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This is from the OFSC F/B page. Check out District 2: Drumroll please! The Safe Snowmobiling Ambassador award is presented to an individual, or group of individuals, in recognition of outstanding achievement and contribution to the overall safety of organized snowmobiling through one or more of the following areas: Promotion, Education and/or Partnerships. District winners are: * District 1 – Denis Vanier, Eastern Ontario Snowmobile Club * District 2 – Kris Roenigk, Paudash Trail Blazers Snowmobile Club * District 4 – Steve Hutton, Orangeville & District Snowmobile Club * District 6 – Rod and Jane Smith, Peterson Pathfinders Snowmobile Club * District 7 – Steven Barnstaple, Algonquin Snowmobile Club * District 9 – Mark Kraemer, Fergus Elora Belwood Snowmobile Club * District 10 – Eric Kalbe, Six Star Snow Riders * District 11 – Norman Guenard, Near North Snowdrifters Inc * District 13 – Kevin Ibbitson, St. Joseph Island Voyageurs Snowmobile Club * District 14 – Yvan Derry, Timmins Snowmobile Club * District 15 – Robert Richard, Arctic Riders Snow Club – Smooth Rock Falls * District 17 – Kim Cross, Atikokan Sno-Ho Snowmobile Club #VolunteerRecognition Biteharder

Sons VR1 picked up today from dealer - mine is still MIA (850 XCR)……”January” ship date, if that means anything. I may have to take his Up north for a couple of days next week, as he can’t get school time off!

Just picked up my Rene X 850 - first new Iron in my life. Can't wait to turn this beast loose. BTW, machine was manufactured in September, has been sitting at dealer since early Oct. Gauge was missing, came in last week. Props to everyone at Gateway. Great experience all around...

Just got back with 2022 Indy Evo for my 14 year old. He doesn’t even know I got him one so it’s parked out front for when he gets home off the bus. Decided in the summer to buy this instead of getting an older sled with inflated covid pricing that needed wrenching. $7,500 + HST and there’s 2 younger kids coming right up behind him.

Orillia yesterday. Getting gasoline in Coldwater.

So.....I finally had the time to stop into my dealer to inquire with an update on my new ride with the expectation to receive a date on estimated delivery and go from there, however, when my sales guy tells me I think your sled is here & done because I have parts from it sitting on my desk with your name n it (from glove box install), I was totally shocked. So we go for a walk around the dealership in search of it, no luck. Look a little harder and low and behold it is sitting in the other corner with my name on and a sign asking people to stay off - unit is sold! Two things are missing - the operational DESS and my 1+1 seat. Info dealer has is DESS will be next year.....1+1 seat late Jan/early Feb, so we see what happens, but things could be much worse. Just snapped one picture, will take some more when she is home, later this week hopefully. Turned into a great Monday!!!

A few years back our group 4 of us came across a good sized tree blocking the trail . As we struggled to move it ,enough to get by , 2 other guys pull up behind us . They crack open the Red Bulls and watch . We get our sleds past and put the tree back across the trail . I know it was a prick move , but felt right at the time .

Was just getting ready for bed when I got a call saying that a groomer had broken down on C trail north. Our operations manager said the groomer was still running but couldn't move due to a hydraulic leak and the operator was stranded. With it being -30 and the operator alone and stranded it was go time. Made a call to another club member to assist me, didn't want to go alone. By the time I got the trailer and sleds loaded it was midnight and still -30. For those that know C trail north he was stranded at the outhouse. By the time I got home it was 3:30 and frozen.

Had to find this !!! Look at the smile.

Got out today, probably earliest start to the season.

Better late than never! Picked up the 850 this am. hopefully heading north later this week! have to put higher windshield and mirrors on when home. Dealer back ordered on tunnel protectors and HD rear springs .

Got her home, fully functional short of the DESS system

Sault Ste. Marie - Updates A few photos to go along with the video previously posted. It was a good day north of the City. Plenty of snow.

Spoke with our Dealer this am and my XCR shipped last week and Mrs Nunz's sled has shipped as well so hoping we see them in the next couple of weeks. Once they arrive will start booking trips for February and March.

Picked up Mr. Giddy's new ride today....he is wondering WTF happened to all the snow! it's +17c out there, there was 18" on the ground here last week! Just glad we were fortunate to get ours before Christmas! Giddy UP!

