoneridge Dr, Colorado Springs CO 80919 719-593-0711 jsheets@cohvco.org San Juan Sledders Roger Pennington 164 Sandia Cir CR 520, Bayfield CO 81122 970-884-2101 rogerap@msn.com Sangre Snowrunners Snowmobile Club Dale Hoag PO Box 523, Westcliffe CO 81252 719-783-2729 swr@wmv-co.us Silver Thread Outdoor Recreation Club of the San Luis Valley Bill Longfellow PO Box 343, South Fork CO 81154 719-873-5429 bill.longfellow@usa.net Silverton Snowmobile Club Dean and Laura Des Palmes PO Box 197, Silverton CO 81433 970-387-9938 dinodp52@msn.com Snow Country Explorers of the Upper Rio Grande Robert Kukuk PO Box 702, Creede CO 81130 719-658-2221 kukuk@gojade.org
South Fork Powder Busters Curtis Miller PO Box 454, South Fork CO 81154 719-873-0208 curt800@msn.com Steamboat Lake Snow Club Mike Swinsick PO Box 756, Clark CO 80428 970-846-0814 caspers62@yahoo.com Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club Tom Mason PO Box 87, Grand Lake CO 80447 970-627-8779 autowrench2002@yahoo.com Uncompahgre Valley Trail Riders Rich Jakino 27 Eton, Montrose CO 81401 970-249-3512 West End Sledders Jacque McClellan PO Box 1443, Norwood CO 81423 970-865-2518 mcricketred@aol.com Western Slope Snowmobile Association Dale Hollingshead PO Box 4964, Grand Junction CO 81502 970-241-6829 gjsnow@acsol.net White River Snowmobile Club, Inc Troy Hilkey PO Box 1045, Meeker CO 81641 970-756-0717 thilkey@wrenergy.com Wolf Creek Trailblazers Rhonda Britton PO Box 83, Pagosa Springs CO 81147 970-264-2711 rhondabritton@ymail.com
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I wanted to take this opportunity to quickly introduce myself to everyone in CSA, as I have had the privilege of being appointed to serve the remainder of Randy Miller’s term as CSA Vice President after Randy’s move to President. I was born and raised in Glens Falls NY and moved to Colorado about 3 years ago with my wife Michelle. We don’t have any kids, as my wife and I jokingly say we are barely able to take care of ourselves, which maybe a hint against having kids. I have always had an interest in anything with a motor, which mandated owning many sleds and ATV’s over the years. Although I am a practicing attorney, I am rarely mistaken for an attorney anytime that I am not at work. Since moving to Colorado, I have served as Secretary and President of the Colorado Blizzards snowmobile club based on the Northern Front Range. I have also served as the CSA representative on the Colorado Off Highway Vehicle Coalition for a little over a year. I was surprised to learn that CSA was a founding member of COHVCO, but I am, finding out that I am not the only one that is not aware of that. I guess that you could also call me counsel to CSA for about a year. However, a far more accurate summary of what I have been doing is I would simply be the guy that is trying to keep up with Randy and Janelle. That is certainly a good thing since I have been learning from the best. During that time of the year that there is not snow on the ground, my wife and I love to get out on our ATV’s and playing in her Jeep. I have been racing pro arena trucks for a long time in and around the New York area. The race truck remains in NY and is only seeing limited usage due to economic restraints on myself and the various series that I race with. The sleds are alive and well and getting thoroughly exercised with all the snow in Northern Colorado this year. THINK SNOW!!!
CSA VP Elect
Scott Jones
Dealer of the Year: Felker Motorsports. “Felker’s participates in sponsoring poker runs, snow cross events and demonstration rides and while racing in an event he donates his winnings back to the club sponsoring the event. Felker’s also donates many items to be used as fundraising, participates in the snow show, is a member of the local club and CSA.” Thank you to all that submitted nominations for this year’s CSA Awards. Below are the award winners and a little about them from their nominations. Congrats to all the winners an thank you for all you do to make our sport more enjoyable. Snowmobiler of the Year: Joe Oglesby of the North Fork Snowmobile Club. “Joe Oglesby is a true asset to both the North Fork Snowmobile club and the Delta SnoKrusers where he is a member as well to CSA as a whole. I have seen Joe donate countless hours, dollars and effort to promote his local clubs as well as CSA. He is giving, courteous, generous and unselfish. His heart is truly in the right place. Joe never asks for anything in return. Ever. He only gives.” Snowmobile Family of the Year: Unfortunately, we do not have one this year. I didn’t receive a single nomination. Club of the Year: Trailblazers of Grand Lake. “...although small, they have put on the Flight for Life Ride each year,... and have a dedicated core group of individuals that keep it going...As a resort town, much of their membership is part-time yet they have amazing leaders who will do whatever it takes to insure a memorable ride.” Friend of CSA: Joe Clark and Justin Tate of Prinoth, LLC in Grand Junction. “Joe and Justin have gone above and beyond to help grooming clubs shop, obtain, fund, maintain and fix groomers only to help them start over again with a new one. Nearly 5 years ago they created an agreement with CSA clubs to purchase cats and parts at a discount giving these clubs a few extra dollars in their pockets to manage their programs.” Groomer of the Year: Bob Kukuk from the Snow Country Explorers. “Creede has the best groomed trail system thanks to Bob Kukuk. He is constantly checking snow conditions and grooms our trails as soon as he can safely get the groomer out. He is an expert operator and works hard to make the trail as smooth, safe and well marked as possible. Riders are always commenting that “He doesn’t just groom the trails, he sculpts them.”
CSA Awards
Katie Himes
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now for several years. Hi All, We have had some folks in I have not heard any more our area down here doing some about the Petition to change wildlife studies. I guess they the 2005 FS designation of have been asking questions of Snowmobiles as OSVs and folks when they contact them add them to the OHV Rule. in the back country and have We do need to keep an eye out been asking folks to wear little for anything on this because it GPS type devices when they would definitely effect how we are recreating. I guess these have fun if we are restricted are color coded so when they to roads and trails. In checkdown load the information as ing some more on the signs I to where the people who wore found on Bald Mountain that I them went, they can put them talked about last issue. I have on a map showing where skibeen told that it means they ers, snowmobilers, snowshoare actually going to open the ers, or hikers are going. These area up to summer recreation are being compared to where for motorcycles and ATVs on lynx are and they are trying to a trial basis so the closure is determine if any form of recwhen these forms of recreation reation disturbs the lynx. I do will be close out up there. If not know what they are findthis is true then this will be a ing out but I am thinking they great addition for summer recwill find the lynx would like to reation provided that during learn to ride a sled so they can these open times they stay to catch those evasive rabbits… the marked trails and roads Just a joke. But if I was a lynx so they do not go back to the that is what I would want...a way things have been managed nice 800 with a long track. in summer for these forms of You should have received a recreation. Snowmobiles will be able to ride there as always except in certain ar- letter in the mail asking you for a donation to CSA. eas during hunting seasons as has been the rule If you find you have any extra cash lying around
Right to Ride Chairman
Roger Pennington
Hi from District 1. We still have plenty of snow to play on. Mark B. sent us a ‘You Tube’ video showing all the snow he has found, 6’ of new powder, WOW. Won’t tell us where?? Doesn’t need to as we know where to find it. Just come to Walden and Steamboat for lots of fun. The weekend of Feb. 12 was the Poker Run in Gould sponsored by the Snowsnakes. This run benefits several charities in the Walden area and is a lot of fun both on and off the trail. The Snowsnakes groom the trails in the Gould area and always have smooth trails for us to ride on till we get to a meadow to play in. Dianna and I, along with Scott and Michelle Jones went to the CSA Convention in January to enjoy snow down at Pagosa Springs. Well, there could have been more snow. The Joke of the Weekend was if you don’t want snow in your area just host the convention. Thanks to the guides who still were able to show us a good time and some virgin snow. Here’s wishing Gabby Smiley a quick recovery from her mishap on the trail. I would like to commend the Pagosa
Lodge on a job well done. We will be certain to stay at their place the next time we get to Pagosa. It has lots of open spaces to hang out in, including a good restaurant and lounge. The Wolf Creek Trailblazers hosted the convention and provided the entertainment for the 3 days. They put a lot of great effort into it and the results showed. Welcome to the new President, Randy Miller, of the Snowsnakes, new Vice-President, Scott Jones, of the Colorado Blizzards. Thanks to Karen Ball for doing a great job as Secretary. A BIG THANKS to Janelle for all the effort, concern and dedication she has put into the presidency these past years. She really saved our bacon, not to mention our riding areas and relationships with Forest service and State of Colorado. I am glad to see her stay active as past President. Congratulations to our own Dealer of the Year, FELKER MOTORSPORTS in Loveland. We are
District 1
Bill Rexford
or your credit card is still not maxed out. Please consider making a donation to the Right to Ride or the Education Fund. Both are tax deductible since CSA is a 501 c 3 organization. We put these donations to work helping keep your riding areas open and making your riding safer. This will be the last issue of the Snow Scoop this season but it does not mean we can stop keeping an eye on our riding areas. If anyone of you hear or read of something in your area that might affect your riding, this includes meetings, hearings or disputes, PLEASE be sure and let me or one of the other Executive Officers of CSA know so we can check it out. The best way to contact me is through email at rogerap@msn.com. If you do not have email then you can call me at home at 970-884-2101 or on my cell phone at 970-946-6891. Some of the Forests in our State are still going through their Recreation Planning as I understand it but they should all be getting close to done on this process unless they were found to have done something wrong and had to do parts again, so please keep your eyes and ears open and let one of us know of anything that you might perceive as bad for our sport. This is a big State after all and we cannot keep track of everything that is going on unless everyone helps us by letting us know what is going on in your area. Till Next Time, Think Lots More Snow, Roger Pennington Right to Ride Chairman
proud to see them win this award, I know they do a lot for us to promote snowmobiling and you can’t go wrong buying a new or used sled from them. Well I have gone snowmobiling at Electric Mountain Lodge for the first time in several years and the first time since it has been rebuilt. I am favorably impressed with what they have done. They have four cabins as well as two second story apartments that they rent out, very reasonable. A great place to go for a week getaway winter or summer!! We went there for three days with other members of the Colorado Blizzards club, had really good spring snow and new snow while we were there. The Food was really good and the company was terrific. Will do this again. Last week found Scott Jones and myself at Steamboat Springs, CO for the ACSA enlightenment ride. This is my first time for this event. We met with local riders and Forest service personnel, Colorado and Wyoming state parks personnel as well as presidents of both snowmobile associations, to show them what snowmobiling is like. We rode 47 miles on Wednesday with 24 riders, stopping on the trail to talk about local problems and possibilities for the trail. We learned that there is a lot the Forest Service would like to help us accomplish. When we returned to the motel and had dinner we continued discussing local issues as well as national ones. Thursday found us in a meeting till noon and then we took 14 riders out on a different trail for more on the ground discussions with show
and tell stops. All in all I think we all learned and respected each other’s efforts to get snowmobiler’s out on the trail. We left Friday morning with 10” of new snow in town. Looked like riding for the weekend will be tremendous See you on the snow...gear up and let’s go!
Colorado Blizzards
By Dianna Rexford
We had a good turn-out for our President’s Day ride. This year we went to the Grand Mesa and stayed at the Electric Mountain Lodge. We enjoyed our stay at the Lodge, the food and lodging was great. The weather even cooperated and we had lots of fresh snow while we were there. The Lodge furnished guides for us, which was a big plus, especially the days when we were riding and it was snowing. The guides knew all the great spots to ride and were quick to assess the skills levels in the group and adjusted the rides accordingly. We will definitely go back there again! Our club has welcomed several new members this year and we have been able to get them out on the trails and show them around. Be sure to visit our web site at www.coloradoblizzards. com for a list of events we have scheduled.
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Northwest Colorado Snowmobile District 2 Club Cosponsors Avalanche Safety Classes
Northwest Colorado Snowmobile Club, Colorado State Parks & Recreation staff (Ron Dellacroce, Matt Schuler, Jacob Dewhirst) and Moffat County Sheriff’s Department co-sponsored public avalanche awareness, safety and rescue methods classes. During the two sessions at the Moffat County High School Auditorium, Friday, January 7 information on avalanche causes, awareness of potential avalanche conditions, use of avalanche equipment, and avalanche videos were presented. Saturday, January 8, participants rode to Johnson Meadows on the Freeman snowmobile trail loop and practiced use of snow pit reading of snow layers, correct snow rescue digging methods, as well as avalanche beacon practice rescue methods.
I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and want to introduce our new District 3 Rep, Dennis Lynton. Dennis has been snowmobiling a while and is a member of the Mile High Snowmobile Club. He is a fierce advocate for our right to ride and will make a great addition to the CSA Board. Welcome Dennis!! We had our Grand Lake Flight for Life Poker Run on February 12 hosted by the Trailblazers of Grand Lake and the Mile High Snowmobile clubs. Kimberly Orr from Knockout Performance again did an amazing job of putting together the event, from lining up restaurant support, to marketing and working with Alyssa Crowley from FFl, to Soliciting donations and making sure everything went without a hitch. We initially ended up raising over $8,000 and with a few donations still to come, we may even hit $10,000 and that will be an all time record!! Many thanks to Kimbirly and all the people that donated both cash and merchandise: National CineMedia, Xcel, Vicky from the Bear’s Den, Blue Water Bakery, Betty’s Café, Mountain Market, Max & T’s bar and grill, Vickery Motorsports, RPM motorsports, Gforce, Snowgirl Apparel, Crown Trophy, Donna Ready who donated her $100 winnings back to FFL, Tom and Debbie Mason and all the Trailblazers Board, who donated to the President’s Challenge and all the members of both clubs who always make this event such a special one. If I left you out, I am sorry but know that your efforts and donations were greatly appreciated. I am sad to be leaving the CSA Board and have had fun over the last three years. As always, remember, stay informed and involved to insure that our right to ride is never taken away from us. Hope to see you all on the trails.
