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How Many Groomers/Drags Have Been Moved North?


bbakernbay

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Simple question, hopefully we can establish how many Groomers and Drags have in fact been moved north to provide better trails.  I sit here in Kitchener with grass showing in some spots and a quick look at ITG shows solid Red in most of southern Ontario.

 

I have previously posted about the difficulties and cost involved but these issues can be overcome.

 

With MOTS and Districts running Grooming now it is much easier than working Club to Club.

 

The time is winding down to make these decisions.

B62256BD-DE83-487B-BE1F-7E494ED8F8BA.png

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How many are needed?

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Im not being mean or anything like that. I just want to say, that with the lack of snow in the south, and even with this storm coming this week, its still not enough,  i do not want to hear of any club, that has snow, and is grooming, that they are having issues getting either groomers or parts etc.............Period.......

 

The OFSC should have no reason to leave clubs on the fence with this issue. Good on the clubs and volunteers that have shuffled groomers and parts etc. A job well done.

 

 

 

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Good question.  I don’t personally don’t know needs across the north but I do know many northern clubs are working their Groomers very long hours and hard due to huge snow and drifts so I expect breakdowns are a fact of life.  In addition, they are likely getting hit with heavier traffic which results in more grooming hours needed.

 

With MOTS there are definitely less groomers available and spares are not as readily available as previous years.

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We were supposed to get a refurbished Tucker this year, it ended up going north about a month ago because we weren’t grooming , now we have snow and still grooming with old machines!

Last week we had 2 out of 4 broke down, the frustration is overwhelming 

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7 hours ago, bbakernbay said:

Simple question, hopefully we can establish how many Groomers and Drags have in fact been moved north to provide better trails.  I sit here in Kitchener with grass showing in some spots and a quick look at ITG shows solid Red in most of southern Ontario.

 

I have previously posted about the difficulties and cost involved but these issues can be overcome.

 

With MOTS and Districts running Grooming now it is much easier than working Club to Club.

 

The time is winding down to make these decisions.

B62256BD-DE83-487B-BE1F-7E494ED8F8BA.png

Not a simple answer unforetunely. Where do we "The OFSC" deside to pull a groomer from? What criteria justify pulling a groomer other than a breakdown?  I'm sure as heck think sending a few units north would also help some of the clubs snowed in. 

 

Now lets look at the map? Oh we see red, but how much of that red has clubs on standby for some top up snow requiring 10cms to top up the base?  Quite a few that I know of

,surrounding the Georgian bay snowbelt. 

 

Do we float a groomer from the south to help a club that requires a part with a 2 day wait time? 

 

Has the district even called the OFSC for assistance? 

 

One club I know has , thats South Seguin @Wildbillclub. I am sure he will chime in on his latest positive outcome...

 

49 minutes ago, IQ TURBO said:

Im not being mean or anything like that. I just want to say, that with the lack of snow in the south, and even with this storm coming this week, its still not enough,  i do not want to hear of any club, that has snow, and is grooming, that they are having issues getting either groomers or parts etc.............Period.......

 

The OFSC should have no reason to leave clubs on the fence with this issue. Good on the clubs and volunteers that have shuffled groomers and parts etc. A job well done.

 

 

 

I would like to see what your solution would be and what would justify moving /floating a large industrial groomer associated with your statement? Very easy to make statement with no answers to the problem . 

 

 Which club from district 5 or 9 should send them right now? Are those even the districts we pull from? Are there snowbelt clubs there that just need 20cms to groom?

 

Lots of variables. 

 

Im not picking a fight, just trying to get some knowledge out of this?

 

Lots of new machines in the north now...

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40 minutes ago, GTC said:

We were supposed to get a refurbished Tucker this year, it ended up going north about a month ago because we weren’t grooming , now we have snow and still grooming with old machines!

Last week we had 2 out of 4 broke down, the frustration is overwhelming 

Perth- Snow Road- That is a great area - been there a few times - and your club works hard and a great club house.

pic10.jpg.23b2ef30c6d1c31d034d6d0ba8393846.jpg

 

 

 

Hope things get better groomer wise.

 

 

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All i am saying yukon, is that clubs that have snow, and are able to groom should have access to groomers and parts period. By now you think this should be a non issue. If we cannot organize grooming activities,  then maybe the Ofsc needs to re think the whole snowmobiling thing....

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23 minutes ago, IQ TURBO said:

All i am saying yukon, is that clubs that have snow, and are able to groom should have access to groomers and parts period. By now you think this should be a non issue. If we cannot organize grooming activities,  then maybe the Ofsc needs to re think the whole snowmobiling thing....

Gotcha. Do you know the ofsc has a fleet manager now? Which coordinates these very issues when the districts call for assistance.. The OFSC barrie office isnt expected to coordinate grooming activities. They are expected to come up with solutions when a call for help is brought to their attention. 

 

What many of us see on facebook and what actually happens behind the scenes we dont always here about. Not every club posts when a machine is moved. Which has happened this year. 

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1 hour ago, IQ TURBO said:

Im not being mean or anything like that. I just want to say, that with the lack of snow in the south, and even with this storm coming this week, its still not enough,  i do not want to hear of any club, that has snow, and is grooming, that they are having issues getting either groomers or parts etc.............Period.......

