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Snowmobile Trail Closures and Problems


Turbo Doo

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1 minute ago, Panther340 said:

Now use that same arguement for ski hills......except ski hills ( despite it being excercise)  were told to close because it involves people traveling to location. ........I think sadly the writing is on the wall for OFSC trails. 

I skied two days at Blue over Christmas (24/25) and sledded up north in Cochrane for four days after that over this past Christmas holidays.

 

I could honestly say skiing and village was crazy, even though masks, etc. just a lot of people.



Up north, for 4 days of 1300 km sledding I interacted with almost no one except check in at motel (masks and plexiglass) and Tim’s drive thru (plexiglass) and Guys at Abitibi canyon had masks on (and I helmet) and purchased gas out of gas cans there (meter was down)


 

last Saturday I trailered our sleds to Durham to sled 300km for the day and again interacted with no one (except son) and getting a coffee from Tim’s in the am (went in store with mask and them masks/plexiglass - to pick up , as had trailer)

 

so I can totally see the difference in skiing and sledding.

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, ecarnell said:

So if skating rinks (and I suspect Zamboni’s will be running?) are open and limited to 25 people - would groomers not also be operating to maintain trails as snowmobiling is approved activity?

 

asking for a friend.

 

Until they release the official document sometime later today spelling out the specifics, nobody will really know, and at that point, decisions can and will be made.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, ecarnell said:

I skied two days at Blue over Christmas (24/25) and sledded up north in Cochrane for four days after that over this past Christmas holidays.

 

I could honestly say skiing and village was crazy, even though masks, etc. just a lot of people.



Up north, for 4 days of 1300 km sledding I interacted with almost no one except check in at motel (masks and plexiglass) and Tim’s drive thru (plexiglass) and Guys at Abitibi canyon had masks on (and I helmet) and purchased gas out of gas cans there (meter was down)


 

last Saturday I trailered our sleds to Durham to sled 300km for the day and again interacted with no one (except son) and getting a coffee from Tim’s in the am (went in store with mask and them masks/plexiglass - to pick up , as had trailer)

 

so I can totally see the difference in skiing and sledding.

 

 

 

Your right so basically the same as a Costco or Walmart.....except Doug Fords comments about skiing was the travelling aspect a few days ago. Also I have seen on various local online media the publics frenzied reaction to outsiders vehicles etc. Eg a fella from GTA was ice fishing on Lake Nippissing ( North bay) and caught a huge record  fish last week that then the online media did a good news story about......except it backfired, instead the hundreds of online hatefilled reactions all related  to that couple travelling to north from risky GTA.    Sad state of affairs unfortunately, but Covid has divided and raised up biases and hates unheard of in past societies. ....and Politicians dare not lose a demographic's vote. 

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32 minutes ago, Panther340 said:

Now use that same arguement for ski hills......except ski hills ( despite it being excercise)  were told to close because it involves people traveling to location. ........I think sadly the writing is on the wall for OFSC trails. 

The bottom of Mount St. Louis Moonstone just before they closed sure didn't look like anyone was social distancing or following mask policies.

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23 minutes ago, Panther340 said:

Your right so basically the same as a Costco or Walmart.....except Doug Fords comments about skiing was the travelling aspect a few days ago. Also I have seen on various local online media the publics frenzied reaction to outsiders vehicles etc. Eg a fella from GTA was ice fishing on Lake Nippissing ( North bay) and caught a huge record  fish last week that then the online media did a good news story about......except it backfired, instead the hundreds of online hatefilled reactions all related  to that couple travelling to north from risky GTA.    Sad state of affairs unfortunately, but Covid has divided and raised up biases and hates unheard of in past societies. ....and Politicians dare not lose a demographic's vote. 

Reading and seeing this stuff is just nuts....it is over the top crazy how society is getting so much worse, this fast over this whole thing.