District 3
John M. Movius
By Troy Jaklich
Grand Lake Trailblazers
Greetings from Grand Lake, The Trailblazers are honored to be named “Snowmobile Club of the Year” by the CSA. Tom and Debbie Mason travelled to Pagosa Springs and enjoyed receiving the award. Thanks to everyone who made this possible. Tom and Debbie enjoyed the convention. The annual Snowmobile for Life Poker Run was a tremendous success again this year with a record for the amount contributed to Flight for Life. Kimberly Orr has done an amazing job again this year organizing the event. We are adding more every year, so please make plans to attend next year. We were recently informed that Flight for Life made 66 trips to Grand County last year. This is certainly a cause worth sponsoring. Thank you to all who attended and congratulations to our winners. On February 26 we tried to have our annual Long Ride. We usually make a trip over to Gould, but this year Illinois pass was “un-passable.” We had 11 riders set out that morning but the new snow was close to four feet on the pass and the visibility was poor. We enjoyed a fantastic day of powder riding closer to home. The biggest problem was the snow clogging the air intakes of the sleds. That is always a good day. The annual Overnight Ride is coming March 11-13. Mike Ingle will be leading an intrepid crew to Grand Mesa for a great trip. Please check our website at www.gltrailblazers.com for all the ride information. Grand Lake has enjoyed a tremendous amount of snow this year and the riding is FANTASTIC. Please make plans to visit and ride. When you do come to Grand Lake, please visit our business members. Twenty-five club members and guests enjoyed our annual Moonlight Ride recently. The wind tried to stop us, but the fire got lit and it was a great time. Several folks took advantage of the opportunity to ride the groomer. Lastly, we want to thank John Movius for all his help and support during his term as District 3 Representative. John did a lot for the sport, our club, and the Town of Grand Lake and we appreciate his efforts.
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www.snowmobilecolo.com
Grand Lake Trail Groomers
By Ami Midropoulos
Mt. Sopris Recreational Riders, Inc.
By Jo Hunter
Greeting from Grand Lake, Wow do we have a lot of snow up here, Mother Nature is working overtime and making up for lost time. We have been running at full strength with our grooming operations. This year we have welcomed a new groomer a 2005 BR 350. We are keeping our cats busy with grooming of our trails to make them the best in years. Our 2011 Dignitary Ride was a huge success thanks to our cooperation with local and federal organizations. As the season comes to an end we can definitely look back at this season as one of the best. New this year also is a web site for our club please check it out www. grandlaketrailgroomers.com Our Trails are the best they have been in years. Come up and enjoy the best snow in years. I would also like to thank our board members and our groomer staff, our club is only as strong as the people behind it. Go and ride and have a great time!
ANGER, LOSS, HOPE These are all emotions I have had since our last newsletter. ANGER – in our “political opposition” I personally have had posted stickers on my truck that pronounces my opinion on my opposition. I fight for our rights as outdoor enthusiasts. Someone has had the, let’s say, courage to take stickers off my truck. Now not knowing me at all, this would seem like a good idea. Knowing me a little bit, a tiny little bit, would suggest that this would only fuel me to promote my cause even more. So, nice try, but since you won’t even read this there is no sense wasting my breath. But if you do get wind of this, a sticker doesn’t make me want to fight for my rights for the public use of public lands but your ignorance helps. LOSS – yet again in Colorado a young man loses his life in an avalanche situation. I weighed this over and over and even as a Club sending support to the family doesn’t lift the heaviness I have in my heart. As a mother, as a person I cannot express enough how saddened I am or our community is over the loss of a young man. We all know the dangers and appreciate Mother Nature and her way but it does not lessen the anguish their family has over the loss of this precious life, no matter the age. Our prayers and sincere thoughts are with you now and always. HOPE – This February month Kristy Martin from Mt. Sopris Rec. Riders is putting together her annual Carve for the Curves for the Aspen affiliate of the Susan G. Komen foundation. This is a fundraiser that takes place at Electric Mt. Lodge for lunch along with door prizes. All of the net proceeds go to this breast cancer awareness program that keeps the money in the Roaring Fork Valley. The fundraiser was a huge success and it was amazing how many people made the trip to Electric Mountain lodge considering the weather conditions. I personally am a nine-year survivor of Stage 2 Uterine Cancer (knock on wood) and even though the two cancers are not the same – the fight for a cure is. And to those living with, working through, surviving it – we thank those of you who help support the endless cause for the cure. Without those of you who care WE wouldn’t survive. Thank you Kristy for all that you do. This season has brought many weather conditions that are not what we know as normal. The unseasonable cold spells, winds and new snow fall have presented many dangers including downed trees which my husband and I experienced just a few weeks ago. Please use caution, take your beacons, notify people of your whereabouts, intentions departures and expected returns. Be Safe Please. For more information about protecting our public lands go to: www.whiteriverforestalliance.com, and for any information about our club and any of our events check our website, www.mtsoprisrecriders.com. You can also catch up with us on Facebook - or email Sean at summitx@frontier.net As always, be safe, be smart and Respect * Protect * Enjoy!
District 4
By Dave Campbell
Rifle Snowmobile Club
Hello from the Rifle Snowmobile Club. Well this is our final hard copy issue and several things have happened since our last issue. On January 22 our club had a ride to Electric Mountain Lodge. 31 riders came from 3 different trail heads to a central meeting location then split into two groups with one group lead by Scott Coulter taking a fabulous groomed trail ride. The other group lead by Jerry Zywiec taking the uncharted cross country route. We all then meet back up at Electric Mountain Lodge and had lunch. Six members stayed overnight at the lodge, while the rest of the group made a return ride home. On February 12 the annual Valentine’s Day dinner was held at Coulter Lake Guest ranch. It must have been an off year as only five members made it. Supper was fantastic as always with salad, stuffed chicken breast, baked mashed potatoes, broccoli, dinner rolls and cherry cheesecake for dessert. February 20 was Rifle Snowmobile Club’s Annual Poker Run. The day was fantastic as the weather decided to turn out sunny and beautiful. Total attendance was 229 riders, and 795 hands sold and a total of 68 volunteers to make it all happen. A big round of applause needs to go out to Carla Farrand who is the new chair person for the poker run. A second round of applause needs to go out to Jim and Sharron Yost for their many years of service as poker run Coordinators. Jim and Sharron stepped down last year as poker run coordinators and Carla Farrand took over this year with Jim and Sharron guidance. We have one last ride scheduled for March 19 to Meadow Lake Cow Camp for a picnic. For more info call Jerry Zyweic at JM Adventure Rentals 970-876-2214. Well hope everyone has had a great year riding and enjoy what is left. And we will see you next year for another great season. Till then keep the rubber side down and be safe. Dave Campbell
By Tim Pattenaude
Pikes Peak High Riders
The season is well underway and the club has been chasing the snow! With several rides done and unfortunately a few cancelled due to pesky work schedules that get in the way, the club has enjoyed the decent snow conditions. We have a couple more rides planned
in the near future to Chama, NM and Grand Mesa. Several members had the opportunity to ride at Marshall Pass a couple of weeks ago. We met some members from the Westcliffe club; they took us to some really fun areas with lots of powder. This also allowed our new District 5 representative, Lee Roth,
District 5 to introduce himself as their new rep as well. The Pikes Peak High Riders meet the second Tuesday of each month. Our next meeting is March 8 at The Mason Jar, 5905 Corporate Drive, Colorado Springs. As always, be safe and THINK SNOW!!
www.snowmobilecolo.com Greetings to and from District 6 I am thrilled to see that so much of our state is receiving just the right amount of winter! Not too hot and not too cold - Goldilocks would be overjoyed! As I write this I am struggling a little with the concept of “business” vs. “pleasure” when it comes to our club concepts. I have learned that there are many people involved in District 6 - and probably across the state - that fall into one of two very distinct categories. One is the “business” group: those snowmobilers that are most concerned with grooming, paying bills, having meetings, and probably setting goals for the business of running their clubs (a critical group I know, and please don’t think I don’t appreciate, and that we don’t all need this group!!!) The second group though is the group of people who either belong to the organization that you have never met because they refuse to go to a meeting, or the group of people you may never meet because they simply prefer to ride and see no benefit in being part of a club because they feel that meetings have to be an integral part of that process. I have recently come to grips with the fact that
District 6
Carrie Kroschel
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I frankly am a lot more interested these days in participating in group two. I worry about clubs focusing all their energies on the “business” and not enough on the FUN! I know we are missing out on attracting some really interesting and exciting people by not inviting them to participate in a way that pleasures them! I know that many of us have a lot of meetings to attend, have stress and drama in our real lives, and, frankly, don’t look forward to our monthly meetings as being a place that we want to go. BUT we would really like to go out on the snow with friends and enjoy the sunshine and clean air (think 4-stroke here people!) and if we as clubs don’t include this as a priority we will all struggle with declining memberships or disgruntled friends who choose to look elsewhere for an opportunity to satisfy their soul.... It is something to think about and address the next time you are together – at a meeting OR on a ride! You are also encouraged to discuss it with ME if you would like - maybe together we can come up with some ideas that our entire organization can use to bring these two groups together!
CSA Merchandise Sales of our new logo merchandise were fairly brisk at the convention in Pagosa and I would like to give a big thanks to all of you out there that have purchased items from there and from the web site over the past couple of months! I have tried hard to come up with fun things in all different price ranges and for all groups from the kids and teens to us older fogies, so I am pretty sure everyone will find SOMETHING they like if you just take a look! I encourage everyone to make sure you log in as a member when you shop the merchandise store on line! When you do so you automatically receive at least 15% off your purchase and will often receive other benefits like discounted shipping or free sunglasses! One thing to be sure and check out right now is our customizable mug! When you purchase the mug it is automatically filled with a full color photo (by Moi) and our new logo, BUT you can also take that photo out and replace it with photos of your kids, your pets, a favorite vacation picture, or a photo of YOUR favorite place to ride! It is really “cool” and very simple to do on your own but if you prefer you can also upgrade (for only $5 more) and send me the photos you would like to incorporate and I will design a one-of-a-kind mug just for you and send it all ready to use!
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Heart of the Rockies Snowmobile Club
By Chandra Feather
Hello all you crazy snow lovers, we hope this finds you enjoying the recent snow. As we speak another storm is dumping on our surrounding mountains. The riding in Chaffee County has been great and we continue to groom the trails up Marshall Pass for nice smooth riding. We encourage you to come out and enjoy it. February was nice month for our club. We had our annual chili dog ride Feb. 13 and what a perfect, beautiful day it was. We lost count of how many people where actually up there, but it was the best turn out we have had in a very long time. We couldn’t have asked for a better day too. Sun was shiny and the snow was perfect. We even had people from the surrounding areas show up. It was very nice to ride with new people and be able to share the day with them. Thank you for all who came out and made the day great. Feb. 16 was our club meeting at the Salida Golf Course. What a nice time that was, someone brought movies from the old snow climb days up Monarch. It was fun to watch the videos and see how far sleds have come. We talked about the upcoming Pole, Peddle, Paddle race that is coming up in Spring. Our club helps with the skiing section of the race for Search and Rescue, so if anyone is interested talk with Brad Craig. We also have the highway cleanup and the StarPoint ride both this spring. We will keep you posted on
dates. Our next club meeting will be held on St Patrick’s Day Thursday, March 17. The meeting itself starts at 7 p.m., but you can come early at 6 p.m. for social hour. Feb. 20 the Forest Service held a sound testing for the sleds up Marshall at the Shirley Site. It was so you would know if you are too loud. They did tell us there will be no “freebies” – if you get stopped it is a $100 fine. So don’t forget about this new law. Steve Bush has been in contact with Cas Rico-Silver who is the Director of the Ski Patrol at Monarch about beacon training. Steve learned that he is enthusiastic about providing beacon training to any and all interested parties. He suggested that Mon.-Fri. would be good timing as it is less busy than weekends and that the group size be no more than six. Since uphill traffic in not allowed at Monarch, those attendees without lift tickets will be shuttled to the beacon training site by patrol snowmobile. Those with lift tickets can ski in/out. Walking down is OK and not a very long walk. He also said that he would provide one or two patrollers to give us an introduction to the course and make sure we can operate the control box. Seven of the eight buried beacons are operational. You can then stay and practice as long as we like. Till next time, enjoy the snow and stay safe.
Holy Cross Powder Hounds
By Mark Roebke
It’s been a unique snow cycle in Eagle County this year. To the East, Vail Pass has been hit with near record snowfall and to the delight of Vail Resorts, “Epic” conditions. On the West, snowfall has been very light with grass visible most of the winter in Eagle and Gypsum. The lack of snow forced the Holy Cross Powder Hounds to cancel what would have been our Fourth Annual Snow Drags event in Wolcott. The XMR Snocross scheduled in Eagle was also postponed and moved to a different location. However, the snow on Red and White Mountain, where we perform grooming operations, has been quite good and we’ve done our best to keep up with recent storms. We’ve had a number of club rides that have ranged from wild to mild with good attendance. Along with great club rides, members of the Holy Cross Powder Hounds helped support a local Winter Family Fun Fair that introduced snowmobiling to a new audience through free snowmobile tours. In addition, Powder Hounds members recently led a tour for outstanding Inner City Kids from Denver, through the Safe City Youth Leadership Group. As we move into spring, we’re looking forward to more snow, warmer temperatures and bright sunshine. See you off the trails!
www.snowmobilecolo.com
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Lake City/Continental Divide Snowmobile Club
District 7 Curt Miller
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By Steve Robinson
Not much to report this month for District 7. Everybody is busy riding and keeping trails groomed for the spring break crowd. I have to give a big “Atta Boy for a Job Well Done” to the Wolf Creek Trail Blazers for doing a great job of putting on the CSA Convention this year. The food was great the accommodations were good and the prizes were many. I think everybody that attended had a great time except for maybe Gabby. I hope everyone looked at the February online edition of the Snow Scoop again I thought it was very well done even though I did not contribute any articles. I kind of missed the deadline. That’s all I can conjure up for now, so I will see you on the snow as long as it will last.
