SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 01/21
1/21/25 Good morning everyone! It’s a chilly one here today at -6 with a -17 windchill🥶
Our operators have been out all hours to make things as good as can be for all of you.
Here’s Steve’s report from his (and others!) run down 49 to Kinross last night.
“Last night we made the run from the Soo to Kinross on Trail 49. With the recent cold weather we were able to safely make it through the swamp south of 12 Mile and stay on top of the ice. Last night’s run was a team effort with many club members involved. The run takes five hours if everything goes perfect. We decided to spend some time on the courtesy trail to Chippewa Motors again before leaving town. We also wanted to swap out groomers in Kinross and bring one back to the barn for normal maintenance. These added tasks make for a long night.
Thankfully, we have a great group of volunteers who work great together.
The courtesy trail is a tricky stretch until we get the trail set. We have had some confusion with where exactly the trail should be. We were able to set the edges again last night. Thank you to Groomer Nathan for starting the run early and following the map we provided to Chippewa Motors. He made it through fine and only pushed up water in one spot.
I then took control of the groomer and headed south towards Kinross. Had a wiper fall off just south of town. I made a temporary repair and it stayed on for another six miles. It then fell off again and I ran over it with the groomer. I did retrieve it but I am not sure it can be saved.
I made my way to Kinross and worked my way to the groomer staged down there. Thank you to Groomer Lane who followed me on Groomer Tracker and met me when I got there. He had the groomer warmed up and ready to go for me. Temperature was right around zero and it is much appreciated.
I made my way north and met groomer Dennis at Walmart where he made the last hour or so of the run.
Including our Trail Boss Mike who coordinated the run, there were five volunteers who made this one trip happen. It is nice to share once in a while what happens in the background on a regular basis keeping our trails maintained.
Overall, I was happy with how the trails turned out. It was so cold the snow was chunky and hard to work with. I knocked down the bumps and leveled out the drifts that formed over the weekend. From the Soo to 10 Mile, there was plenty of new snow to work with. It thins out the further south we go.
I hit heavy snow squalls on the return trip. Not sure if it accumulated but it certainly reduced visibility.
The trail is still in great shape in my opinion. Hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy it.
Steve Lawson”
Thank you to all involved!
Stay warm if you head out. Be sure to be prepared for a breakdown and don’t ride alone in this bitter cold. Please download the what3words app in case of an emergency to help first responders locate you.
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SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/30/26 Hello everyone! It’s 41 degrees here in the Soo today with warm sunshine. The melt is definitely on. It’s heard to believe that we were still grooming as of yesterday! What a season! The Tucker that sits in Kinross was brought back to the Soo barn yesterday, and the Pisten Bully just came in to the Soo barn this morning from Raco. It’s so bittersweet as we have SO MUCH snow still on the trails, but our operators deserve some well earned rest, and all good things must come to an end. Tonight, we’re holding our groomer appreciation dinner and I’ll get some pics and maybe some Q & A with some of our operators for you about this season. Once I have all of the March paperwork completed, I’ll also share some stats from the season. We’ll be getting gates closed after the 31st, and some are still really buried in snow, so please know where you are riding after 3/31 and stay off of private property. Trails on state and federal lands do not close but will not be groomed. Be safe if you still choose to ride and be alert to rapidly changing conditions such as water holes opening up. It’s going to be one heck of a mud season this year! As of today, we still have 30” of snow on the ground, with a trail base of over 2’ in many areas🤯 Thank you to all who visited our area, rode our trail system, supported our local businesses, donated to or joined our club, who follow us on Groomer Tracker and here on Facebook, the DNR for finding additional grooming dollars to get us through March, our incredible volunteers and members, and most importantly, the AMAZING landowners who allow us to have the wonderful trail system that we have! Best season ever!!! ❄️❄️❄️ PS- there’s rumor of a big snowstorm late this week😅😂 #soo #soo0330#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
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SAULT STE. MARIE AREA UPDATE via Sault Ste. Marie Snowmobile Association >> 3/28/26 Good evening!! It was Turbo and Diane’s last run for the season on 889. And they made it a double due to someone thinking they could drive a truck on the trail😔 Here’s what they had to say- “This morning was a little bittersweet, as it was our last groom of the season on trails 480, 8 and 889. I really appreciate what Groomer Mark left for me this morning. The trails were nice and flat and smooth. They need very little to touch them up. Honestly, I believe these trails today are better than they were mid-season. It's really a shame that the season ends April 1st. It snowed the whole time. We got about 4" of new snow. This was our first groom this whole season, where I left a perfect ribbon from start to finish. Not one sled track the whole way. So about 6pm tonight we were driving down Plantation road because Mrs. Turbo saw an eagles nest along the courtesy trail to Bay Mills this morning, and we saw a rescue vehicle sitting on the road just past the beginning of trail 889. So we stopped and waited for the rubber tracked skid loader pulling out a pick up truck. I asked him what they were doing driving on the trail and he said they were going to the Mission Hill overlook. I asked him how bad he tore up the trail getting stuck, and he said it was pretty bad. He tried to turn around and ended up getting stuck. I believe he could have driven the whole trail and been fine. The trails are so hard packed, we couldn't hardly see any tire tracks. So Mrs. Turbo and I went home and got our grooming clothes on and went back out to go fix it. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as he told us it was. As beautiful as the trails were this morning, we must have had a lot of traffic today, because it was pretty tore up. So, it was actually a good thing we went out. We saw many sleds. All in all, it was a pretty good day. We hope everyone had a great day of riding. Enjoy, these last few days of the season. Remember, ride right, ride safe and ride sober. Turbo” Thank you so much for your extra efforts today, and all season!! Beautiful job!!❄️❄️❄️ #soo #soo0328b#snowphotos... See MoreSee Less
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