 

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27 minutes ago, 02Sled said:

The bottom of Mount St. Louis Moonstone just before they closed sure didn't look like anyone was social distancing or following mask policies.

Your right.... sadly besides ignoring travel concerns, that primarily young demographic has been seen to be ignoring mask and social distancing too and putting old folks like me at risk.

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28 minutes ago, stoney said:

Reading and seeing this stuff is just nuts....it is over the top crazy how society is getting so much worse, this fast over this whole thing.

 

Yup, and really, in all fairness, everyone's "opinion" on it,  depends entirely on what oar you're holding in the same boat.

 

I remember just before school started, my neighbors , in their early 70's - aside from my own parents, nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, have their young grandson living with them full-time - along with their son - who has custody and goes to work everyday.

 

the Mrs. asked me if I was sending my kids to school and what my thoughts were.

 

It was hard to answer,  but I told her, for my situation, knowing what I know, my worry factor was 0 for me and the kids - the kids were going to school with zero hesitation about it.

In the same breath, I told her, being honest, if I was her, or if I was in a situation that my elderly parents watch my kids everyday, I would probably be singing a different tune and be thinking differently.

 

Its impossible to find common ground on anything involving 14 million people.

 

You have to make the best decisions you can for yourselves.

 

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Ofsc just posted on their News link that so far still open,  and grooming possible  except reccomend stay in your health region. So looks up beat.  As of 6pm Jan 13th. 

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Jan-13-Release-COVID-Update.png

No Change For OFSC Snowmobile Trails At This Time

Posted on 13 Jan 2021 | by OFSC

Based On Info Available as of January 13 at 6 PM

On January 12th, 2021, the Province of Ontario announced a second province-wide State-of-Emergency and a new Stay At Home Order. The Order, which has come as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, will take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, January 14th and will last at least 28 days.

The OFSC has been in close communication with government officials to seek additional clarity regarding these changes and at this date and time, we can confirm that snowmobile trails and grooming operations are allowable across the province as they have been since the last shutdown began on December 26, 2020.

As stated in Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, Ontario Regulation 82/20 dated January 11, 2021, in Schedule 3, clause 4. (2):  “The following outdoor recreational amenities may open if they are in compliance with subsection (3)” with the permitted uses listed in subsection 16 as “Snowmobile, cross country ski, dogsledding, ice skating and snow shoe trails”. As of this date, snowmobiling is a permitted recreational activity, provided that the participants comply with all other provincial and local public health unit directives.

This means that snowmobilers with valid trail permits are permitted to access any available (GREEN) or limited availability (YELLOW) trails at this time, but in doing so, must remember that the Province is not recommending travel from one public health region to another. However, as the regulations supporting this announcement have not yet been released, the OFSC cannot yet comment on what legal measures may be enacted to enforce this restriction.

As per the previously released Flex Trail Plan, the OFSC will continue to keep feeder trails between public health regions unavailable (RED) and are urging all snowmobilers to stay close to home, ride with those in your household in groups of 5 or less, and only ride local trails if they become YELLOW or GREEN. For latest trail availability, please check the Interactive Trail Guide.  The OFSC encourages all riders to respect local communities and ride in as self sufficient a manner as possible.

All questions pertaining to provincial legislation and enforcement should be directed to your local law enforcement agency.

The OFSC will continue to share updates as they become available to ensure snowmobilers are informed. Please check our website, Facebook Page and the OFSC newsletter regularly for these updates.


The Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) is a volunteer led, not for profit association that provides the voice for organized snowmobiling in Ontario. OFSC snowmobile trails managed by 200 community based, member clubs generate up to $3.3 billion in economic activity in the province each year.

 
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I'd say the OFSC has done an admirable job of representing the interests of snowmobile clubs.

 

Also an excellent effort by OFSC to keep sledders generally informed, to the extent possible.

 

THANK YOU

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6 minutes ago, Blake G said:

I'd say the OFSC has done an admirable job of representing the interests of snowmobile clubs.