Days are getting longer and it seems winter will soon fade, but the snow in the Lake City area is as good as it has been all winter. A series of late winter snows have given us above normal snowpack and excellent conditions for snowmobiling and other winter sports. As a reminder, our trails are groomed through the end of March so there should be some great opportunities ahead to get out and enjoy the snow. Trail conditions can be checked at our website, www.lakecitysnowmobileclub.com. Conditions are normally updated on Fridays but as you know, conditions in the mountains can change quickly so always be ready for something different, and fun! The Lake City/Continental Divide Snowmobile Club held its 10th annual Balloon Fest in Febru-
Balloon Pilots and others riding the Divide.
Balloon Fest.
ary. We had eight hot air balloons on Lake San Cristobal and 2 wonderful days of weather for balloonist and riders alike. The day before the balloons flew, we treated balloon pilots and other interested snowmobilers to a ride along the Continental Divide. If you have not attended this event, you should put it on your schedule for next year. A chance to snowmobile and ride a hot air balloon in the mountains. The event will be posted on our web site when it gets scheduled for 2012. Pictures from this year’s event are on the site now so get a free preview! Club meetings will continue through April. Meetings are held the 3rd Thursday of the month, October through April, at one of the local restaurants. Yes, there are several open in the winter. The March meeting will be held on March 17 at Restless Spirits Saloon. Visitors from other clubs are welcome.
Snow Country Explorers
By Leslie Dustin
The Snow Country Explorers had a great season this winter. Our area didn’t get as much snow as usual, but we were still able to get out and have several good rides. Twelve to be exact. Our average attendance on rides was twelve sleds, which is up from nine sleds Leslie Dustin, Nancy Black- a year ago. That is just one indiford, and Carol Pierce on cator that our sport is catching on Copper Ridge above Love with people. Our monthly meetings were well Lake. attended too. Of course, that may be in part to the wonderful food served at the meetings. Creede is known for its fabulous cooks you know! Thanks to all the club members who helped out this season. Some of the meeting highlights were the BBQ at Santa Maria Reservoir, the lasagna dinner at the Blackfords’, the rib dinner at MJ’s Café, and the gumbo dinner hosted by Chef Sonny Roux. In January, eleven club members made it over the mountain to Renee Banks, Nancy Blackford, Pagosa Springs for the CSA Conand Sonny Dodson enjoying vention. A big thank you to the goodies at one of our meet- Wolf Creek Trailblazers for hosting ings. the convention. It was a lot of fun
to meet new people and get out and ride some new, spectacular terrain. An awards banquet was held on Saturday evening to honor several CSA members. Our very own Bob Kukuk received an award for Groomer of the Year. This is the second time Bob has received this special recognition. Bob started snowmobiling as a teen in Illinois and moved to Creede in part because friends who were already here bragged about the snowmobiling. Bob has been grooming Creede’s trails and maintaining our equipment for 21 years now. Creede has the best groomed trail system thanks to Bob Kukuk. He is constantly checking snow conditions and grooms our trails as soon as he can safely get the groomer out. He is an expert operator and works hard to make the trail as smooth, safe and well marked as possible. Riders are always commenting that “He doesn’t just groom the trails, he sculpts them.” In addition to running the groomer, Bob maintains and repairs the groomer and the transport truck used to haul the groomer. Bob is currently training his son, Michael, to operate and
Bob Kukuk, CSA Groomer of the Year grooming the Bristol Head Trail. maintain the groomer. Bob is always willing to lend a hand or offer some advice to fellow snowmobilers whether he’s on the groomer, at the trailhead, or out on his snowmobile. Congratulations to Bob Kukuk for a job well done! Well that about wraps it up for the 2010-2011 season. I’m already looking forward to next year’s riding. For information on our club meetings, events, and rides, go to www. snowmobilecolo.com and click on “Creede” under local clubs. All our events are posted (and updated) on the web site. Any questions, please feel free to call me at 719-658-0184 or e-mail dondustin1@aol.com. Everyone is welcome to attend any Snow Country Explorer event. Hope you all had a great time this winter. See you next year.
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Things are running fairly well in District 8. Trails are groomed and folks are riding. Lots of poker runs as well as club rides this time of year. North Fork
District 8 Aaron Todd
www.snowmobilecolo.com club had a great poker run as did West End Sledders. These two clubs have worked very well supporting each other’s respective events. Kudos to both of them! Delta club made a ride to Glenwood over the weekend of the 26th of
February. Delta also has a poker run on the 12th of March, get out and support them if you can! Register at Thunder Mountain Lodge beginning at 8 a.m. Hands will be drawn during lunch. $10/hand. 50% payout. Call 970-856-
3656 for more details. Grand Junction is also planning a poker run for the 5th of March at the Vega Reservoir pending approval from the Parks department. Call Dave at 970-234-2222 for more info.
Arrowhead Snowmobile Club
By Kathleen Koeltzow
Wow, we are already half-way through the season and the snow has been awesome! We have had two group rides with great participation! Our new trails are groomed by a wonderful group of guys who make sure the rides are on safe trails for those of us who like the “Sunday Morning Ride” approach and the experts have had some great powder to play in as well! Check out trail comments on the WEB each week. We welcome all of you to our meetings and group rides, next one is March 12 and has an Irish theme and brats and kraut free to all riders. The Inn at Arrowhead has a great “deal” for weekenders if a group wants to come up anytime. The new trail addition is in use and is awesome. So come on out and enjoy the blue skies, great views, and perfect snow. T r a i l h e a d Valentine Ride at Arrowhead, Don and parking along Kathy Koeltzow and many others enthe Alpine is joyed the day, fun, food and friends plentiful, just galore. note the landing zone for our emergency helicopter and know that you are in a residential area until you get to the cattle guard so stay on the groomed “street” until you reach the wide open spaces. Private property is clearly marked beyond the guard but you soon reach some great powder and Willow Park even has a fire pit and “seats” to enjoy and take a break. Remember to be safe and have fun! Hope to meet you on the mountain.
Delta SnoKrusers
By Katie Himes
Want to stay current with the Delta SnoKrusers? Find us at www.facebook.com/SnoKrusers. Check it out for weather updates, pictures, club events, and other snowmobile related fun information. The club voted to name the parking lot below the round corral the Brewer Lot in honor of all of the hard work that Bob Brewer has put into creating this extra parking. Thank you Bob! Several of the club members had a membership drive in the Mesa Top and Visitors Center parking lots in January. All in all, they went very well. Most of the people that we talked to did not belong to any club and were not aware that there are groups trying to limit our access to trails only. We would like to have at least one more membership drive this season in the Brewer Lot. That will be on the agenda for the next meeting on March 10th. We had a great time on the Glenwood trip this year. We had 16 people make the trip over on Friday but the group on Saturday wasn’t able to make it because of the weather. On Saturday we enjoyed the Fair Caves and the hot springs pool in Glenwood and 17 of us made the trip back on Sunday. We really missed those that weren’t able to make it to join us on Saturday. We have our club Poker Run coming up on March 12, which will probably be after this paper is received by most. Hopefully we’ll have good weather and a great turn out for that so we can have some fun and raise some money for our club. It should be a lot of fun. Our club has adopted a stretch of highway to keep clean. We will now be responsible for cleaning Highway 65 between mile markers 26-30. The sign will go up soon showing Delta SnoKrusers Snowmobile Club in memory of LJ McCarty. We’ll keep you posted on when we plan our clean up trips. Get out and ride! Our season will be over before you know it.
www.snowmobilecolo.com
By Sherry Robley
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North Fork Snowmobile Club
This season seems to have flown by. It is hard to believe this is our last issue. It has been an exceptionally cold winter and not as much snow as we would have liked but we still have March. Last year we were still snowmobiling at the end of April on a foot of new powder so it’s not over until it’s over. We had a good turnout for our annual avalanche safety awareness class that was held on January 7 and 8 with twenty-five snowmobilers and two snowshoers in attendance. Four members of the North Fork Club from Gunnison came over and spent the night in Cedaredge. Of the Twentyseven attending, all but three were snowmobile club members. Due to the number of Delta Snokruser Club members wishing to attend, the class was held on Grand Mesa this year. Before the Friday class started, we had a chili supper at the Bakery provided by Ken Simpson. Randy Engle, of the Colorado State Parks conducted a two-hour class with slides and video. Some of the topics covered were: How to recognize and avoid avalanche hazards. How to determine snow pack stability. How to organize and carry out rescue operations and handle avalanche emergencies. How and where to get the day’s avalanche report and how to read and use it for whatever area you are riding. What equipment is needed when riding in the backcountry and how to use it effectively. After class, there was a drawing for six avalanche poles donated by the North Fork Snowmobile Club and Weekender Sports of Hotchkiss. The lucky winners were Linda Wilson, Carla Allen, and Brady Todd all of Crawford. Cheryl Price from Hotchkiss, Laura Early and Eldon Vannest from Cedaredge. Avalanche poles were from Back Country Access and Snobunje. Saturday morning, Randy, with help from Gina Farrell, Senior Ranger at Crawford State Park, Scott Rist, Ranger at Ridgway State Park, and Jim Wessell, Ranger at Gunnsion National Forest, broke the attendees into small groups and practiced with avalanche beacons. Bags stuffed to simulate a human body with beacons inside had been buried at different locations and depths to practice a multi-burial rescue. Everyone had the opportunity to hone their skills at locating a victim with their beacon, probing to determine where to dig, and then digging up victim. Searching, probing, and digging a person up in order to clear their air passage in a timely manner is critical to survival. If a victim survives the trauma of an avalanche and is buried, they have just fifteen minutes before they lose consciousness. Within thirty-five minutes, 73 per cent of those completely buried will be found dead. Back Country Ac-
cess provided avalanche beacons and West Elk Mountain Search and Rescue provided avalanche probes. In the afternoon, the group all went riding while Ginna Farrell and Scott Rist did sound testing for snowmobilers to see if they complied with the states new noise law. This was risk free for everyone and a service to individuals to help them comply with the new law. Since our club’s class was full and there were still a number of people interested, a new class was hosted by Planet Motorsports of Montrose. Randy Engle taught this class in Montrose on January 21 and 22. Eigh-
Antlers Inn 970-723-8690
teen people attended the Friday night class but we did not get a count for the Saturday class. Thank you to Joe Oglesby for bringing two Colorado Avalanche Forecasters to two local high schools to give avalanche safety and awareness presentations. Brian Lazar, Deputy Director of CAIC (Colorado Avalanche Information Center) in Boulder came to Paonia High School on Tuesday, February 1. 100+ students attended his presentation from the high school and junior high. Brian McCall, founding member and director of the Roaring Fork Avalanche Center and CAIC Forecaster in Aspen came to Hotchkiss High School on Tuesday, February 8 and gave a presentation to
Chedsey Motel 970-723-8201
North Park Inn & Suites 970-723-4271
40+ students. Both men were well received and classes were attended by kids who are starting to explore the backcountry above Crawford and Paonia. We are very fortunate that these men took their time to drive over here and speak to our young people. They will be able to make better decisions for themselves in the backcountry because of it. Thank you to all of the people, organizations, businesses and state and federal agency personnel mentioned in this avalanche report for your time, help, donations and your dedication to bringing avalanche awareness to our community. see ‘N. fork’ PAGE 14------------------>
Hoover Roundup Motel 970-723-4680
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will always be grateTotal monies received ful to Joe for taking were $2,350. The the time to show us club paid out $1,175. Our club sent members Ralph Wilson and the ropes. Joe always Pay out distribution Scott Littlejohn to the Silverton Avalanche School goes out of his way to as follows: February 18, 19 and 20. This class is specifically help a fellow snowHigh Hand: Thergeared for snowmobilers and is the first one of its mobiler and to proPace, Loma, kind given by the school. I hope they will decide to ron mote our sport. Joe make this an annual class and more snowmobilers $352.50 is passionate about Low Hand: Jesse will take advantage of this training. Club member, this great sport and is Candice Littlejohn, is also attending this class with Hotchkiss, Hotchkiss, a great ambassador. $293.75 her husband at her own expense. The knowledge Congratulations Joe!! 2nd High Hand: these members bring back to our club will help us Six club members Mark Miller, Delta, to improve upon the annual avalanche class we ofattended the Norwood $235.00 fer to our members and community. WES Poker Run on 3rd High Hand: On January 22, Ray Godfredson led a group of February 26. A few North Fork Snowmobile Club members on a club Therron Pace, Loma, more from our club (Therron ride. The group left the Stevens Gulch Trailhead $176.25 Joe Oglesby photo were planning on atat 10 a.m. with dark clouds hovering overhead. purchased two hands The ride went up Stevens Gulch through Hubbard -both winners) Avalanche Safety and Awareness class, held tending and some from Montrose, but ill4th High Hand: Park into Mule Park where the group turned up Jan. 7-8, on Grand Mesa. nesses and bad roads Elias Leon, Cethe Dyke Creek Trail and went up onto the Burn deterred some from overlooking the Muddy Slides. We started riding daredge, $117.50 Ron Reed from Montrose won the door prize attending. We had ten WES members attend our in and out of blowing snow. Somewhere in there, yours truly managed to get her machine stuck. Al- donated by the Norwood West End Sledders Club. poker run on February 12. We had a great day and except for some wind, the weather was good until 2 though I think I am a good multitasker, it is not a Prize was a shovel. Thanks to Wes Spore, event coordinator, for an- p.m. and then the storm hit. We headed back to the good idea to decide to zip your coat up while traversing uphill. We continued on to No Good Park other excellent job and of course, to all the mem- trailhead in a windy snowstorm. The WES members where we took a lunch break. After lunch, the tour bers and businesses who volunteered their time, put on a great run and go out of their way to make you welcome. Thanks to Mike for guiding us on part went down across Crane Trail and down the power services, and equipment. District 8 Representative, Aaron Todd, attended of the run and showing us a good time. That eveline to the S-P Trail. From there the members went up Willow Creek to the Monument Trail through our February 3 meeting during which time he pre- ning our group won our fair share of the many door Wagon Park where they turned onto the Buzzard sented our member, Joe Oglesby, with a plaque for prizes. None of us made it into the money. I needed Creek Trail riding across Bird Park and down to getting the Snowmobiler of the Year Award at the a five or six for a full house but I drew a seven, which the S-P Trail and back to Electric Mountain. Rid- CSA Convention. I never thought I would see Joe I think would have won the high hand pot. Darn it!!! ers stopped at Electric Mountain Lodge for refresh- speechless. This is a well-deserved honor. Sev- However, I did win a lovely horseshoe wine rack made ments before heading back through Hubbard Park eral years ago, Joe convinced my husband that we by one of the club members. Overall, our group had needed to start snowmobiling. Of course, Joe just another great Norwood adventure and look forward to in heavy snow to the happened to have a doing it again next year. Plan to go with us. trailhead. Thanks to Our club will be hosting the Friday night Elks’ trailer and two maRay for a terrific ride. chines he wanted to dinner on April 8 with all proceeds going to the Elks Our 31st Annual sell. Well, Joe gave lodge to thank them for allowing us to hold our Poker Run held on us a good price and monthly snowmobile meetings at the lodge. AnyFebruary 12 on Black we were introduced one wanting to volunteer their time and/or donate Mesa was a huge to a completely new food items should contact Helen Hicks at 527-5447. success. It was six world. Joe is not We are having Margaret Pearce’s now famous Swiss degrees at the Crysthe kind of person, steak and all the fixins. Come early as we always tal Creek Trailhead at though, to just sell sell out. 7 a.m. with the day All our trails have been groomed several times. you a machine and turning into a bright, turn you loose. He I have not had any official reports but it looked like sunny, warm day. sponsored us into the all the mountains surrounding our village got a We had 156 particisnowmobile club and dumped on the latter part of last week and over the pants. Two Hundred paid our first years’ weekend. Yoo hoo!! I hope the rest of your snowand six tickets were membership. He mobile season is packed full of snow (and fun). Ride David Cotten photo sold at the Crystal Creek registration North Fork Snowmobile Club ride, Jan. 22, in then started taking safe and remember all our service men and women us out and teaching that put themselves in harm’s way for our freedom. trailer and 29 at the Willow Park. us how to ride. We See you back here next fall. lodge for 235 tickets. <--------------------- ‘N. Fork’ from page 13
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Uncompahgre Valley Trail Riders
By Arlene Hawley
Election of officers will be held at the March 23 meeting/potluck dinner. Nominees for the offices are President Rich Jakino, Vice President Bill Bennett, and Secretary/Treasurer JoAnn Gardner. For those that don’t want to run for an office the club always needs volunteers to help with calling committee, articles for the Montrose Press and Snow Scoop, reserving dates for the meetings, trail bosses for club rides, scheduled trail work, snow grooming work, and program ideas. We encourage all to step up to the plate and keep the club a success. By the time the next Snow Scoop edition comes out it will be nearing countdown time for grooming trails. Dale Gilden, Jimmy Ray, Bill Hawley and Randy Willis have spent a lot of time keeping those trails in top condition and some snowcat maintenance work. Thanks to the crew for a great job! Wayne, Gregg, Alex, Tony, Karen, and Terry at Piston Bully in Grand Junction have been very helpful in the “fix-it” support when needed. The Piston Bully crew in Junction does a great job! Since we are a Year Around Club we note that Susie McGee has been working on the next seasons’ ATV ride schedule. The first ride is scheduled for April. Don’t miss the next meeting for details. The club voted to purchase a brush trimmer to assist with the adopted ATV trail maintenance work on the scheduled work days. I heard that there would be a drawing for a new pair of work gloves for some lucky trail worker. It is time to start thinking about spring maintenance on those ATVs for “riding the trails” this next season.
