Monday, March 5, 2012

Groomers

Let's put all of the events together that happened at the end of last week and into the weekend . We had 6 to 12 inches of new snow on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday the temp hit a high of 34 and only went down to 30 or 31 at night. Early Saturday morning around 1am the temp started to go above freezing and two times during the morning we had R coming from the sky. We hit a high of 42 on Saturday before the temp started to drop and at 5pm we dropped below freezing again. So we had a period of over 24 hours that the temp was at or well above freezing with two R events. It's a two way street, it takes just as long for the snow to freeze back down as it does to thaw it out. So to say that the temp. was below freezing Saturday night correct? Yes. Was the snow on the trails ready to be groomed? No. All the new snow we had gotten just a few days before was soft like mashed potatoes or as someone else called it oatmeal. Something I learned just this winter when I was up at McCauley Mountain about grooming. When they make snow and blow it into a big pile they have to leave it sit for awhile and let the water run out of it before they can groom it. I would think it's the same with the snow on the trails after the R we had on Saturday. A guest the other day said this to me. Just because you put a ice cube tray full of water in the freezer doesn't mean they are ready to use in an hour or two, it takes time.

If you don't see them, it doesn't mean they aren't out there. It can be like finding a needle in a hay stack sometimes. I made a call this morning after seeing all of the posts on here about the groomers. Was the whole fleet out on Saturday or Sunday morning? No. A full crew went out Sunday night when conditions returned and grooming was effective. Saturday and Sunday during the day and Saturday night there was at least one or two out depending on the shift. Where their efforts effective? No. But at least they gave it a try.

There is more to grooming than just running around and pulling the drag. Everything has to be just about right or close to it. If not you're just wasting your time and sometimes doing more damage than good. So for the experts out there that know more about grooming than Old Forge does. Please put in an application for next season and share your knowledge with us. Heck we've only been doing this for the last 40 plus years and I am sure you could teach us something about it.

On another note: One of my long time guests just got back from a trip to Maine and we will talk about that another time. He told me it was great, but allot different.

16 comments:

  1. anybody that went to old forge last weekend with the temps. that were predicted deserves what they got.wake up people,watch the predicted temps. and plan accordingly and for crying out loud quit crying like a little school girl.

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  2. 90% of the snowmobilers out there know nothing about grooming, and trying to teach them is like talking to a wall. Their mindset is they pay for a permit and they should see the groomers out their when they are out riding in all conditions.

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  3. Come on people....We are talking about 80 bucks a sled here>On yesterday's blog, a lot of you acted like that purchased you a Senate seat.

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  4. Why are there signs up that say 24 hour grooming? Don't make us pay for trail passes if you aren't going to groom all three shifts.

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    1. when the temperatures are right, they should be out there all three shifts. I shouldn't have had to write an e-mail and have my friend on hollywood hills call to the information office to have trail 4 groomed by tuesday last week. temperatures were plenty cold enough to have groomed them monday night. terrible grooming schedule this year.

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  5. I was there for the weekend. The groomers were out and doing the best they could. Friday was the best...Saturday morning after the rain wasnt bad but when the temps went up, it was time to get off the trails. It was a good year...just shy of 1400 miles all in the OF area. Kudos to the groomers who made that happen. They did the best they could with what they had!!

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  6. Steve, I agree with everything you wrote with the exception of one thing. Sunday morning the one groomer that I saw, did in fact do an effective job and the snow was very crunchy and he packed it down perfectly.
    There were a ton of sledders out that day and had the barn been emptied for a full court press, that could have salvaged a great day of riding and saved half a valuable weekend. With all the crappy weather we have had all season, when it is at all possible to groom, they should groom...especially on a weekend. JMHO

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    1. amen to that.Drove from longisland sun 4am.Got there at 9:30. I was on the trails by 10. Sleds were loaded back on at 12. Back home at 6:30 just in time for dinner. Thanks for waisting my time. Im happy i didntbcheck into a hotel, them i would have been really pissed.

