WELLINGTON COUNTY — After a couple of years of mild winters, local snowmobilers are hopeful recent snowfall means Mother Nature will be on their side this year.
According to district 9 manager for the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC), Karen Buratynski, recent weather conditions mean groomer operators and club volunteers in groups across Wellington County have been able to start building and doing trail maintenance earlier than anticipated.
In past years, the trails have been ready to go by the end of January or early February. This year, Buratynski said they've already had some movement on trails in Grey County and local clubs are hopeful more areas will be available soon, especially considering the frigid forecast ahead.
'We are cautiously optimistic that it's lining up to be a really great season," said Buratynski. "Mother Nature plays a huge role, and it's been very cooperative this year."
Although snowmobilers are happy to see the early winter, Buratynski said it has also been "a little bit of a challenge" for local clubs since this is when many are just beginning the staking and signing process.
"We obviously access a lot of private property in our trails in this area. In doing that, we have to wait 'till crops are off the field," said Buratynski. "It seems like that just happened, and then we got snow ... but work is definitely underway and it's been great to see some cold and white on the ground."
When asked what the best weather conditions are for snowmobiling, Buratynski said while snowfall is part of the equation, cold is an absolute necessity.
Cold nights are especially "fantastic" because they help keep the ground frozen and prevent snow melt, said Buratynski.
"So the fact that we've got some snow, a lot of our clubs and groomer operators were able to get out, drive that snow into the ground, drive the frost in, and then it settles out a little bit," said Buratynski. "Getting some cold before we get more snow is really setting us up to build a good trail base for the upcoming season."
Despite the positive conditions, Buratynski said it's important for snowmobilers to wait until trails are ready before testing them out for the season, as early rides can cause damage and are unsafe and disrespectful to landowners.
"There is a lot of work that goes into building and maintaining these trails...it takes hundreds and hundreds of hours by volunteers to get everything prepped and ready to go," said Buratynski. "So although this early snow is fantastic, there is still some work to be done before we will have a full network available."
If you're feeling impatient, Buratynski said groups like the Mount Forest Drifters Snowmobile Club and the Fergus Elora Belwood Snowmobile Club are always looking for volunteers.
"The last two winters in southern Ontario have not been very kind snowmobilers so there's definitely some frustration but our volunteers are such a dedicated crew," said Buratynski. "They do this for their friends, their families and their small communities; they're an amazing group of people."
To see what trails are available and where, check out the OFSC Interactive Trail Guide here: https://ofsc.evtrails.com/#
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