West End Sledders
By Jacque McClellan
The big event this month for West End Sledders was our poker run which was held on the 26th of February. We had a great event this year despite the bad weather. Some folks were unable to make it to Norwood due to bad roads, but others braved the icy roads and were rewarded with a great time. We gave a prize for the person who traveled the furthest and this year it went to an exchange student all the way from Romania! Grand prize was a new Klim coat which was co-sponsored by Planet Motorsports. Sherry Reeder won that and then turned around and donated it back to the club to auction off. At auction the coat brought a healthy sum and was purchased by Kerry Alexander, thanks to both Sherry Reeder and Kerry Alexander for your generosity toward the West End Sledders. Everybody in attendance won door prizes. The North Fork Club brought six people and donated several great items for door prizes, thank you guys for your support, you truly put our event over the top! Dave’s Tours from Telluride donated a Tracker DTS avalanche beacon and that was won by Matt Zunich, congratulations Matt! Many thanks to the local businesses who donated to our poker run, your generosity it truly appreciated and without it our event would not be the popular event it has come to be.
Avalanche Safety
Jimmy Britton
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By Candace Littlejohn
On the weekend of Feb. 18-20, the North Fork Snowmobile Club sponsored Scott Littlejohn and Ralph Wilson to attend the First Level 1 Avalanche Fundamentals Class for Snowmobilers in Silverton. Since I ride so much with my husband Scott, he encouraged me to also attend the class and learn some additional avalanche awareness. We have attended the avalanche programs put on by our local snowmobile club in conjunction with the Colorado State Parks for the past three years. So we packed our gear, sleds, beacons, shovels and probes and headed off to Silverton. We had learned about the “Natural Dangers” of our sport so I believed the class would be redundant...boy was I WRONG! We had an incredible three days! It comprised of classroom, field work and hands-on scenarios. This school was really geared to the snowmobile adventurer. Scott and I have been snowmobiling for many years and the knowledge that we gained from this class is invaluable! I have been re-thinking those things that we learned and I really want to share my new knowledge about the dangers we face of a possible avalanche out in the beautiful snow country that we play in... I wish that everyone who rides the backcountry would seriously think about taking an avalanche class sponsored by their local snowmobile club, Colorado State Parks, ski patrol and also take Advanced Avalanche classes. Ask your snowmobile club to send a couple of members to a Level 1 Avalanche Class (these are accredited classes) each year and report back to the members. There are several organizations across the state that offer these. We see so many of our friends put a TON of $$ into their sleds so they can go faster and higher...however, they don’t own a beacon, shovel or probe. One must be instructed on how to operate and use a beacon. A beacon can be a life-saver..... if it is used! It is apparent that many people think (to use the old phrase) “It won’t happen to me!!” I ask you, “Please do not test fate!” We don’t know if the mountain holds our fate that day. I also encourage you to get the knowledge and the necessary safety equipment. We have so many riders that ride incredible sleds. They have great talent and have “No Fear” but they are lacking the knowledge to make those important choices such as checking the weather and snow conditions in the area that they will ride that day. You wives and girlfriends, please don’t be leery of going to an avalanche awareness class. You will be able to be an active participant in the decision-making of where you will ride safely that day. Your life may depend on it. You guys, don’t let your ego get in your way. Make your Avalanche safety equipment your number one priority and your boondocker kit, Y-pipe, the can...as number two...that stuff will not “save a life”! At a training, you can hone your skills with a beacon, probe, shovel and teamwork. We all will ride wiser and more informed than ever before. A big thank you goes to the North Fork Snowmobile Club. And a huge thank you to Mike Duffy from Eagle, Colorado, and Johan Slam from British Columbia for sharing your vast knowledge and experience with us. You made a great instructor team and the energy and knowledge you gave our group will be with us always... thank you. We also extend heartfelt thanks to Director Jim Donavan for including snowmobilers in your school for avalanche awareness. I hope that this class to be the first of many in the years to come.
A big HELLO to all of you Colorado Snowmobilers from the clubs and CSA members of southwest Colorado, District 9! The snow continues to blanket our part of the state, which allows our clubs to continue their grooming program and providing groomed trails for winter recreation enthusiasts of all kinds in District 9. The Silverton Snowmobile Club sponsored the Snow Cross Races March 5 and 6. This is always a popular and well attended event for Silverton. Upcoming for the Silverton club is their annual club dinner on March 19. Both the Wolf Creek Trailblazers and the San Juan Sledders, as well as the Silverton Snowmobile Club, continue to groom their trails according to their planned rotation and are looking forward to the arrival of folks coming to our neck of the woods for Spring Break. Enjoy the snow and be safe, be courteous. Jimmy Britton, District 9 Representative
District 9
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Wolf CreekTrailblazers
Rhonda Britton
Hello to all from the Wolf Creek Trailblazers, I sure hope everyone is getting some of this good snow which we’re currently being blessed with. This will be great for those coming to our area for Spring Break 2011! Our Sid Sunday rides have been going to Baldy, Wolf Creek Pass Area and Tucker Ponds to take advantage of all the new powder in the high country. Our club held our February meeting at the Methodist church and enjoyed the delicious Valentine desserts and Stouffers candies furnished by Kay and Stu Beatty. The nominating committee was selected and voting for next year’s slate of officers will be next month. We are currently in Oklahoma due to Jimmy’s 89-year-old mother having some serious heart problems following back surgery. She is a determined lady and we’re happy that she is now recuperating nicely and getting her coloring and strength back! Not much news for now, so I wish you all many good snowmobiling days this spring. The snow will be melting fast now and it will be summer before we know it. Happy trails!
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By Roger Pennington
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San Juan Sledders
Hi All, It feels like spring here in SW Colorado. We had three weeks of warm weather then a week of snow and now warm weather again. We did not get much grooming done in Feb due to a lack of snow but the trails are in good condition surprisingly. We had a club ride at W. Mancos on Sat., Feb. 26 and we had nine members including myself. There was only a skiff of snow at the trailhead on the hard packed snow but as we went further north we got more snow. By the time we got to Jersey Jim Fire Tower there was 4 inches of new snow and by the time we got to Windy Gap there was about 18 inches of new snow. Gold Run had at least that much and we were pushing snow up on the hoods of those of us breaking trail. We must have had fun because we did have some digging out of some of the sleds. I will not name names but since it always takes some getting stuck to have fun we definitely did as we had to use my Highjacker several times. We had all the unmarked powder we wanted to ride and never actually saw anyone else all day. We did see some other tracks a time or two but mostly unmarked powder. Those of you who did not come and ride with us missed a day of fun. We had a successful Avalanche Awareness Class put on by State Parks at Molas Lake in February. It was not the best weather for being outdoors but we had around 30 winter recreationalists show up for the class. One was a FF/EMT from Upper Pine River Fire Protection District, Mark Graham. Mark is on a Special Ops Team and came to learn about another form of emergency that they might be responding to someday. Our February meeting should have been the meeting we hold our annual elections. This year the VP and Secretary positions were up for election of a two-year term and with Brett resigning as President due to a job change in the family we will also have to fill that position for a 1 year term. We did not have enough members of the Board of Directors to hold elections so we talked about club rides, raffle tickets
sold and bills to be paid. Our next meeting is Thursday March 10 at 7 p.m. at S. Serious Texas Bar B Q. If you want to buy dinner you should show up around 6 p.m. We will have to have election of officers this month so please everyone come to the meeting with some folks willing to fill these positions. We have about 65 hours left to groom to complete our contract which will about let us groom each trail one more time if there is enough snow. Fun Days for the Disabled is coming up Sat., March 12 at 10 a.m. at Molas Lake Recreation Area. Please come help put some smiles on some very special people and their councilors. Lunch will be provided for all who attend. This will be our 14th year of providing Snowmobile Rides, Snowcat Rides and Dog Sled Rides along with lunch for these Special People. Silverton Snowmobile Club, Jim and Amy Lokey and their Snowmobile Rental Sleds, Greg and Gretchen Dubit of the Durango Dog Ranch Dog Sled Tours and their dogs and sleds, the Silverton Snowcat and members of the San Juan Sledders have been putting smiles on these folks at Molas Lake now for the last five years. Before that we use to hold it at Lemon Reservoir but had to cancel due to lack of snow one year and was looking like we would have to cancel a second year when we started at Molas Lake. This year might have been one of those years to cancel if we were not at Molas Lake. We can always use help serving food if you can’t help give rides, or help put on helmets, or help load folks on the rides. You will have a deep warm feeling when you get done if you come help. We have a ride at Ground Hog N of Dolores on Sat., March 26 with Hope and Jay leading. This should be a good ride. See the web site at www.sanjuansledders.org for more details. Till Next Time, Think Lots More Snow, Roger Pennington
Silverton Snowmobile Club
By Dean Des Palmes
Greetings from deep in the high country: We’ve just received another major dumping of white stuff here in Silverton with some wild winds of over 90 mph. Winter is not done yet! Quite a lot has been going on up here at 9,318 feet with a bunch more coming up in March. Silverton hosted a Wild Wild West weekend when skijoring came to town. It was a great weekend filled with blue skies, warm temperatures, and a lot of great horses. Our club had its Fun Days with a poker run, inner tube races, and our annual dress race in February. It was blowing sideways all day but we still had a good turnout and fantastic time. Coming up on March 5th and 6th, the Silverton Club hosts another XMR race. This Snocross race brings folks to the high country from all over to participate in and to watch this thrilling event. We’ve hosted this event for several years and it keeps getting bigger and bigger. On March 12, the Silverton Club in partnership with the San Juan Sledders will host our handicapped ride. This is an opportunity for those less fortunate to get rides on our snowmobiles, partake in a huge BBQ, and go sledding down our groomed slopes. We have a great sledding hill at Molas Lake Park. On March19, we have our annual club dinner. We’ll burn some steaks and enjoy a great meal then go on a moonlight ride to Deer Park where we’ll have a monstrous bonfire. The last event of this winter will be March 26th. At that time, we will again join with the San Juan Sledders to host our annual ride with the Veterans and with the Big Brothers and Sisters. This involves snowmobiling, sledding, BBQ, and fun, fun, fun for any active military and their families as well as the Big Brothers and Sisters of Durango. Since this is the last publication of the season, I would like to thank all the club officers and volunteers for their hard work during this winter. The Silverton Club grooms over 100 miles of trail for multiuse and it takes a lot of effort to build, mark, groom, and maintain these trails. So a big THANKS to all who have helped. See ya in Silverton, Dean Des Palmes
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By Janelle Kukuk
ACSA Enlightenment Ride
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Every couple of years the American Council of Snowmobile Associations (ACSA) sponsors an Enlightenment Ride somewhere in the United States. The primary purpose of the Ride is to expose and “enlighten” state and federal agency personnel to the sport of snowmobiling. It gives users the opportunity to showcase great riding areas as well as issues that are relevant to continued access to public lands that the sport relies upon. This year Colorado was for very fortunate to play host to this event. Steve Sherwood and Chris Sporl from the Rocky Mountain Region out of Denver have worked for a couple of years to arrange the ride in Colorado. So on February 22-25, twenty plus snowmobilers, Forest Service personnel and State Parks officials from Colorado and Wyoming descended on Steamboat Springs for 2 days of riding and conversation. Guests included, Jim Bedwell, National Recreation and Heritage, from Washington DC, Steve and Chris, as well as Tony Dixon, Deputy Regional Forester from the Rocky Mountain Region, Kent Connaughton, Region 9 Forester, Jamie Kingbury and Kent Foster, District Ranger and Rec Planner (respectively) of the Hahn’s Peak/Bear’s Ears District, Mike Wright and Jon Myers, District Ranger and Rec Planner (respectively) of the Parks Ranger District, Cheri Ford, Colorado Capitol City Coordinator for the
Forest Service and Cheryl Chatham, Wyoming Capitol City Coordinator, Tom Metsa and Randy Engle from Colorado State Parks, Brad Hill, Snowmobile Program Administrator from Wyoming State Parks, Terry Durby, Vice President of ACSA, and his son Ty, Christine Jourdain, Executive Director of ACSA, Kim Raap, TrailsWork Consulting, Jeff Moberg, President of the Wyoming Snowmobile Association, Scott Jones, incoming Vice President of CSA, Bill Rexford, District 1 Rep of CSA and Bob and Janelle Kukuk. On Tuesday night we were joined by Phil Cruz and Rick Cooksey, Forest Supervisor and Deputy Supervisor on the Medicine Bow/Routt National Forest. Steamboat Snowmobile Tours, who operate out of their headquarters on Rabbit Ears Pass, provided our headquarters for the two days of riding. John Hernandez, manager of Steamboat Snowmobile Tours, showed us a great time in epic snow conditions. Powder was King! The group rode all day on Wednesday and ½ day on Thursday stopping along the way to discuss things like beetle kill impacts, parking issues, user conflicts and funding. These discussions spilled over into the dinner hour on Wednesday and Thursday. The size of the group allowed for frank and candid conversations. On Thursday morning, Tom Metsa and Brad Hill gave detailed pictures of their programs, how they operate, how they are funded, who their partners are in facilitating the grooming and where they see the future with federal funding hanging in the balance. The riding, formal discussions and social time were time well spent and I think certainly “enlightening” for everyone.
