clemina

[Dugone]

i was at clemina in valmount on Friday the 23rd of Jan. for the last time.
the snowcat operater is on the hill to early everyday. He was well advanced up the trail at 3 oclock. It's bad enough that he is out there earlier than any other snow cat operator in BC but the guys an idiot to boot. He ran me off the trail on purpose.
I seen him stopped on the side of the trail and went by him probaly to fast. (60 K) He waited until I got right there and then at the last second on purpose turned his blade across the road forcing me into the trees.
i have been snowmobiling for 40 years and never have seen anything so ignorant. I guess he achieved his goal because i won't be coming back ever. Neither will any of my other 13 friends from my group. We went to blue river the next day. The snow is better and the cat operators aren't on the trial at 3 PM.
I would suggest so you consider finding a safer place to ride.

 

[KORE]

Was that you Curtis (Depsnolvr), Scott told me you were a trouble maker!!

 

[chadwik74]

I'm calling 6+ pages........

 

[Dugone]

no Doug from red deer

 

[chadwik74]

no Doug from red deer

I think you missed the Curtis/joke reference.....anyway, these guys have a schedule and can't please everybody. It's really nice to have the groomed trails and I'm sure they do it at the best time they can. They are not out there to inconvinece us and probably are sledders too. I can't comment on the cutting off part, but I can say you should appriciate and respect the groomers that are out there....you said yourself you probaly were passing him too fast, but that's no reason to put you in danger! JMO.

 

[Dugone]

i agree but not 3 oclock in the afternnon. what schedule is that. my point is i have never seen any other groomers on the hill before 4 and ususally after 5 so what's his problem. this is only my first source of protest. i plan to right letters to varda, the valemount newpaper and snowriders this guy is a jerk and almost caused some serious harm, it was all i could do to hold my temper. They won't be getting any of my money again. It was a poor way to end a great day.

 

[dooryder]

well our groomer can be on the trail at 3 in the after noon, when he grooms during the day he goes up the trail around 10 am witht he sleds on the back (he mounted a deck) and rides the day when he gets to the top of the trail and then grooms on his way back down 5 pm. And i dont know about vales temp but i wouldnt wanna get up at 5 am and go grooming in -30 weather to please the sledders, its hard on eccuipment to run in that cold weather

 

[Dugone]

i seen that at blue river the groomer was parked up top. but at least you are going with the traffic not against it.
i should have just dealt with him then and there on the spot. that woudl have solved the problem i am sure for future riders.

 

[dooryder]

were you up fin when you saw the groomer? it may have been your group we talk too we had 3 dragons 3 revs and 2 xps look fimalir?

 

[Dugone]

we were there. we lost one of our riders and we wer talking to a bunch of groups. so coudl have been you to i am not sure, did i ask you if you seen a lone rider?

 

[dooryder]

were you the guys that had the cat with the black material hood? and were looking for your buddy that had a 1000?

 

[mountainman611]

i agree but not 3 oclock in the afternnon. what schedule is that. my point is i have never seen any other groomers on the hill before 4 and ususally after 5 so what's his problem. this is only my first source of protest. i plan to right letters to varda, the valemount newpaper and snowriders this guy is a jerk and almost caused some serious harm, it was all i could do to hold my temper. They won't be getting any of my money again. It was a poor way to end a great day.

I can understand your frustration in this matter.

But what I have read in your posts I believe both of you are wrong. First off,you shouldn't be going down a trail in any speed that your not in control of your machine.
These are trails to get us up to the alpine and back.There could have been a family of sleds on the trail.
He was not right in any means though of doing what he did to you,it was very reckless of him and could have caused great harm.
I don't believe writing all the papers will do anything but make all involved look bad.
We all bitch when the trails are not groomed,and yes it was a bit early,but we all have a responsibility when we are using these trails.
I guess a good solution would be for the gate attendant to warn people when they are going to groom early,and for you to slow down a bit.

Cheers....

 

[scotts]

Every story have three sides, and this one likely has four.

 

[weldor]

The best thing to do is always ride like there could be a groomer on the trail at all times. Also if there is one on the trail give them the respect they deserve. Most of them are volunteers, and who knows maybe he could not get out later at night but wanted to make sure the trail was good??? Also why would you go past him that fast??? Give these guys the respect they deserve.

 

[steveo10]

60km seem to be a little fast... but no need to take a take a brother out, theres other ways around that

 

[growly]

Be thankful they groom the trails. Sounds like the guy's a bit of a jerk though,was it too hard for him to flash his lights at you to get your attention?

 

[bbtoys]

You should not be going by a groomer at that speed. If you go by him at that speed I wonder how fast you go by sledder's stoped on the trail. Slow down abit and that goes for everybody. If riding here this weekend our groomer will be out at wierd hours during the daylight hours so be careful.

 

[sledderdoc]

Yup I agree with you can't be doing mach 3 up or down the trail, there are always obstacles from towed sleds to families etc. I think he was trying to tell you something. Also at 3 is just before the majority of people start heading down.... I'd say he was doing you a favour by smoothing out the bumps! You have to realize these guys always take heat, cut him some slack. Later on in the season they groom later because its lighter later. Anyways JMHO.

 

[raustincat]

I agree... clemina groomer is by far the earliest on the trail that i have seen from the different places i have been. First off i don't believe that these groomer operators don't get paid... where does our 15 dollar trail pass go? fuel, maint on machine and operator? sure obviously its not much... It seems a bit dangerous to be grooming the trail at 3.... " which is before the bulk of the riders ride down" doesn't that seem wrong? you groom at 3 before all the riders ride down and then the trail is already chewed up the next morning? not to mention i don't think the groomer should be going up before the bulk of the riders are down... more like he should be going up after the bulk of riders are down... yes obviously he can't wait around till 7 oclock to start grooming... no point in that... but wait till dark would be nice... and as for the equipment running in -25deg C ... let it warm up first. solved. I have never been upset with the groomers as usually on the way down im to tired to ride hard and fast so im usually sitting down and taking a nice relaxing ride down... which also should be done by all riders. both people are equally at fault.

 

[ferniesnow]

As a groomer operator, I do not like it when sleds come by without slowing down and slowing down enough to make sure that everything is under control with regards to the sled, the SnowCat, and the mogul master. I prefer that the sleds wait until I'm stopped and I give them the Okay to pass. A lot of carnage happens with sled hitting SnowCat....and not necessarily to the SnowCat.

I normally stop for sleds and try to pull over. Why?

I never know when I'm over too far and the outside track starts to spin a little, there's a rock/stump/log hidden under the snow that is going to give me a little bump and throw the SnowCat or the mogul master onto the trail. In some instances, when the trail is narrow and a sled is in the deeper snow, it might be them that hits a stump/log or rock and throws them out of control. Another reason is because the sled operator may have had a few "wobbly pops" and isn't totally under control resulting in bad judgement. I enjoy being out at night in a SnowCat and I want the senario to continue to be enjoyable, so I'm cautious.

With our icy conditions on the lower trails this year, I have seen the mogul master "jump and slide" 5', yes 5' (nearly 2 meters) across the trail. Now how many sledders have seen that happen and would they want that to happen when they are going by at a high speed? I don't think soooo.....

Everyone needs to be cooperative and show respect out there so that it is all fun....Cheers from a sledder (first) and a SnowCat operator (second) but this year I have more hours on the SnowCat that I doo on the sled....