I met Gary back in 2009. I was the volunteer coordinator for the club in Port Severn, Baxter Snow Riders at the time. He joined the club and became trail patroller. After a few short years there was a change in the club executive, he joined us as club Secretary, along with Canuck as treasurer and myself as Vice President. Gary was very passionate about anything he was involved in, encouraged safe riding,Volunteerism and even started club and group organised rides.. Volunteered at the Powersports shows for the district 7 booth. For those who have met him, knew the type of person he was.. He passed on Wednesday, shocking to say the least.. My condolences to his wife Susan, family/friends and fellow volunteers. He will be missed by many.. Paul

Thanks for posting this, STG...you beat me to it. Kudos to revrnd (Kris) for having this sign made and bringing it along on our current NCDN trip so we could post it in SJ's memory on his favourite trail. I was privileged to be part of the installation process. As I remarked on FB, no doubt Dave is smiling down on this from above.

Mrs Nunz sled is at the dealer, picking it up by the weekend, Mine is still in transit.

So glad we are starting to see some Yellow in Southern Ontario. I am privileged to be able to ride from home in two places usually. I live in Kearney as well as have a place in Victoria Harbour 50/50 - and usually one of those two places is one of the first to open south of Cochrane! This year it happens to be in the latter - so - with the Orillia Club and Georgian Bay clubs working so hard to get things open - Hats off to them for all the great work they have done to be ready as quickly as they were this week.....- we FINALLY saw some Yellow on the trails today! GIDDY UP! Mr. Giddy got to check out his new ride - which he is impressed with btw...and I got to check out my new Oxygen Helmet - in love! Not many kms - but enough to take the itch off! Vic Harbour to Orillia and back. Only 100kms...but .....better than the 0 kms we have done so far this season! The trail had been freshly groomed looks like yesterday - with a nice couple of inches of fresh snow on top to make it a sweet ride! We started out and I would say on par with 9/10 most of the way - especially for early season riding! We jumped on Hoggs Bay at Victoria Harbour over to the "Hole in the Wall" and onto C towards Coldwater then onto the "Utoff trail rail bed" or C106B all the way to Lake Couchiching! The ride back was starting to warm up and after Coldwater getting soft and corners were getting bared off....parts of C trail after Wab towards Midland were getting bare and there is a HUGE open water slush hole to get onto Hoggs Bay from the Hole in the Wall to get back to the Harbour on our return. No pic of big water/slush hole as my thumb was on the throttle - sorry...LOL So we did a bit of "puddle jumping" I guess....(although it is fairly shallow there anyway - but sure didn't want to end up in the drink on our first trip out this season - not a good start)! 😁 We definitely could use more snow, even after the good dumping that we got the other day!. Just keep snow dancing folks ! I think you will see more Yellow trails later in the week - not to be confused with "yellow snow" Ride safe!

Did the run up to Halfway Haven on Friday. We didn't get in till late and decided to stay the night, instead of ride home in the dark. I think we were the first overnight customers of the year. Darrel, Rory, Kim and Dee were great hosts, and we got a good education on what it takes to run this place. Please support them if you can.

Sault Ste. Marie - Updates We did well in the past 2 days for fresh snow. One more day of storms and we should see possible sunshine by Tuesday. Total accumulations should be in the 40 cm range over a 3 day period. Great for skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers.

Called the dealer last week about my REN X, He said it was in. Assy this week, pick-up next week. (Forgot to ask how much was missing!) Called today to get an update, and determine how much Scotch to drink tonight, missing parts- lots of Scotch, complete - lots of Scotch . He just finished putting it together, only missing part is the DESS chip. Pick-up next week. Lots of Scotch!!! REN X, 1.5 Ice, Standard display, Remote Adjust. SN is 16. they installed the Block heater, Linq Q and USB outlet. Eastern On Dealer

I had the honour of volunteering with Gary at Baxter Snow Riders. As Yukon mentioned, we were new members on the executive and there were some incredible initiatives. Gary was front and centre - communication (numerous mailouts throughout the year); participation at fundraisers; board duties; organizing trips with neighbouring clubs (Snocrest Riders). A groomer storage facility was built through the team's endeavors and the concerts in Port Severn raised funds for the Barrie hospital. Gary's participation on that team was instrumental. Organized, methodical and willing to share both his thoughts and opinions. You left every meeting with Gary knowing a bit more than when you walked in. Thanks for sharing, Gary.

We were in the Elliot Lake area today. They received much needed snow in the past week and winter is looking much better. Today's outdoor activities included a series of bush routes and cross-country.