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Avalanche Education for Snowmobilers
By Jim Donovan, Director Silverton Avalanche School
In 2011, The Silverton Avalanche School made a concerted effort to educate snowmobilers about avalanche safety. Our outreach program is starting small but we hope to expand our efforts throughout Colorado. Snowmobilers are consistently the top recreational group that gets killed in avalanches. We offered our first snowmobile specific avalanche Level 1 course in February. Why avalanche education specifically for snowmobilers? If you have taken an avalanche course you know that a lot of the content is skier specific and you may have asked to tromp around on snowshoes during the course. We contacted Johan Slam, a snowmobile avalanche educator in Canada and brought him down to teach us how to teach to the snowmobile crowd. We also brought in Mike Duffy, who has been pioneering avalanche education for snowmobilers in Colorado. By the end of the course all of the students and staff were tossing in an “eh” at the end of every sentence. Silverton is truly the best place to learn about avalanches and how to avoid them. The terrain is extreme in every direction and very accessible. Our Visitors Center sits below a gigantic slide path off of Kendall Mountain that towers over town. The building needs to be vacated when the avalanche danger is high. The Silverton Avalanche School has been educating the public about avalanches since 1964. We pull in the best educators in the business. Clubs are a great resource for organizing avalanche education for communities. Just remember that we consider people trained after they take a 24 hour course (either three days or two evenings and two days). Awareness courses are designed to inform you of the risk you are exposed to. I made a list after the course on avalanche awareness. A student conducting a “sledblock” snow stability test. This Here it is: test gives a rider an idea of how easy a slope may slide. 1) We teach that you can ride in avalanche terrain safely but you need to take a course to understand what kind of risk you are exposed to and pack. Manufacturers are making low profile backpacks for this purtake precautions accordingly. pose. 2) Wear your rescue gear (beacon on your body, probe, shovel) in a back3) Know how to use your avalanche safety equipment. Just like you know how to fix your sled. 4) Encourage the friends you ride with to take an avalanche course. They are the ones that can save you!! 5) High marking guidelines. Know if the slope is stable. Ride one at a time and have all eyes on the rider. Hidden somewhere in each printed edition of the SnowScoop is a smaller 6) Do not ride up to help someone get unstuck from a hillside. version of the pictured probe. Each reader who locates the hidden probe, 7) Sleds are the ultimate snow stability test. Practice cutting small low should send the page number and approximate location (example; page 6 consequence slopes. on top of Yamaha ad), to contest@snowmobilecolo.com or mail to CSA Ad8) Read the avalanche forecast online for the area you will be sledding in. min Manager, 325 River Rock Dr, Johnstown CO 80534. A winner of an 9) Speak up. Almost everyone wears a full face helmet nowadays and you avalanche probe will be drawn for each edition from entries correctly idenprobably would ride with someone who doesn’t the same thing with tifying the location of the hidden probe. Drawings will be held the last day avalanche gear. If they don’t have it or don’t know how to use it then of October, December, February and March. From all correct they don’t get to ride in avalanche terrain. entries during the season, a grand prize winner will be drawn 10) Consider backpack airbag technology. Several companies (such as at the end of April. The grand prize winner will receive a BCA BCA) are making packs that have an inflatable balloon that you deploy Avalanche Beacon. This contest is sponsored by the Colorado if you are caught in a slide. This technology works and has already been Snowmobile Association. Prizes provided by San Juan Sports used in one incident this year saving a snowmobilers’ life. of Creede CO. 11) Have a way to communicate with your group either hand signals or radios. 12) Find an avalanche course that is taught by snowmobilers. This makes a big difference. You want to learn from people who do your sport. 13) Practice using your rescue gear (Yes, I have it in here twice!) 14) Make notes on avalanche activity. Your observations are very helpful to Janelle Kukuk avalanche forecasters. Each year the American Council of Snowmobile Associations offers up for 15) Talk with other recreational users (skiers, etc.) and talk about the avy raffle 4 high performance or mountain sleds from each of the major manuconditions. You can find a common interest in playing in the snow. facturers. CSA received 25 of these tickets to sell. It is our goal to sell all 25. Contact us about our avalanche education for the next winter season: And I know there are several of you out there wishing for a new sled. www.avyschool.org. The tickets sell for $100 each and only 1000 tickets are printed. The drawing will be held on May 26, 2011 (need not be present to win). The first ticket drawn will have his/her choice of a 2012 Arctic Cat, Polaris, SkiDoo, or Yamaha sled (800 cc or equivalent). The second ticket a choice of the remaining 3 and so forth. All donations are tax deductible. All proceeds from the sale of the tickets go to fund the work of the American Council of Snowmobile Associations. ACSA is our voice at the national level. They work extensively in Washington DC with legislators, top brass of the Forest Service, BLM and National Park Service. They monitor activity across the country that has impacts on snowmobiling. They keep an extensive library of resources to help state associations and local clubs alike meet the challenges we face all the time. To order your ticket(s) please send a check and postcard with your name, address and phone number to ACSA Grand Raffle, Janelle Kukuk, 2889 USFS Rd 509, Creede, CO 81130. GOOD LUCK!
Hidden Probe Contest
Grand Raffle Tickets
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Membership in CSA - Why? Janelle Kukuk
As many of you know, I homeschool our two children. The curriculum I have used from the beginning uses a very clever marketing maneuver to make parents think hard about what they want out of a homeschool curriculum. When answering the question as to WHY someone should join CSA I find that using the same thought process helps me better explain why I think it is vital for any snowmobiler or non-snowmobiler that values their freedom to recreate as they want. So here goes… TEN REASONS NOT TO JOIN OR SUPPORT CSA OR A CLUB 1. I don’t care to ride groomed trails. Although we certainly understand the desire of many riders in the state to avoid groomed trails and enjoy their time boondocking in the trees and carving their own tracks in fresh powder, trailheads, parking areas and even groomed trails are still a necessity even to get to some of those honey holes. 2. I don’t have time to worry about club meetings. We certainly encourage everyone to support a local club and although any local club in the state will tell you they would welcome new faces, it is never a requirement of joining a club or CSA to show up at a meeting. The financial support that is provided with club dues helps those in the club that are committed to grooming, planning events, or keeping the dialogue open between land managers and snowmobilers to continue what they do. 3. I can’t take time away from my job and my family for one more thing. It is a fair statement that even those of us who are at the forefront of CSA and the clubs will use this one on a regular basis. At no time should it ever be implied that by joining a club or CSA that a member is required to volunteer time, energy or even money unless they feel compelled to. Again the financial support and the added voice that our members supply give CSA and the clubs the physical ability and the credibility to be effective. 4. I don’t care who grooms the trails or keeps the trails open, I just want to ride. Admittedly this is probably the hardest thing for those of us who do commit to keeping the trails groomed and open to hear but it is a reality. Unfortunately there isn’t a compelling argument against this except without groups like the local clubs, Colorado Snowmobile Association and the American Council of Snowmobile Associations it won’t be long before there aren’t any areas left to ride. To many this feels like an empty threat but the forces working against access are strong and well funded and are, at best, a difficult challenge to meet. 5. I wear a beacon and carry a probe and shovel, I’ll be OK, I don’t need a class. That feeling of immortality is common to many of us. Unfortunately a large number of us can tell you some near misses and some tragic stories of those for who beacon, probe and shovel were not enough. Although none of us can ever control when it is our time we do feel that the avalanche awareness and avoidance classes, the rescue technique practices and the safe rider classes for youth and beginners offered by CSA through our partnership with Colorado State Parks can certainly minimize accidents and we hope serious injury or worse. 6. My voice isn’t going to make a difference. This point is one I can wax poetic on for a long time but in a few words, YOU WANNA BET? It is stunning what sheer numbers can do for an argument against anything. If I step in front of a group of people and say that I speak for 2000 individuals and families in Colorado who own and ride snowmobiles I have some credibility, enough to start the statement, but if I say that I speak for 10,000 individuals and families or nearly ½ of the registered snowmobiles in Colorado I have everyone’s attention, immediately. Whether it is a state or federal legislator, a land manager, another user group, CSA is only as effective and dynamic as our numbers indicate we are. Every member gives us one more individual or family to give our support to and make sure their riding is the best we can make it. 7. I follow the rules, I don’t need someone telling me how to ride or act. Truer words were never spoken by 80% of snowmobilers or, for that matter, citizens in general. But, there is the other 20%. The saying, “one bad apple will ruin the basket” is certainly applicable to motorized recreation. It is common knowledge that when only one rider is caught encroaching in Wilderness that that bad behavior is immediately transferred to all of us and we are all labeled as irresponsible and careless. The more we can educate, advise and police our own the more we can competently carry our message. If we actively advocate on our own behalf and impede illegal or unethical behavior the better for the whole sport. CSA strives to provide this knowledge to its membership. 8. I am not political, I don’t want to spend all my time writing comments or calling my Congressman or sitting through a public meeting. Point taken. It is probably completely fair to say that the leadership of CSA and the local clubs are populated with people who like to mix it up a bit, which is why they do what they do. However, it is essential to have the financial support so that we, CSA, can make sure our message is carried to the Forest Service, or BLM, or Congress or even the local Board of County Commissioners. I won’t lie to you; this one aspect of CSA’s mission, grassroots advocacy, is most expensive but also most effective. We work hard to make sure that each of our members are
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kept current on what is going on so when you do see something that effects you personally or your favorite riding area, you have all the information you need to make your own decision and get involved at the level you are most comfortable with. And the larger our membership the greater our message is and the more people we get involved. 9. My buddies and I like to ride with our friends, we don’t do “club” rides. A large draw to new riders or new residents is the comfort level of going out with people familiar with the best riding in the area. It gives the untested the confidence to try new things, expand their riding experiences and just have fun. No one expects you to forfeit your day of fun to spend the day with a ‘newbie’. However, your experience and knowledge could give someone a once in a lifetime view, teach someone how not to get stuck, or even prevent an injury. And who knows, you might get access to that new honey hole. 10. I can’t afford to join. In this time of financial struggles all of us have to watch our pennies but after spending several thousands of dollars on the sport, $22 is not a lot to spend to help mold and protect your favorite activity. Snowmobiling has always been a family sport. Many of us learned to ride as very young children on the backs of our parent’s machines. Without the continued efforts of clubs and CSA, funded and supported by our members, the future of our sport is in jeopardy. I work on behalf of CSA for our members and the viability of the sport but my heart is in preserving unfettered access to our public lands for my children. Most of you reading this are already members of CSA and a club. So it probably seems as though I am preaching to the choir. My main objective is to give you another tool to help recruit members for your local club and for CSA. I urge you to share this article with your friends and riding buddies that are not quite sure whether to join or not. To join, you can fill out the application below, get on our website, www.snowmobilecolo.com, or contact a local club listed in the back of this publication to get a club application. Whatever the method, please consider joining and supporting the Colorado Snowmobile Association and join us in protecting our beloved sport and see if we can change your mind about the 10 Reasons Not To.