 

The OFSC should have no reason to leave clubs on the fence with this issue. Good on the clubs and volunteers that have shuffled groomers and parts etc. A job well done.

 

 

 

My local trails are closed right now, but will be groomed on Wed. after the storm. I would not be happy if our groomer was shipped anywhere right now. With that being said, the base is still there for the most part and it will take only 10 cm to ride, 20 cm to groom. Now, if the trails are closed, and the 7 day day forecast is for rain and plus 10, then by all means pull a groomer and float it up there. Just be prepared to send it back asap when it is needed.

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8 minutes ago, Yukon Cornelious said:

Gotcha. Do you know the ofsc has a fleet manager now? Which coordinates these very issues when the districts call for assistance.. The OFSC barrie office isnt expected to coordinate grooming activities. They are expected to come up with solutions when a call for help is brought to their attention. 

 

What many of us see on facebook and what actually happens behind the scenes we dont always here about. Not every club posts when a machine is moved. Which has happened this year. 

Then there yah go. Should be a non issue... Fleet manage away....

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14 minutes ago, zoso said:

How about the OPP go in and arrest those natives shutting down grooming on CROWN lands.

 Pretty sure you know the answer to that comment but hell, the OPP wouldn't go in when natives blocked Kings Highway 6 in Caledonia for weeks on end so why would you think they would worry about backwoods crown land.

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Well Tuesday’s forecast snowfall may be what is needed to get some of those Red trails Yellow or even Green, we sure hope so.

 

Certainly the OFSC Fleet Manager has immediate access to every groomer’s hours and time of use via AtlaTrax so that is essential in knowing how hard the northern groomers are working, or not.  Same goes for watching the southern based groomers to see what they are doing.

 

Hopefully the Fleet Manager has developed a lengthy Check List of Items that need to be discussed and agreed to by the parties involved prior to entering into a written Agreement.

 

I can’t imagine moving any Groomer if forecast downtime was 7 days or less and help within the District would be first option.

 

These decisions are not easy but need to be made in the best interests of snowmobiling.

 

 

 

 

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11 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

 Pretty sure you know the answer to that comment but hell, the OPP wouldn't go in when natives blocked Kings Highway 6 in Caledonia for weeks on end so why would you think they would worry about backwoods crown land.

Different situation. In Caledonia, the natives were in the right.

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1 hour ago, slomo said:

Perth- Snow Road- That is a great area - been there a few times - and your club works hard and a great club house.

pic10.jpg.23b2ef30c6d1c31d034d6d0ba8393846.jpg

 

 

 

Hope things get better groomer wise.

 

 

Thanks for the compliment, we don’t get a lot lately, and all 4 are up and running thanks to our volunteers 

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4 minutes ago, bbakernbay said:

Well Tuesday’s forecast snowfall may be what is needed to get some of those Red trails Yellow or even Green, we sure hope so.

 

Certainly the OFSC Fleet Manager has immediate access to every groomer’s hours and time of use via AtlaTrax so that is essential in knowing how hard the northern groomers are working, or not.  Same goes for watching the southern based groomers to see what they are doing.

 

Hopefully the Fleet Manager has developed a lengthy Check List of Items that need to be discussed and agreed to by the parties involved prior to entering into a written Agreement.

 

I can’t imagine moving any Groomer if forecast downtime was 7 days or less and help within the District would be first option.

 

These decisions are not easy but need to be made in the best interests of snowmobiling.

 

 

 

 

Agreed Brian. One additional comment. We can't expect the OFSC Fleet Manager to do anything unless the appropriate District has communicated a need to said Fleet Manager. Am I correct in thinking it is a competent young lady that has the Fleet Manager position at the OFSC?

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2 minutes ago, zoso said:

Different situation. In Caledonia, the natives were in the right.

Not to be allowed to block a public highway they weren't.

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3 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Not to be allowed to block a public highway they weren't.

Land claim was before the courts, and no houses should have been built there. They did what had to be done to put a stop to it. In the end, they were right, the government was wrong.

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It may be a possibility that a District may not want to ask for help as they may choose to retain all the revenue generated by running their groomers to the max.

 

I am not certain but I would expect the lending District would retain all or most of the revenue depending on who pays fuel and Operators..

 

Perhaps others could offer their insight into these Agreements.

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2 minutes ago, bbakernbay said:

It may be a possibility that a District may not want to ask for help as they may choose to retain all the revenue generated by running their groomers to the max.

 

I am not certain but I would expect the lending District would retain all or most of the revenue depending on who pays fuel and Operators..

 

Perhaps others could offer their insight into these Agreements.

Not sure how this is set up. But I do think there should be clear rules in how the revenues are shared, and how damage is paid for. I bet a club would be very upset to hve a groomer shipped north, then have it break down and they need it. The entire situation needs to be very clearly defined before any groomer moves anywhere.

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40 minutes ago, zoso said:

Land claim was before the courts, and no houses should have been built there. They did what had to be done to put a stop to it. In the end, they were right, the government was wrong.

You and I both know that given similar circumstances and non-natives blocking the highway, it would have been opened back up within 2 hours.

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