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    2. Totally agree, drove up from Long Island about 6 hours on Friday night through a pretty serious ice storm around Albany got in about 3am. Sat was okay not bad riding after the rain we did 100 or so miles. Saturday night the temps dropped and everything was freezing up even had a little snow, Sunday morning went for a ride no grooming anywhere we could find. The rr tracks were the best (maybe Noridgewock groomed some of it?? ) But Monday was perfect!

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  7. Hey Steve, Thanks for everything this year, again. If it wasn't for your videos and reports, we wouldn't be able to be informed of the conditions etc...I for one appreciate all your efforts, and hope that the snowmobilers realize that Old Man Winter just didn't feel like playing nice this year. I'm not going to bash the groomers because I'm not an authority on grooming. We all know that this winter has been anything but normal, and I am happy that we could get up and have the fun we did manage to pull out of the bag. If it wasn't for you and your posts, we probably wouldn't have put on the 1000 miles that we did. Were the conditions perfect? Most of the time, this past weekend was rough, but we still managed to put on 200 miles. My whole body hurts now, but it was all worth it. My family will be back again next year, and we'll pay the fees for all four sleds, and we'll frequent the eateries in town, and we'll stay in the hotels and so will our friends. We have seen it worse, and we've always managed to pull out some fun. Whatever it is Steve, it was VERY NICE TO FINALLY meet you, and put a face to a voice. You're the best!!! See ya next year.

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  8. Another thing to consider is the cost of fuel to run the groomers! If it is not groomable, why waste the fuel? I missed having two or three trips to OF, but watched this blog and made the decision to stay home rather than waste the money for a bad time. I'll save it up for next year and WILL be back to Old Forge again and again. Thanks for your cams and reports, Steve. Jenny Keiper

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  9. Steve, you do a Great job with your reports, I myself do rely on them since I come from a very far distance (Florida)
    My biggest beef this year regarding the groomer was the weekend of Feb 24/25/26. There was major snow and cold temps after the sleet had stopped and the trails were the worst I've seen them in the past 20+ years that I've been comming up there.
    One would assume that since it hasn't been a good year as far as the snow amounts. You would think that at ever opportunity they (the town/groomers)can get to get the trails in the best shape they could possibly be in, they would! If you had checked the other areas around where as the local clubs handle the grooming, they (even with less snow) seem to have done a better job.
    As we all know over the years the trail permits have gone way up, I feel that if the town can't maintain the trail to the maximum that they could be at, maybe they should look into other options! I know there is a new town supervisor, but instead of getting better, it seems it's gotten worst.

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    1. Hi,

      Thanks for posting. One of the reasons the trails have been in worse shape this season on weekends is because people that ride in their local areas haven't been able to this season. So they are doing day trips to our area to get some riding in. I haven't seen the flow of trailers on a Saturday or Sunday morning coming into town or the local parking lots packed with trails like it has been this year ever before. The Town of Webb has not raised or changed it's permit fee in many years. New York State is the one that raised all of it's fees a few years ago. Hope this answered your questions.

      Steve

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    2. Steve, you're most likely right, I remember reading in one of the local papers how they had an additional 300 new trail permits from riders never been to Old Forge before.
      But, again with that much more flow/riders wouldn't it have made more sence to run the groomers with 3 shifts so the trails could be kept up. If there are more riders, doesn't that mean more $ to operate then? Don't get me wrong, I love the Old Forge area, good or bad trails I still enjoy spending time up there.

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    3. I don't know if they sold more permits this season or not. But I think more day trippers where in the area at one time than I have ever seen before and that put more wear and tear on the trails during the day. Part of what makes the trails smooth is letting them sit after they have been groomed and freeze down. I think the second shift finishes up around mid night and then the trails can freeze down over night. The first shift starts a 7 and they head out to fix things up from the late night riders. Trust me on this one. It would look the same in the morning from the late night riders out hitting every trail that was groomed in the middle of the night if you ran a third shift.

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  10. Thanks Steve for your webcams and reports everyday. As a part time resident of Eagle Bay I look forward everyday to checking your website from my house in Vermont to see how things look in Old Forge. Great job on everything you do. Mother nature was a little lazy on the snowfall this season but I am sure she will be back in full force next winter.

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