COLORADO SNOWMOBILE ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION (PLEASE PRINT) Date________
__Individual $22
__Family $22
__Business $32
____New Member ____Renewal
Last Name__________________________________First Name______________________________________ Spouse Last Name___________________________Spouse First Name________________________________ Total in Household_____
Number of Snowmobiles Owned_____
Mailing Address__________________________________________City________________________________ State_______Zip____________Best Contact Phone________________________________________________ Email__________________________________(for association use only) ********************************************************************************************************************************* Business Name_____________________________________________________________________________ Contact Person Last Name____________________________First Name________________________________ Mailing Address________________________________Physical Address________________________________ City_____________________________________State________Zip___________________ Business Phone___________________________Website____________________________________________ Email___________________________________(for association use only) If Snowmobile Dealer, what brand(s)______________________________________________________________ ********************************************************************************************************************************** Sponsor (Who influenced you to join CSA)________________________________________________________ To buy new CSA Merchandise go to CSA’s website www.snowmobilecolo.com Please consider contributing to the CSA “Right to Ride” Fund
$________________
Please consider contributing to the CSA SEEDS Fund (Support, Education, Events, Development, Safety)
$________________
Membership dues from above __Payment Enclosed
__Bill my Credit Card
$________________ Total
$________________
__Visa __Mastercard __Discover #_______________________________________________Exp Date_________ Security Code:________Name on Card_____________________________________________________ Signature______________________________________________ (credit card not valid without signature)
PLEASE REMIT TO: CSA, 325 RIVER ROCK DR, JOHNSTOWN, CO 80534 970-587-0364 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Amt Received$__________________
Check #__________ Date Received_______________
22 M
arch
2 011
www.snowmobilecolo.com
Business Sponsors Please support those who support our interests!
Akron
The Off Road Body Shop 830 E Railway 970-345-2612
Alamosa
Valley Lumber
0055 Sunset Dr 970-927-3146
Bayfield
Bayfield Auto Care Center Inc. PO Box 1402
Peak Motorsports, 970-884-9727 LLC Bear Paw Lodge at 2901 Adcock Vallecito Lake Blvd 719-587-4039 peakmotorsportsonline.com
Arvada
Diamond Contracting Corp
18300 Hwy 72 303-456-7666
Supreme Offices II LLC PO Box 1303 303-431-5994
Aspen
Pitco Off Road
311 Arbo 970-925-4788
Aurora B-Tec, Inc.
2453 S Flanders Ct 303-981-3680
EMB Properties
18011 County Road 501 970-884-2508
Blue Spruce RV Park & Cabins
1875 CR 500 970-884-2641
Aztec Excavation Co PO Box 370 505-330-2708
Intermountain Construction
16980 Hwy 550 505-334-8035
Mesa Pipeline Service
PO Box 400 505-334-4042
Bailey
Alpine Carpet Care 71 Cedar Ln 303-816-6461
MedQuist
3570 County Road 43 915-204-9598
Basalt
Cindy Kenney Agency
PO Box 3950 970-927-6596
Daly Property Service
0345 Lewis Ln 970-927-2430
Green Build Roofing, LLC
Rudd Construction, Inc.
0132 Park Ave 970-927-9119
Breckenridge
Blue River Property Management PO Box 5290 970-453-6590
Collins & Associates PC Law Offices
PO Box 5615 970-485-1879
JB Plumbing
Leonard & Sons Excavation
Premier Roofing LLC
252 Faith Ln 970-884-8276 175 CR 500 970-884-2239
Professional Exterminator
12137 CR 501 970-247-4832
PO Box 3357 970-485-0101 PO Box 3681 970-409-8836
PSQ Enterprises Inc. PO Box 4146 970-418-4146
Ski Country Resorts & 2445 Beaver Sports
Purple Haze Bar & Grill
Creek Ranch Rd 970-884-4441
Southwest Ag, Inc.
39927 Hwy 160 970-884-4101 www.swaginc. com
Vallecito Lake Chamber of Commerce 17252 CR 501 970-884-2641
Vallecito Nordic Club
PO Box 649 213 Main St. 970-418-0628
Brighton
Clean Cars of Denver
10362 E 143rd Way 720-231-1839
Colorado Clays LLC
Westside Plumbing 88 Pine Lane 970-884-6131
Big Spring TX
Neighbors Auto Sales
1300 E 4th 432-263-0822
Blackhawk
Pharmastrategies LLC PO Box 711 702-746-1456
Bloomfield NM Boulder
Colorado Powersports 1880 55th St 303-447-3500
Swisher Diesel and Automotive PO Box 1680 719-395-6461
The Rock Doc
Thunder Lodge
P.O. Box 504 719-395-2245 www.thunderlodge.com
Timberline Motorsports
29770 US Hwy 24N 719-395-4272 timberlinemotorsports.net 719-395-6557
Carbondale Bishop & Mohl, CPAs
1000 Dolores Way
Carter Electric Inc.
1676 CR 100 Bld O #1 970-963-8785
Cheney Plumbing & Heating Inc. PO Box 392 970-963-0275
Cobble Creek Landscaping Inc
604 Graceland Dr 970-963-0410
Cottonwood CounCrystal Valley try Snowmobile Plumbing & Tours Heating
32220 CR 361 PO Box 5002 719-395-9255 www.headwatersenergy.com
Liars’ Lodge
30000 CR 371 888-542-7756 www.LiarsLodge. com
Peak Electronic Systems
PO Box 4204 719-239-1389
PeakBackcountrySupply.com
PO Box 4204 124 S San Juan Ave 719-239-1389 PeakBackcountrySupply.com
River Runners & Adrift Adventures 24070 CR 301 719-395-2766
740 Hwy 133 970-963-5700
Sports Inc.
601 Cowen Dr 970-963-0313
NAPA Auto Parts - Your Parts House
1301 Dolores Way 970-963-3344
Neil Palazzi Excavating LLC 8631 Hwy 133 970-379-4504
Vista Court Cabins Roaring Fork Valley Co-op PO Box 3056
Buena Vista
ergy
Grand Junction Pipe/Carbondale
3 3 5 8 5 W a p i t i IRMW of Colorado Inc Cir PO Box 1252 719-207-1592 970-963-8600 www.therockdoc. MG Landscaping & net
13600 Lanewood St Crystal Springs 303-659-7117 Builders 1044 Main St 970-963-4584
133 Mtn Shadow PO Box 1648 Dr 719-395-6727 970-884-6193 Headwaters En-
PO Box 3661 970-927-5300 www.greedbuil3D Services droofing.com 64 CR 4995 Mountain Works 505-632-3569 PO Box 3260 970-927-0985
3075 Fourmile Canyon Dr 303-444-9473
Four Corners Painting
25151 E Kettle RP Enterprises 164 Sandia Cir Ave CR 520 303-690-0318 970-946-6891 cell
Aztec NM
Pullen Wire Inc.
PO Box 1323 970-963-1251
Days Inn
350 Cowen Dr 970-963-9111
Earthworks Construction Co 304 Hwy 133 970-963-2296
Electric Mountain Lodge
0760 Hwy 133 970-963-2220
Rocky Mountain Gardens Inc.
PO Box 1488 970-704-1719
Skutley Inc.
0380 Alto Dr 970-379-9114
Western Slope Aggregate Inc. 0304 Hwy 133 970-963-2296
WTF MOTORSPORTS 1380 Rock Ct 970-876-0666
Castle Rock Duffy Realty, Inc.
163 W Juan Way 303-888-0518
George’s Repair Service
1765 Candleglow St 303-263-3561
Cedaredge
Belden Construction PO Box 1019 970-856-6403
Bob Brewer Construction & Hauling 23045 T Rd 970-856-3318
Grand Mesa Lodge Inc.
PO Box 49 970-856-3366 PO Box 1005 One Tel Wireless 41348 Electric 1130 SE Fairway Mtn Ln Dr 970-929-5522 970-856-3875 www.electricmountainlodge. com Bothell Seed EXCAVATION SER3527 W Rd 8 N 719-754-3686 VICES INC PO Box 1159 Jones Oil Co. 970-963-8355 PO Box 1150 719-754-2221 Fotions Club
Center
House Gym
0161 Milburn Ct 970-948-5026
Gianinetti’s Performance & Services 601 Cowen Dr
Cimarron
Arrowhead Ranch Real Estate
PO Box 188 970-862-8402 www.arrowheadranch.com
Rocky Mountain Program MCT LLC
626 Columbine Dr 970-254-1635
Tamarack Group Inc.
550 Ponderosa Way 970-208-6585
The Inn at Arrowhead Bed & Breakfast
21401 Alpine Plateau Rd 970-862-8206
Tree Specialists Inc.
PO Box 306 970-275-0284 cell
Clark
Chase Management Inc.
PO Box 705 970-846-4663
Costa Mesa CA
Mountain States Electric
575 Anton Blvd 310-729-7632
NAPA - T & H Parts
EAST FORK RANCH
Craig
424 Russell St 970-824-6568 400 Taylor St 970-824-3496
A & E Tire Inc.
Rhino Linings of Craig
Action Drain
Rocky Mountain T.L.C.
1251 Lincoln Ave 970-824-0217 195 Clay Ave 970-824-2564
American Northwest Realty
105 E Victory Way 970-824-3446
831 Green St 970-826-6271
1820 W Victory Way 970-824-4945
Scott Strategic Investments
509 Yampa Ave 970-326-8100
Axis Steel
The Flower Mine
Black Mountain Glass
The OP Bar & Grill
PO Box 1546 970-824-3256 75 E 4th 970-824-5353
410 W Victory Way 970-824-7441 536 E Victory Way 970-824-8918
Dutch Creek Guest Brothers Custom Ranch Processing PO Box 846
VFW Post 4265
Hahns Peak Inn Bed and Breakfast
Xtreme Mountain Racing
970-879-8519
61066 RCR 129 P.O. Box 899 970-871-6221 www.hahnspeakinn.net
Hassle Haven Ranch LLC
54395 CR 62 970-846-3912
ROCKY MOUNTAIN RENTALS, LLC
PO Box 877 970-627-9673
Clifton
COLORADO STATE PARKS PO Box 700
Collbran
A-N-G OUTFITIERS
PO Box 57 970-856-4497
Colorado Springs Ettowerinc
7345 Templeton Gap Rd 719-632-8822
Hunter Construction
PO Box 448 970-824-3855
Cook Chevrolet, Olds, Jeep, Subaru
1776 W Victory Way 970-824-2100
Craig Powersports aka Planet Powersports
2607 E Hwy 40 970-826-0060
2901 N Nevada 719-634-1606
Commerce City
Universal Fleet RV and Auto Collision
4545 E 52nd Ave Unit A 303-292-0996 universal-collision.com
1156 Aspen Ave 970-824-7848
Creede
Bruce’s Snowshoe Lodge and B&B PO Box 255 719-658-2315
Cascada Bar & Grill
PO BOX 614 719-658-0167
Cromer Contracting Co Inc. Creede Community Center/Mining PO Box 1282 Museum 970-824-5868 PO Box 70 Deer Park Inn & 719-658-0811 Suites Creede-Mineral 262 Commerce Co Chamber/ 970-824-9282 Commerce Dr. Carolyn PO Box 580 Gochee DC Inc. 719-658-2374 820 W Victory Way 970-824-3070
Eyecare Specialists
1111 W Victory Way, Ste 110 970-824-3488
Golden Cavvy Restaurant
417 CR 203 6555 Cache 970-824-6038 Drive Hampton Inn & 719-591-9300
Quality Tech Service Center
419 E Victory Way 970-824-9860
Suites
377 Cedar Court 970-826-9900
Leisure Time Ltd
941 School St 970-824-5821
Mckey Chiropractic Clinic 469 Breeze St 970-824-4444
MJK Sales & Hardware
290 Ranney ST 970-824-6581
Freemons General Store 39284 Hwy 149 719-658-2454
Lost Trail Ranch
18100 USFS Rd 520 719-850-2525 www.lost-trail. com
Mineral County Sheriff Dept.
PO Box 424 719-658-2600
MJ’s Café
PO Box 584 719-658-2859
Rio Grande Enterprises LLC
24263 Hwy 149 719-658-0374 riograndeenterprises.com
San Juan Sports LLC
PO Box 700 102 S Main St 719-658-2361 www.sanjuansports.com
www.snowmobilecolo.com
M a r c h 2 011
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Business Sponsors Please support those who support our interests! Willow Creek Realty
PO Box 519 719-658-2262 wcrealty.com
Crested Butte
Donita’s Cantina
PO Box 1149 332 Elk Avenue 970-349-6674
Floresta Partners LLC
Colorado Backcountry Rentals
192 Meadow Drive Allen Theatres 970-406-1397 PO Box 1500 505-325-9313
Durango
Durango Mortgage Group
93 Pebble Dr 970-375-1917
Durango Painting & Coating LLC
Eagle Block Company
PO Box 2119 970-349-9656
FOUR CORNERS ENDODONTICS
Irwin Backcountry Guides PO Box 1807 970-901-9161
Delta
Black Mesa Lodge 706 1550 Rd 970-874-0715
H H Huff Inc. Excavating 1727 F Rd 970-874-4850
Kirkpatric Construction Consulting Inc.
16073 HWY 550 970-247-9450 1570 E 2nd Ave 970-375-6200
Fun Center Inc.
29603 US Hwy 160 E 970-259-1070
Handlebar Motorsports
346 S Camino Del Rio 970-247-0845
Haulrite Trailers of Four Corners Inc. 35 Valley Ct 505-382-0566
PO Box 366 970-835-3030
Lightner Creek Campground LLC
1680 S Main St 970-874-4590
McDonald’s
Kwiki Tire Service Pest Away Spraying
1188 Sunset Ct 970-874-0920
RL Smith Fence
785-1575 Rd 970-874-4112
Woody’s Landscapes, LLC
765 1600 Road 970-314-0708
Denver
Applewood Plumbing, Heating & Electric
5000 W 29th Ave 303-458-5988 www.applewoodfixit.com
IMA of Colorado, Inc.
1550 17th St Ste 600 303-615-7548
Vickery Motorsports Inc.