 

Also an excellent effort by OFSC to keep sledders generally informed, to the extent possible.

 

THANK YOU

Agreed!

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This is great news, common sense has to take hold at some point. Going on a day trip on a sled is not an issue. Pack a lunch and stay apart, it is not rocket science

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46 minutes ago, Turbo Tim said:

This is great news, common sense has to take hold at some point. Going on a day trip on a sled is not an issue. Pack a lunch and stay apart, it is not rocket science

 

Indeed.

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1 hour ago, Blake G said:

I'd say the OFSC has done an admirable job of representing the interests of snowmobile clubs.

 

Also an excellent effort by OFSC to keep sledders generally informed, to the extent possible.

 

THANK YOU

100%, amazing job, we are lucky to have the people we do in snowmobiling.

 

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9 hours ago, scottyr said:

Just heard from a good source within the industry that the OFSC is seriously considering closing the trails for 28 days.   A final decision will be made this week. 

 

that is too bad because the locals should not lose that   if you live there and are in the health unit you should be able to ride    just dont post any pics to rub it in  to the trailering guys :poke2:

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in reality they (ofsc) are doing this to avoid setting a precedent this early, by not closing the trails now. knowing if the lock downs & state of emergency rules dont lighten up... they may have no grounds to open back up. then when they cant open up, the ofsc will owe all those that bought permits, discounts on next seasons permits, which more than likely, the organization cant afford. which could effectively end the ofsc, and its role in organized sledding in Ontario, due to financial failure.

 

all we can hope is the light at the end of the tunnel isnt a train. good luck to us all. Ski 

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The OFSC will have bought insurance to cover this.   It wont be coming out of their pocket directly if there is indeed a payout owing.  

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So i read the new regulations and their mandate. 

 

Its states that anyone can travel to their secondary residence if they "intend" not must to stay for less than 24 hours AND participate in another of the following allowable items

 

such as :

exercise from an allowable under the Section 1 order physical activity. So if you have a cottage you can legally go up to snowmobile and come back..........

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43 minutes ago, scottyr said:

The OFSC will have bought insurance to cover this.   It wont be coming out of their pocket directly if there is indeed a payout owing.  

Agreed. As well, I'm sure there will be a considerable amount of funds clawed back from the Districts due to trails not being opened and grooming not being done.

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14 minutes ago, PISTON LAKE CRUISER said:

Agreed. As well, I'm sure there will be a considerable amount of funds clawed back from the Districts due to trails not being opened and grooming not being done.

Ya, like smooth rock......:headbang:

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8 minutes ago, stoney said:

Ya, like smooth rock......:headbang:

It will be interesting to see if Smooth Rock now has "enough snow" since they know the southerners can't come up now. I see the A is open limited on either side of town.

Edited by Blackstar
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We remind riders that the OFSC is about riding trails, not travelling to them, so questions about travel restrictions on trailering away from home or outside your public health region should be directed to local law enforcement agencies as municipalities and public health units across Ontario have the authority to enact local restrictions in addition to provincial legislation.

 

Has anyone confirmed with their local law enforcement or public health unit that’s it’s okay to trailer your snowmobile within your health unit area?

 

The way I read this the OFSC is saying if you can sled from your front door it’s okay, trailering they don’t know and are not committing to finding out

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21 minutes ago, Candubrain said:

We remind riders that the OFSC is about riding trails, not travelling to them, so questions about travel restrictions on trailering away from home or outside your public health region should be directed to local law enforcement agencies as municipalities and public health units across Ontario have the authority to enact local restrictions in addition to provincial legislation.

 

Has anyone confirmed with their local law enforcement or public health unit that’s it’s okay to trailer your snowmobile within your health unit area?

 

The way I read this the OFSC is saying if you can sled from your front door it’s okay, trailering they don’t know and are not committing to finding out

Which is totally fair - it's up to the Government to outline this.

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