Leaderboard

Yah baby. ... Cannot wait for the 2 '22 900 Turbo R's to show up...

All I can say if numbers were sky high like some riders think they are ofsc would publish numbers. They did just that first year we had early early permits put into place. If you go to Costco and buy a membership, do they tell how many memberships were sold that year?

The regular permit buyer should clearly be informed. It’s no wonder the rumours fly around about who gets paid to groom or free sleds for people. Or whatever. https://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-statistics-and-facts.html Snowmobiling is a big business and the revenues generated by permit sales should be clearly explained to the permit purchasers. How many of the 43,000sleds sold in 2020 were in Ontario? How many new sleds sold in 2021? How many ordered in Ontario in 2022?

I think the peak permit sales that I recall seeing was 120,000 (in the 90s?). I think in recent years it's hovered around 90,000.

True enough. Still it's no secret. Should be published by ofsc once a year to all permit holders.

The projects taking place always come first as does the economic engines of the areas. They have left roads and bridges that were easily utilized by the trail system, but as ski points out are taken back as needed without debate. Some modifications also seem to be removed or destroyed in the name of the ecosystem or to remove possible liabilities of use. The wood rights went back to Hornepayne and there have been multiple road building projects to access the wood resources north of Dub. The roads run from Dub and can connect logging to the mills in the west and all the way up to Hearst not just Hornepayne. Someday these routes may be available, but if used will be taken back when needed by industry. The gold mining around Dub has boomed and is also taking back the use of roads used for trails. There was some re-routes worked on, but never needed or opened up. There were new trail sections opened, but not really finished to the point that lower snowfall amounts could make them usable. without the snow, the trails were bypassed back to roadside sections destroyed by plows well before the ice fishing season was finished. Railroad crossing access is always maintained first. It will be a trying season if the covid thing stops. The weather and covid masked the problems with maintaining the D108A last season, but the interactions with logging are not fixed yet. A dedicated trail is needed as the old 100 mile loop has been taken back and expanded on both sides by logging. Short term there may be a sharing plan, but often loggers decide to wipe away and close trails at the worst times of the season. Halfway closing is a huge hit to touring riders starting from SSM and will put more pressure on D trail and the old F trail connected areas. This will just push the more dedicated to head to Quebec as opportunities for connected touring are lost. As the drive/trailering I need to make is pushed from 6 hours to 12 hours, I can go east and make fewer but longer trips in Quebec. The exception is when weather cooperates and the Soo to Sudbury has good conditions, but often this is not the case.

White River doesnt even have a club at all. Craig Colbourne of the Marathon club, is the driving force in the area to get these trails back up, connected and running. the marathon club opened, groomed, maintained trail from marathon, to Dubreuilville's turn around with White River, with only help from Jeremy and Cynthia at the Fishing moose lodge on Hammer lake (the former H&C lodge on hwy 17). that has been in place for several years but, logging, time, manpower, funds, prevent it from opening up regularly. this year, he and his group of volunteers in Manitouwadge opened the trail from Mani, to the hwy 17 corridor to connect back to marathon. only to have the new Hydro corridor updates, stop the trail from really opening to white river. to get any of this opened further, you will need white river to get a solid group of people to commit time, and effort, and re-organize as a club. you will need hornepayne, and longlac/greenstone, to want to connect, and then lastly... they will need commitment of ofsc and districts, funding, and riders to utilize these links, loops, and patronize only businesses that support, fund, volunteer to keep and maintain these links. the majority of the locals will never leave their town, beyond about 25-50km, and when they do, it is to access camps, and fishing, not to travel between towns, for recreation. they will utilize organized trails when they are opened but, could give 2 shits, if the trails are in or not. the biggest hurdle is the distance between towns, and the limits on grooming equipment in the area. it would be nice to have a groomer at white river, at mani, at caramat etc... but, permits, money, and volunteers dont allow for this. with halfway closing, I would venture to guess, just like in the years before shawn arrived at halfway, that trail will close. no fuel to make it from wawa to chapleau, or searchmont to chapleau, let alone aubrey falls to chapleau. and I am just talking about sleds, not the groomers themselves. now you have no resting place, no fueling available, no easy place to swap out drivers. just like pre-shawn, there will be lots of dead ends on the system, in this region. and for those of you that dont know, with the mining, and logging operations going on, and the fully opening of the road bridge over the big Kabi river between hornepayne and Dubreuilville, and the subsequent opening of a road system from Dub to Hearst, and Dub to White river, not to mention the 2-3 new gold mines on the south F, D trail between Dub, and Wawa, that has now reclaimed the road (road 48), as a second route to the mines, for emergency vehicles, and mine traffic, the Dub club are and will be in a bad position, with no dedicated trail, to avoid these roads like Hornepayne has had in place for decades. utilizing roads is easy but, comes at a price, and the next few years are going to really show this, in this region. In my honest and humble opinion, there needs to be a permanent trail to avoid these roads and keep these trails, links active. the manpower and funding required to build these new trails will be a huge investment in funding up front but, the system would have an undeniable permanent solution... as long as the clubs and chief groomers stay on the permanent trail, v.s wanting to go the easy route, and groom the road, that may or may not be plowed, to dirt, during the season. this has been the problem in Dubreuilville since the start of the ofsc system. Ski

1. Permit upgrades are permitted after December 1 in the same season only and allow for credits of amounts paid against the purchase of a higher valued permit in the following circumstances: a. The upgrade by the same registered owner of a Classic permit to a Seasonal permit. b. The upgrade of the most recently purchased multi-day permit to a full season permit by the same registered owner on the same snowmobile to a maximum of the value of the new permit. Contact permits@ofsc.on.ca for the exact process. Note that if you have purchased multiple multi-day passes you only get credit for the most recent purchase. Example, you purchased a 5 day permit on Dec 2nd ($225) and then a 2 day permit on Dec 26th($90). You will only get credit for $90.00 on the purchase on a full season permit.