1703 CR 207 970-247-5406
15 Arrowhead Cir 970-259-1642
Phantastic Screens
3300 W Florida Ave #27 303-908-6950
Dillon
ABOVE AND BEYOND SNOWMOBILE REPAIR 685 Summit Dr 970-468-2562
1534 Hines Rd 505-320-8345
Garden Spot Produce 2203 W Main 505-325-8888
Inc.
Travis Leonard
6426 Bent Tree Cir
Fort Collins Buford Lodge
2301 Valley Forge Ct 970-878-4745
The Brown Group LLC
PO Box 331 970-835-4564
Elizabeth
B.C. Building Services, LLC
2115 CR 117 970-945-6999
5317 CR 154, Ste 201 970-945-6500
Sunlight Snowmobile Tours 10901 CR 117 970-945-7491
TopGun Plumbing & Heating Inc. PO Box 1197 970-945-2580
970-372-6201
Frisco
JNJ Motorsports PO Box 495 970-453-0353 Polaris
Glenwood Springs Ace Roofing
PO Box 276 970-945-5366 2200 Grand Ave 970-384-3269
Rd 970-945-0475
Golden
Rocky Mtn. Ski Consulting
2205 Douglas Mt Dr 303-902-4423
Golden, COJackson, WY Welch Automotive INdependent amsoil dealer 303-324-7185
Gonzales TX
struction
3349 S Pennsylvania St 303-781-5880 www.milehighperformancerentals.com
PO Box 1323 970-945-4969
Gran Farnum Printing
PO Box 945 970-945-9605
Hi Point Motorsports
2802 S Grand Ave 970-945-6301
Hunter Concrete Construction, Quality Excavating Inc.
Evans
3500 Centennial Cir 970-590-7140
2685 Lookout Ln 970-640-5496
Motorcycle Accessories
PO Box 786 970-947-9204
Shadow Mountain Flooring
One Stop Tarps
761 Foxfire Ct 970-261-9999
PNCI Builders
898 Quail Dr 970-243-7291
100 970-243-2710
T.P.I. Industrial Inc
2471 Riverside Pkwy 970-243-4642
Grand Lake BRP Inc.
PO Box 91437 970-627-1680
Cameron Stone
PO Box 881 970-531-8872
Gateway Inn
PO Box 1169 970-627-2400
Moose Lake Lodge, LLC. 61000 US Hwy 40, PO Box 247 970-887-9337
Grand Junction All Sports Honda 555 25 Rd 970-243-7730
Barnes Electric
2811 Riverside Pkwy 970-242-6473
CANYON VIEW CAR WASH - REDLANDS
2258 Broadway 970-263-4144 canyonviewcarwash.com
RESTAURANT
PO Box 1400 970-627-3707
Greeley
PO Box 1230 303-740-7441 www.mooselakelodge.com
Mountain Food Market
PO Box 1397 970-627-3470
Mountain Lake Properties
PO Box 1350 970-627-3103
Pancho & Leftys PO Box 1527 970-627-8773
ReMax
PO Box 352 970-531-0804
Sagebrush BBQ & Grill PO Box 425 970-627-1404
Highlands Ranch Crown Trophy
1500 W Littleton Blvd 303-730-1711
1639 35th Ave Ct 970-396-2301
Greenwood Village
AquaTerra Associates
8095 E Prentice Ave 303-660-7365 aquaterraassociates.com
Gunnison
Colorado Adventure Rentals
3381 CR 730 970-641-3525 Coloradoadventurerentals. com
Dove Graphics
PO Box 1309 111 Camino Del Rio 970-641-4751
Master Motorsports
PO Box 1113 970-862-8308
Rocky Mountain Athletic Consulting Services
PO Box 264 161 Tomichi Ln 970-641-2956 rockymountainacs.com
Gypsum
PO Box 950
PO Box 402 970-641-1402
Hamilton
Creekside Guest Cabin & Suites PO Box 91 970-756-5001
Hesperus
Durango Dog Ranch & Husky Home Building PO Box 29 970-759-1741
Lake City Chamber of Commerce PO Box 430 970-944-2527
PO Box 237 970-531-2145
Storm Front Gallery LLC
Cross Contractors Inc.
Hotchkiss
PO Box 38 970-872-3111
HUBBARD CREEK OUTFITTERS
PO Box 25 970-872-3818
Inn The Orchard 30846 L25 Rd 970-872-3066
Robert’s Short Stop
PO Box 549 970-872-3566
Steve’s Backhoe Service
15706 3050 Rd 970-872-3654
Thunder Mountain Lodge Restaurant 32373 HWY 92 970-856-6241
Weekender Sports PO Box 240 970-872-3444
Zacks BBQ
PO Box 665 970-872-3446
Ignacio
Spring Creek Horse Rescue
PO Box 663 970-884-4425
Kremmling
PO Box 926 970-944-2242 PO Box 457 970-944-4111
Lakewood
Extreme Rentals
5741 W 6th Ave 303-232-9342 ExtremeRentalsInc.com
Sunset Vista Properties
9187 W Jewell Ave 303-988-7771 sunsetvistaproperties.com
Leadville
2 Mile Hi Ski-Doo
1719 N Poplar St 719-486-1183 Ski-Doo
BUCKEYE’S CABIN
3455 Hwy 91 970-390-4550 www.buckeyecabin.net
Corbin Construction Co PO Box 951 719-486-2673
Leadville Nordic Club
PO Box 823 719-486-0746 www.leadvillenordic.org
LEADVILLE SKI COUNTRY
116 E 9th St 719-486-3836
Alpine Enterprises Hitchin post motel PO Box 916 970-724-9655
R & B Excavating PO Box 898 970-724-9645 12202 Hwy 40 970-724-9655
Lake City
7776 Hwy 135 970-641-0450 AB Construction sloancustomPO Box 281 homes.com 970-625-8353
Westside Construction Inc.
PO Box 67 970-944-2311
Miners and Merchants Bank
Boyz Toyz and Sonz Summit aggregates Sloan Construction LLC
Lake City Auto/ Sportscenter
Hot Sulphur Springs
Cecil Farms/Terra West Real Estate First State Bank Of Services Hotchkiss
2060 E Main St 970-242-9495 Hill Petroleum http://motor1625 68th Ave cycleaccesso970-539-1194 riesgj.com
Power World LLC
Glenwood Springs Western Riviera Motel & Cabins McDonalds PO Box 1071 #6454 42325 Forest 970-627-3580
mance Rentals
Fowler Concrete Construction
Granby
Exemplar Research
Englewood
822 25 Rd 970-241-0890
Grand Mountain 5317 CR 154 Ste Soldier Springs 206 Rentals 970-945-0102 LLC PO Box 808 301 St. Joseph St 970-627-1131 Berthod Motors Ste 100 PO Box 759 Lone Eagle 803-672-1000 970-945-7466 PO Box 1783 970-627-3310 DM Neuman Con-
PO Box 2317 7133 S Shenandoah Dr 970-945-7502 303-646-9498 Glenwood BP www.bcbuilding106 6th St services.com
Oaks Dr 303-679-2732
Finance LLP
Stephan Schweissing Attorney at 126 W Harvard St Wash-By-U Law 91 Meadowwood Ste 3 619 Main St Ste
B&H General Contractors
Concept Auto Body
2302 Devereux Rd 970-928-0788 Polaris
R & A Enterprises
604 Prospect 970-247-2142
Eckert
Mountain Powersports
PO Box 5910 505-326-6545
Techna Glass
Dave Fisher Electric Inc.
PO Box 1977 549 W Greenwood Dr 970-627-8315 1614 Grand Ave 970-243-7100 Ste A Spirit Lake Polaris 970-928-3000 DKT Realty Inc/ PO Box 1248 970-627-9288 Mountain Pest Metro Brokers Polaris 921 25 Rd Control 970-261-3309 3758 Hwy 82 THE HISTORIC RAP970-945-5942 IDS LODGE AND FCF Premium
Nelson’s Autp Body
Alpine Bank
The Consultants
Mason & Morse Property Management
PO Box 1972 505-325-5600
37 Red Cliffs Rd 970-247-7907
2231 S Parker Rd Mile High Perfor303-755-4387
Zimmerman Construction
CNJ Farms
290 Hermosa Meadows Rd Spellbring 970-259-2361 Construction,
PO Box 549 214 6th St # 7 970-349-0305 Colvinconstruction.com
Gas Café
Farmington NM
Blue Spruce Building Materials, Inc
PO Box 162 970-944-2581 www.bluesprucelc. com
G & M Cabins
PO Box 1165 970-944-2282
Hinsdale County Road And Bridge
PO Box 96, 1775 Hwy 149 N 970-944-2684
3164 N Hwy 91 719-486-2783 hitchinpostmotel.org
Melanzana Mountain Gear
716 Harrison Ave 719-486-3245
QUINCY’S STEAKHOUSE
416 Harrison Ave 719-486-9765
RKP Ent., LLC
116 Elm 719-486-1295
Littleton
COLORADO STATE PARKS
13787 S Hwy 85 303-791-1957 Ext 130
Grand Prix Motorsports Inc
3105 W County Line Rd 303-761-2471
24
M a r c h 2 011
www.snowmobilecolo.com
Business Sponsors Please support those who support our interests!
Shovein LLC
4819 S Queen St 303-948-7720
Two Step Limousine
5220 S Sherman St 303-781-5555
Loma
Theos Swallow Fork Ranch
PO Box 195 970-878-5225
Watt’s Ranch Market
PO Box 630 970-878-5868
Dixon Motors
Welder Outfitting Services
Longmont
White River Electric Assn.
1220 O1/2 Rd 970-858-0973
Atomic Motorsports
643 Elliott St 303-746-3938
Cornwell Tools
1310 19th Ave 303-579-1409
ST. VRAIN CRAFTSMEN LLC
1825 Spencer St
Loveland
E & B Automotive Inc
127 Barberry Pl 970-635-0939
Felker Motor Sports
1538 E Eisenhower Blvd 970-667-1300 www.felkermotorsports.net
Gerrard Excavating Inc
1739 S CR 13C 970-669-1463 www.earthdevelopers.com
Lyons
Lyons Automotive PO Box 993 303-823-6760
Marble
RPS Rentals
112 E Main St 970-963-3747
Mead
Bendelow Law Office, LLC
PO Box 823 970-878-9869 PO Box 958 970-878-5041
Wyatt’s Sports Center
PO Box 1538 970-878-4428
Meredith
Thomasville Fire Dept.
25095 Frying Pan Rd 970-927-5295
Mesa
Mesa Lakes Lodge & Resort PO Box 230 970-268-5467
Monte Vista
Jasper Association/ Four Corners Fire & Safety
PO Box 771 913 Jones St 719-582-0268 www.jasperco. com/
Mountain Valley Sports
0049 E CR 1 S 719-852-5017
Peterson Farms LLC
5070 N CR 2 E 719-852-5847
Montrose ASAP
66401 Solar Rd 970-240-8851
3759 Vale View Davis Service 303-837-9600 Center www.bendelow. 2380 W Main St net 970-249-8161
Meeker
Adams Lodge
200 CR 43 970-878-4312
Dole Equipment
PO Box C 970-878-5322
First National Bank of the Rockies
PO Box 600 970-878-5073
Northwest Auto Sales & Service 485 Market St 970-878-5026
Sleepy Cat Mountain Lodging & Rentals
DL AUTO SERVICE & REPAIR, LLC
59745 Kristal Dr 970-497-0702
English Bros Polaris
67809 E Hwy 50 970-249-0101
Montrose Implement and Motorsports
4690 N Townsend 970-240-1720
Planet Motorsports Inc.
105 Merchant Dr 970-249-8867
1014 E Market Rose Bowl PO Box 908 St 970-417-1470 970-878-5258
New Castle Pagosa Avalanche ExcavaSprings tion
Ridgway
Sunset Automotive
PO Box 499 Holy Smokes 970-626-5504 0116 CommanStoves and Firechero Trl places, LLC 970-876-2619 PO Box 2026 6 & 13 Quick Mart Frontier Paving 104 Goldmine PO Box 868 Inc. Dr
Rifle
970-625-1467
1014 CR 311 970-876-0916
970 264-4441 h o l y s m o k e s s - Acme Alarm Company tovesandfireNew Castle Family places.com PO Box 883 Health PC 970-625-5535 820 Castle Valley Pagosa Nordic Club PO Box 5261 acmealarm.com Blvd, Ste 210 970-946-7225 970-984-0651 Alpine Bank Rifle www.pagosanor100 E 4th St Robinson Truckdic.com 970-625-9610 ing Co Inc. Pagosa Power 15805 CR 245 Avalanche Air Sports 970-618-3395 PO Box 1238 PO Box 3751 970-379-4780 970-264-4320
Norwood 4 R Storage
PO Box 713 970-327-4496
Powder-Jack Inc.
470 Stagecoach Ln 970-264-6957
A-T Enterprises, Ltd
Sledtools
Fleet Services
SnowCountry Adventure Tours
PO Box 1141 1323 CR 35 W 970-327-4118 PO Box 681 970-327-4424
H & H Construction LLC
PO Box 201 970-729-0244
Hi Country Motorsports PO Box 611 970-327-4271
Poor Boy Repair
457 Z 42 Road PO Box 699 970-417-5161
RNG Contracting Inc. PO Box 730 970-327-0128
Sams Service
PO Box 176 970-327-4447
Town of Norwood PO Box 528 970-327-4288
Williams Construction
PO Box 704 970-327-4218
Nucla
Storey Trucking PO Box 77 970-864-7883
Wilson Heating & Air PO Box 226 970-864-7242
Ouray
PO Box 3664 970-946-4694
141 N 14th St 970-264-7669 www.snowufun. com
Wolf Creek Avalanche School
PO Box 353 970-864-7663
Parker
Dimensional Framing
ODF Inc
PO Box 3635 719-542-2353
Rand
Sportsmans Retreat
PO Box 2 970-723-4215
Rangely
The Citizens State Bank of Ouray PO Box A 970-318-8481
226½ E Main 970-620-2257
Rangely Auto Parts
214 E Main 970-675-5057
Red Cliff
The Green Bridge Inn
1101 CR 227 970-618-7495
Coulter Lake Guest Ranch, Inc.