Just got back from 5 days in New Liskeard, Good dumping of snow on Tuesday, Was a challenge riding on Wednesday till the groomers got out, was a great week exploring the area.

Same here.

We are in business

Best run today from north end of lake saint Jean to just south of mont-valin. some pictures from today.

Did an interview with Ctv news yesterday, take a watch. https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?cid=sm%3Atrueanthem%3Actvbarrie%3Apost&clipId=2367618&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0O_fAT5aotMPwsYNFL4zorOINj_NwRRUDAKSoxAEykoOLNrbdAwwdP9hU

My 2022 Renegade XRS 850 is sitting at the dealer, ready for pick up. Apparently the smart shoxx are fully functional. The only unfinished item is the DESS tether. Now to find the nearest snow.

I got out for an hour or two while the snow is still here.

And it’s home. Only missing part is the DESS.

Had another wonderful day riding with my 14 year old buddy. Trialed up to New liskeard , after Harveys and stop into Walmart for some snacks , and finally on the trail heading north at 1:51pm. Late start with time change also it seems! little bumpy on river , open fields great up to Englehart. A108 not the greatest into Kirkland. Slow and bumpy. 😪 North of Kirkland A great.👍 stopped in for Chinese dinner at the small little resultant in matheson , back onto the trail 7pm. made it to gas in Cochrane 9:06pm. 321 km to the hotel. spend a fair bit of time exploring down some of the hydro lines (as free trail turns off) and tons of wheelies in the powder . Son love playing in the softer stuff. the Best Western swan hotel sure is a step up from the Chimo and Thriftlodge last year when we were up! didn’t see a SINGLE sled last 120km tonight . Off to Hearst and back tomorrow . Leaving gear in hotel for for the day so lighter to play around !

Warming hut on Chic Choc trail between Murdochville and LaCache Warming hit trail 587S 5 day loop we did averaging approx 220km per day. This distance worked out perfect for our wives that both ride their own machines. When doing Gaspe with the guys we usually aim for 300-350 km per day. Because of the great topography and winding trails a lot of it is not fast riding. Don’t make the miles per day you can do in lots of the other areas of Quebec.

Elliot Lake Snowmobiling Some photos from today's snowmobile trip to Elliot Lake. We did our good deed and assisted a Senior's couple who had gotten their Toyota RAV stuck on the Snowmobile trail in Elliot Lake. We also took a run up to Dunlop Lake Lodge for a Burger and said hello to Randy and Trish. The afternoon continued with a trip to the Horne Lake Cliffs, a rip down Esten Lake and the Elliot Lake Falls. Temperature reached +11. Slush was minimal to none. Photo 1 - SUV on Trail Photo 2 - Elliot Lake View from the Powerline Lookout Photo 3 - Horne Lake Cliffs in Elliot Lake

My buddy Paul called me on Sat wondering if I could go on Sunday for a quick ride to Quebec. I reminded him that I sold my 22 600XRS last week and had no sled. He was pretty quick to say that he knew that and he was offering me his spare 2019 Backcountry 850 to ride for a few days. We drove up to Ville Marie on Sunday and checked into the Motel Louise. We were the only sledders staying there last night. We hit the trails this am and headed towards Amos. Trails haven’t been groomed in a bit but have very little traffic. We rode 320kms today and met less than 20 sleds. We are checked into the Amosphere tonight. There are a few sleds but it’s pretty dead. Heading towards Rouyn tomorrow.

Got the call today, Mach will arrive complete short of DESS post and I should have it end of next week, fingers crossed!

Just got off the phone the adjuster. Settled with them. Done - cheque in the mail. I am quite satisfied with the service and price offered. I will continue to deal with Desjardins and will recommend them to friends.

Today, Chad and I trailered to Black Creek Outfitters (Aubrey Falls) on the Chapleau highway 129 in Northern Ontario and we had the opportunity to meet the new owners of Black Creek Outfitters. They are very nice folks with incredible enthusiasm about supporting snowmobiling. They were happy to see snowmobilers arriving at their door today and provided coffee and a nice warm lunch. Snow depth ranged from 14" on the west side of highway 129 down the D106 trail, and 8" down the Kindiogami on the Elliot Lake F trail. Basically, the closer we went to Elliot Lake, the less snow there was. The closer we went towards Sault Ste. Marie, the snow kept getting deeper. Chad and I broke up the day with a variety of riding including some cross-country down the powerline from Black Creek Road to Seymour Lake, then shot out to highway 129 and grabbed the west 129 trail where we hit some deep powder back to Black Creek Outfitters. It was a good day.

