Help me undertand... Plowing & Grooming...

[LEE]

And there you have it!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^
Excellent post

 

[ericbigbore]

Unfortunately the meetings ect dont work, I've been to more meetings than Gregwhore has moles. We do not have enough money in our winter rec program to support the miles and frequency we all need. WSSA has taken the stand to fight Olympia for more money out of the gas tax. We currently get about 20 cents a gallon X 135 gallons per sled X 32 to 35,000 sleds registered. Plus our license fee's. WSSA (and all of us I am sure) feel's we should get more out of the gas tax. This has been a long up hill battle with not a lot of headway. Many of us have been after them to go for the License fee increase also, WSSA has opposed this for years, they dont think you all would want a license fee increase, I personally dont know anyone that would not be thrilled to increase our license fee's to put more money on [/COLOR]the snow. We need both, We pay to play, (I've said that alot but it's the truth) Nobody in Olympia "steals" our money, we have dedicated snowmobilers on the state parks advisory boare who decide for the entire state where, when, how and who to our money is spent. Send an email to Dee Alred , current president of WSSA, tell her you support a license fee increase, DELIA.ALRED@WSSA.US My self and many others have brought it up so many times I cant tell you. The system will work but you have to understand , we just dont collect enough money to run the entire state at the level that we would like to. IT'S JUST THAT SIMPLE, There are some area's that probably get a little more than they should, but I'm sure they will tell you they dont get enough, Like every other area in the state. email DEE and voice your concerns, and by the way, Stampede pass / Easton gets a little over $100,000 a season for the largest and most crowed snoparks in the state, Yep, we dont get enough up there either but we budget it out to make it work as best we can.

Thanks Dan!

Everyone please write her and voice your opinion either way but seriously, whats another $20 to $30 bucks per sled so we can have long lasting backs. I have 4 sleds in my name and am willing to "pay to play".

All it is is one less ride or one carpool to the mountain or one less mod, $20 to $30 more is still pretty cheap as far as "pay to play" and winter sports.

Those that want to get involved heres your chance, take one for the team, please.

Eric

 

[1200cc]

Stampede pass / Easton gets a little over $100,000 a season for the largest and most crowed snoparks in the state, Yep, we dont get enough up there either but we budget it out to make it work as best we can.

How many miles do you groom? How many sled do you average in a year? What about grant money, how much do you get?

 

[JETJOHNSO]

stampede info

I dont have my grooming brief case with me with all my paper work, but I think we groom between 5400 and 5900 miles per season. We typically have between 200 to 300 tow vehicles on any saturday or sunday, less during the week. I'm sure we see probably in the neighborhood of +30,000 sleds in a season. Many weekends a state parks ranger will be at the front of the snopark turning people away because the snopark is full. I have done several nrtp grants to get more money into our system, Last year we did one for an additional 19,000 worth of grooming. The club up there can do the same thing, It's a real pain in the butt and time consuming but hey, it gets you more money on the snow. The biggest problem is finding someone with the time to cordinate all that goes with the grooming, There is a lot more to it than most people know. We need to find a bunch of retired "blue hairs" to do all the paper work and running for us !! They have to be computer literate that's for sure. Stampede started with very little in the old days and myself and some other club members went to every single meeting and out right fought for more money. Unfortunately that was when there was money to fight over. Those days are gone, Untill we get the gas cap tax removed or license fee increase , NRTP grants are our only salvation.

 

[1200cc]

I would be interested in learning more about the the grants available and how Stampede has gotten more money to up there frequency? I wish those who fought for our funding would have gotten the funds for our area like you guys did...

 

[JETJOHNSO]

nrtp grants

the grant applications are coming up soon for next season, Mike has been to many meetings and can get the details on how to do them. We are also pushing state parks to do them for us. In the past Colleen Maguire and Laura from state parks always applied for grants for grooming equipment (groomers, drags ect) , extra grooming, sheds and such. We have an all new "regime'' at state parks now and they are a little overwhelmed. We are hoping they have someone to do the grants, I would have Mike Couch get ahold of Pam from state parks and do a 2 year NRTP motorized grooming grant for Baker. They can use the $50,000 + the groomer gets from state parks as "match money". IT CAN BE DONE AND WILL HELP ALOT with their program up there.

 

[1200cc]

Thanks Dan that info is helpful.

 

[nikeholley]

Registration...

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So... what do you suppose is the process for getting the sled registration raised by x amount..??.. ( I don't know what it should be)

Those of us that know it is needed I assume would be willing to pay more per year...

Nike
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[1200cc]

The best way i can think is to talk to WSSA and try to get them on board... They have hired lobbyist that do their bill writing.. Contact Dee at WSSA... Hope that can help.

 

[nikeholley]

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Thanks 1200cc...

I'll look into that...

Nike
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[nikeholley]

Technical question...

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I'm ignorant when it comes to grooming...

How does the groomer(machine) work..??..

The ones that I have seen while riding are knocking down big bumps in the corners and leaving a nice smooth trail...

I have heard it said here that it is a multiple pass process..??.. please explain this...

I have been assuming that if the trail is all whooped out and bad, you just run the groomer through once, and now you have a nice,smooth trail again...

Thanks for your patience...

Nike

 

[zMan]

When the grooming machine passes over a bumpy trail, the top of the bumps are knocked off and the snow fills the dips between the bumps making it all look smooth. The problem is that the snow filling in the dips is not compacted to the same degree as the snow underneath where the bumps were. As soon as the trail gets a little traffic, the bumps will reappear in the same places. Multiple passes help to even out the compaction.

 

[Adrenaline Revolution]

Is it also certain that if we just slowed down, even with our 151" + track that the trails would stay smooth for a much longer time?
(I heard that the real long tracks make for worse moguls)

I wouldn't mind dropping out of warp if it meant that the trails would hold up better for everyone.
Heck, if everyone knew this I'll bet most would go a bit slower to preserve the trail.
At what speed is the track starting to bump up the trail?

How do we spread the word on this? To just cruise the trail slowly and cut loose once you leave the trail.

 

[nikeholley]

get everyone to slow down.??..

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I'm afraid that's pretty wishful thinking from what I've seen on the trails...

I'm no grandpa on the groomed trail... and I get passed regularly by guys that must be making a video or somethin'..!!..
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I-yi-yi...

Nike
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