1815 Airport Rd 970-625-3551
GMCO Corporation PO Box 1480 970-625-9100
Salida
A-1 Auto Service
445 W Hwy 50 719-539-7251
All Season Adventures, Inc. 7345 Hwy 50 W 719-530-0651
Salina KS
Jerry W. Smith Plumbing Inc.
PO Box 551 785-822-2030
Sapulpa OK
0164 Booms Pl 970-625-2120
Kuersten Construction LLC
Rifle Insurance Agency
PO Box 1700 970-625-1689
Rifle Performance Motorsports
1014 Access Rd 970-625-2041
Rifle Truck & Trailer
Circuit Concepts, Inc.
7505 W Rainbow Creek Rd 303-901-6160
Sedgwick KS
United States Forest ServiceDillon Ranger Dist
PO Box 620 680 Blue River Pkwy 970-262-3452
Silverton
Avalanche Cafe
P.O. Box 377 970-387-5282
Brown Bear Café PO Box 550 970-387-5630
Canyon View Motel PO Box 729 970-387-5400 PO Box 57 970-387-5527
PO Box 233 970-247-3706 www.dgoicepirates.com
Lift Services
PO Box 363 970-387-0700
Sheridan
3400 West Hampden Ave 303-783-2122 pabauto.com
Silt
A & S Fabrication PO Box 735 970-876-0464
Desautels Computer Services
0425 Cedar Hills Rd 970-876-0781
PO Box 9 970-878-9884
Glass Guys, Inc.
sulting
4015 S Brady Ct 605-371-9799
Slater
Whispering Pines Brush Mtn. Lodge PO Box 52 970-583-2976
Snowmass
Flame Out Fire Protection Inc. PO Box 56 970-927-4933
Snowmass Village
Premier Property Management PO Box 6437 970-923-0300
South Fork
Arbor House Bed & Breakfast
PO Box 995 31358 US Hwy 160 719-873-5012 www.arborhouseinnco.com
Blue Creek Lodge
11682 Hwy 149 719-658-2479
Silverton Liquors
Century 21 Valley Realty
PO Box 61 970-387-5491
Silverton Molas Pass Snowmobile Tours & Cabins PO Box 346 970-387-5512
Silverton Mountain PO Box 856 970-387-5706
Silverton Trading Post PO Box 407 435-669-9050
3720 CR 214 970-876-5520 PO Box 897 970-618-0224
Triangle Service Station
1169 16th St 970-230-0311
PO Box 767 970-209-3624
Century 21 Valley Realty
The Pickle Barrel
JM Adventure Rental
PO Box 767 970-387-5243
Lolas Place
PO Box 588 613 N Commer970-387-5705 cial Maisel Excavation 316-640-0471 PO Box 826 www.alpinecolo970-759-9291 radocabin.com
Flatops Electric
2675 Acacia Ave 970-625-3346
Po Box 25779 970-513-1319
Ice Pirates Backcountry Adventures
PO Box 961 970-625-8884
SLEEPY CAT RANCH
Silverthorne Powersports
Sedalia
4101 Line Pl 9182245686
Undergroundspecialty Co LLC
Sioux Falls SD Silverthorne Trails Work Con-
Grand Imperial Hotel
Preferred Auto 0013 Powerline Brokers Rd 970-625-8210
970-379-8279
McBorn Properties, LLC
Hoffmeister Paint- Alpine Colorado ing, Inc. Cabin
Spencer Inc. Ac104 Water Street counting 970-827-5228 www.greenbridgeinn.com
970-625-2000
PO Box 295 719-539-9280
Colton Trucking
PO Box 539 970-876-5696
Rifle PerforThe Parts House mance Motor1000 Railroad sports - Ski Doo Ave
Ct 970-625-8667
6903 E Lookout Johns Welding Inc. PO Box 1299 Dr 970-625-5022 303-902-8554
Pueblo
PO Box 868 970-625-9051
Classic Auto Body Gunderman Auto Body 1695 Enterprise
Garfield Steel & 41024 Lamborn Machine Inc
Zunich Bros Mech
Redstone Building Williams Bros Co. Inc. Mining & ExploPO Box 50 ration
1310 E Hwy 50 719-221-2895
ited, Inc.
Paradox
Swallow Oil Company
1014 Access Road 970-379-2777
Heights Ct 970-458-2077
Paonia
Mesa Rd 970-527-6110
NATIVE AMERICAN CRANE
Gateway Inn & Suites 2621 Fairview
P.O. Box 143 0080 CR 273 970-731-2486 970-625-1473 www.wolfcreekbackcountry. Double Trouble Trucking Inc. com 0565 N Meadow Dr Foam Tech Unlim970-618-3821
Ouray Family Medicine HAYES PETROLEUM PO Box 1030 970-325-9900
Bailey Low Bed Service
Stampfel Construction
PO Box 196 970-387-5713
PO Box 370 315 Greene St. 970-387-3462
PO Box 742 719-873-0208 www.southforkrealtor.com PO Box 999 719-873-5559
Community Banks
PO Box 289 29899 US Hwy 160 719-873-5562
Docs Outdoor Sports
PO Box 1215 817-740-9080
Holiday RV South
26076 W Hwy 160 719-873-0145
Mountain Views @ River’s Edge RV Resort
0215 Rio Vista Circle 719-873-5456
Rainbow Lodge & Grocery PO Box 224 719-873-5545
www.snowmobilecolo.com
Business Sponsors Riverbend Resort
Rabbit Ears Devel-
Walden
PO Box 1270 opment Art’s Paint Shop 33846 US Hwy 24250 W Hwy PO Box 1129 160 40 970-723-4420 719-873-5344 970-879-2190 Corkle Oil Comwww.riverbend- Scherer Building resort.com pany Corp. PO Box 278 Tommys EmbroiPO Box 880581 970-723-4455 dery 970-879-9740 868 Bear Creek Snake River ConRd struction 719-873-5778 PO Box 773504 Twin Pines Motor970-879-0034
sports Inc.
PO Box 966 719-873-2001
Utt Bluff Lodge
27680 Hwy 160 719-873-5595
Wolf Creek Liquors PO Box 792
Steamboat Springs ALPINE FINISHES 2399 Way
Oxford
Colorado Group Realty
PO Box 882500 970-875-2914
D L& L Trucking
PO Box 775125 970-879-8652
Extreme Power Sports
PO Box 776389 970-879-9175
High Mountain/ Steamboat Snowmobile Tours PO Box 882805 970-879-6500
JAKK’D
575 Evans St
M & M Auto
PO Box 770883 970-879-8178
Mountain View Car Wash PO Box 774403 970-870-3363
Northwestern Supplies Inc.
PO Box 775497 970-879-1312
55278 Hwy 14 970-723-8300
35336 CR 21 970-723-4359
Wheatridge RITS MECHANICAL AND WELDING
8501 W 48th Ave 303-548-8428
Wichita KS
State Farm Insurance
Goulette Construction
Skydive El Dorado Inc.
Steamboat Powersports
Harry Corkle Construction
Windsor
PO Box 773957 970-879-1756
PO Box 1062 970-723-4958 PO Box 306 970-723-4676
2989 Riverside Plaza Jack’s Auto Parts 970-879-5138
Steamboat Snowmobile Tours
PO Box 882805 970-871-1935
Superior Carpentry Inc. American Carpet & PO Box 774003 Floor PO Box 881608 970-879-3282
Drifters Cookhouse
The Powderhorn Cabins
970-871-7836
Sundance, WY
Boondocker Publishing
& Service
PO Box 217 970-723-4674
Ken Huismann Trucking
PO Box 1124 970-723-8228
Kincaid Waldron Construction PO Box 54 970-723-4502
Moose Creek Café PO Box 578 970-723-8272
PO Box 645 North Park 307-283-3411 Engineering & www.boondockerpublishing. Consulting com PO Box 395 970-723-3725
Telluride
Dave’s Mountain Tours PO Box 2736 970-728-9749
Telluride Snowmobile Adventures LLC
North Park Inn & Suites
PO Box 55 970-723-4271 www.northparkinnandsuites.com
North Park KOA
53337 Hwy 14 7214 Hwy 145 970-723-4310 PO Box 785 970-728-4475 River Rock Café www.telluPO Box 1007 ridesnowmo970-723-4670 bile.net
Twin Lakes Inn of the Black Wolf
PO Box 70 719-486-1830 innoftheblackwolf.com
The Cabins & Gift Shops 55862 Hwy 14 970-723-3750
1349 N Crestline St 316-648-2981
Layne Mann Property Tax Consultant
917 Presado Way 303-233-8533
SOILOGIC
1435 Hilltop Cir 970-412-2811
Winter Park
Grand Adventures PO Box 1329 800-726-9247
Ram Paint
PO Box 3102 720-333-2720
Willman Snowcat Repair Inc. PO Box 713 970-726-5132
Woodland Park
Big D Motorsports
180 N Hwy 67 Unit A 719-687-7228 www.bigdmotorsports.com Arctic Cat
Woody Creek
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Wounded Warriors Ride By Jim Dustin, Jackson County Star, Walden CO
This all started with a series of random acts of kindness and culminated into a day-long snowmobile outing through the Colorado State Forest for nine soldiers from the Wounded Warrior Battalion out of Fort Carson. It started with Karl Gruber, who has family in Jackson County. Gruber is a member of the Presbyterian Church in Berthoud. He started a little program through his church to help the Wounded Warriors. “The first year, we raised $3,000,” he said. Gruber said he drove through Walden enough times to wonder how active the VFW was here. So he stopped at the bowling alley to see if he could track any of them down. That led him to Pat Riley, the local VFW commander. Gruber recruited Riley into helping with a local project. The year before, Gruber along with people from Routt County had organized a snowmobile run at Steamboat Lake. Could they possibly do the same thing here? Well, the problem was rounding up snowmobiles for the soldiers. Riley went up to the Colorado Land Company, a bunch of Mississippians who own a cabin and hunt in North Park, there not being much in the way of elk down in their home state. They had a bunch of snowmobiles sitting around. Riley asked if he could borrow them. Johnny Crane, Larry Homen, Gary Franks and a couple of others, after being informed about why Riley wanted the snowmobiles, said, “You can have them.” So the snowmobiles, which were in various states of repair, came into town and got dumped on Sonny Baugh, the local snowmobile repair guy. Baugh is one of the few residents who holds equal curmudgeon rank with Pat Riley. Baugh set about repairing the snowmobiles for the North Park Snow Snakes snowmobile club poker run on Feb. 12. Then came some little problems, like how to get the snowmobiles out to the Colorado State Forest State Park. Timberline Builders Supply solved that by loaning Riley a truck and trailer. And then there was the problem of snowmobile permits that were going to cost each soldier about $35. Kent Minor, the manager of the State Forest State Park, solved that problem. He didn’t say how. So the nine wounded soldiers showed up at the poker run with their snow machines on what turned out to be a beautiful day. The Snow Snakes donated 50 poker hands for the soldiers to play during the run. “To sum it up with a comment from one of the soldiers recovering from brain trauma, he said he had been to some stress management outings with the Army rehab, but this weekend was by far the most meaningful to him,” Gruber said. “They stayed at the Chedsey Motel, and Lynn (Soderberg) was a wonderful hostess to them. They ate at fine restaurants in town, and topped it off with a breakfast/brunch at the Moriah Ranch. Thank you people of Walden.”
Western Adventures Inc.
PO Box 900 970-923-3337
The Jackson County Star
PO Box 397 970-723-4404
Please welcome these new business sponsors: Blue River
Theobald Engineering & Construction Services 0162 Blue River Rd 970-409-7978
Grand Junction
Stewart Technical Services, inc. dba Foreign aid 574-B 25 Rd 970-243-4354
Mesa
Mesa Lakes Lodge 3619 Hwy 65 970-268-5467
Vail
Piney River Adventures
2111 N Frontage Rd W 970-477-1171 www.pineyriveradventures.com
members of the Wounded Warriors Battalion from Fort Carson, Colorado, getting familiar with their snowmobiles. Standing at far right is Randy Miller, president of the Colorado Snowmobile Association. Standing to his right is Pat Riley, who organized the ride for the veterans. At his right is Karl Gruber.
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Top Gear Volunteer This month’s Top Gear Volunteer is Minisa Robinson of the Rifle Snowmobile Club. The club submitted the following nomination: “It is hard to pick just one amazing volunteer when we have so many to pick from. Our club is very fortunate to have many great volunteers who have dedicated time and energy to the building of our club and working on many fundraising projects. “This year our club has chosen, and highly recommends Minisa Robinson as our Top Gear Volunteer. Minisa has been a member of the Rifle Snowmobile Club most of her life, as her parents were members and office holders for 25 plus years. She and her husband Jess met through the snowmobile club because of Jess’ involvement with Search and Rescue. They have two small sons, Will and Cash. “As a member of our club she has taken on the development and publishing of our club’s monthly newsletter. She has proven herself invaluable to this process. Without her diligent work, many members would not receive club information on a timely basis. “Again, please consider our amazing volunteer, Minisa Robinson, for the Top Gear Volunteer Award.” Congratulations to Minisa on being selected as this month’s Top Gear Volunteer.
Classified Ads Equipment Rentals Rental Properties Extreme Rentals - Snowmobile Rentals,
trail and mountain sleds. Located in Denver. New Arctic Cats each year. Best prices in the state. Daily, weekly, monthly Rentals. Visit our website ExtremeSnowmobileRentals.com Call 303-232-9342 For reservations or more info.
Great little comfortable cabin you can snowmobile into up Four Mile Road above Pagosa Springs. Great snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and snow shoeing. A full kitchen, dishwasher, washer dyer, queen bed, two twins and futon. Call 505-466-8385 or rdw2100@aol.com
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