A month later............ Got a call from my dealer and my sled is in. They have not opened the crate yet to be sure all parts are there, but will let me know in the next couple of days. I am hoping it is a complete unit, Time will tell.

Looks like the season is getting underway in the NCDN..

Belated Merry Christmas. I hope everyone got some sled stuff from Santa.

I actually purchased Gary’s El Tigre 7000 for a Christmas present for my wife. Bought it because still can’t find a secondary clutch for “Iggy”, har old favorite Crossfire with electric start. (That, and I was really looking for an excuse to buy a four stroke to try out) Gary would be happy to see it has gone to a good home for stray cats. It should be comfortable in the Cat cave with these guys. We have owned about 25 different sleds over the years. First four stroke short of a 120. I hope Gary is smiling down when he sees my wife tearing it up on his old sled. I have a feeling it is finally going get broken in this season.😋 RIP Gary.

Some photos from yesterday's Snowmobile Trip north of Sault Ste. Marie. Sledders were out-and-about enjoying the day and it was nice to see friends we haven't seen in awhile. There is excellent snow-depth averaging 55 cms in the higher elevations.. We visited an old Abandoned Mine at the 1900' level. It was a good day. Yesterday's Video

Snow-depth is good north of Sault Ste. Marie. On average, we were in about 16" of snow (40 cms) in the snowbelt area on Sunday. A good start to a traditional winter.

Congratulations Revrnd! Well deserved recognition for a year around volunteer.

Some more pictures of some work I have done on my own property to improve the top e102. Brushed back on average 5ft on both sides of trail

Well despite what I have said in another post that I have had enough, well my wife hasn't. She ordered a xc 650 first of March last year ,her last email was maybe the end of March this year . She received a text email and call Thursday at work from blacks corners in carlton place. No her sled was not in but someone backed out on a vr1 650 same colour same options plus more . Needless to say it came home Saturday with 30 miles Saturday and 115 Sunday. Only problem is all I have got to do is back it off the trailer and pay for and put fuel in.

Some things to ponder within the scope of some of what's been discussed in this thread. The me me me generation is only getting worse, respect for one another for the most part is gone, not just in sledding. Everyone got a trophy whether they put forth an effort or not, so here we are ........... 30,000 km of trail in the province each trail with multiple access points - if trail closed signs were put up and removed at every access point each time a trail opened and closed throughout the season what would cost of the signs and logistics be, and how many volunteer hours would it take each time ? Also what kind of liabilities would it open if the odd sign here and there was missed if this was the standard practice ? Mid to late 40's Ted and Alice just want to help their community and volunteer with their local sled club because it's their way of giving back through something they enjoy in their spare time. How much training and legal protection can you feasibly give to them to be effect Trail Patrol, and most importantly at the same time keep them from harms way ? Last season a group of 6 of us were trailside on a rail trail at an open area at a road crossing, checking permits and chatting with riders that stopped because they wanted to stop and chat. 90% of the riders were totally awesome just out riding and enjoying the day, posing for pic's for the clubs FB page, and also taking pic's themselves, very receptive to us being out there. We also helped a couple with a mechanical problem and saved their day. After about an hour or so a group of 4 guys came up upon us at an overly high rate of speed fast enough that their stopping was uncontrolled, almost clipping some of us and others pulled well off the trail. When we and some of the others that were at the stop tried to confront them while they made their stop at the road crossing, they were belligerent and extremely aggressive, one guy actually got off his sled and starting flexing and chirping off to everyone there. Pic's were taken and OPP were called and description and reg numbers were given, there was a snow unit out in the area, but never heard back from them, so figure they never saw them. This wasn't the first time something like this has happened to our group. I like most other volunteers I just want to ride and volunteer to make sure we have trails and to help better my community. I deal with aggressive scumbags at work all the time and have a decent amount of confrontation de-escalation, self defense and tactical training, and I honestly no longer feel safe out there doing trail patrol in the bush with sketchy cell service, and certainly don't want to have to deal with that crap while volunteering. I don't know the solution, but do feel the only thing that will save this sport (and mankind in general) is a shift in the attitude of the select ME ME ME few. No matter how much the fines are, or if the OPP put 10-20x the amount of man power out there it will never be enough to stop the self entitled a-hos. Change has to come within the sport, like Zozo said, people have to stop doing things like riding with people with unpermitted sleds. Also take it a few steps further, not riding with people that ride with cans, or riders riding beyond their talent.... ect