I-90 Grooming

[V-Man]

Any news yet?

I wonder how up-to-date they are with this site: http://www.parks.wa.gov/winter/trails/?TrailType=motorized&Region=3&Park=97

I'd like to do some break in road rides and will venture over to blewett if GC or Crystal don't get groomed before the weekend.

 

[skis_n_skid]

Just a couple days ago it said that grooming was going to start Thursday the 17th, and now it says grooming schedule coming soon? That's twice they've done that now. Personally I don't really care about grooming but I'd really like to know what's up with the parking lot plowing, and the road into the parking lot.

There needs to be some kind of nonperformance clause/penalty in these grooming/plowing contracts. People win the bid, get their money, and then plow/groom whenever they feel like it (or don't if they don't feel like it). There hasn't been much need of grooming yet, but isn't somebody getting paid to plow the parking lots and the roads into the parking lots?

 

[V-Man]

I don't really care about grooming but I'd really like to know what's up with the parking lot plowing, and the road into the parking lot.

Very good point. No plowing is rough when towing a trailer. I have had some close ones in Crystal Springs before.

I like a good groom early in the season. With 2 new sleds I'm gonna stay away from the mine fields until we get more base. You gotta admit, if you're stuck riding the roads they're much better smoooooth.

 

[skis_n_skid]

I appreciate a speedway smooth groomed trail as much as anyone. The way the trails were Tuesday morning though with 2 ft of new snow, I like even better than groomed snow (it was all whooped up again by mid afternoon though. There were quite a few riders up there Tuesday). IMO, there is enough snow on the roads to groom them, especially since it's the 3rd week of December and they are getting PAID to groom them. They will definitely stop grooming after March 15th (or even sooner as in the case of Baker last year) no matter how much new snow there is.

It must be nice to get paid for a job and then not do the job because you don't feel like starting yet. If I did that on a contract job I would get sued, and I would have a heck of a time ever getting another contract.

They started grooming at Fish Lake on the 16th. Every time I've gone there the grooming has been awesome.

 

[JETJOHNSO]

Ok, we are up and running !!

The snopark did get plowed this week, should be fine as there has been no new snow the past few days. We did groom up there the other day just to test the snow and see if there is enough. We are going to run the groomer tonight and tomorrow night and see how it goes. The John Wayne trail is still locked, twice a week we plan on running down it to easton (trying to get the gates unlocked right now) , up over Beeler pass out of the reload and than back over tacoma pass to stampede and the crystal snopark, than 3 other days doing the rest of the system, still not a lot of snow down low. We should have the state parks web site updated by next week, Kind of a slow start with no snow down low

 

[skis_n_skid]

So the parking lot was plowed sometime after Tuesday?

That's funny, I was telling my wife that they would probably plow the parking lot Wednesday or Thursday AFTER it has already been knocked down/packed down by all the rigs going in and out, to the point where it doesn't really need to be plowed. At that point the remaining snow is beneficial IMO. To plow it off at that point will just make it melt away to bare gravel faster.

 

[V-Man]

The snopark did get plowed this week, should be fine as there has been no new snow the past few days. We did groom up there the other day just to test the snow and see if there is enough. We are going to run the groomer tonight and tomorrow night and see how it goes. The John Wayne trail is still locked, twice a week we plan on running down it to easton (trying to get the gates unlocked right now) , up over Beeler pass out of the reload and than back over tacoma pass to stampede and the crystal snopark, than 3 other days doing the rest of the system, still not a lot of snow down low. We should have the state parks web site updated by next week, Kind of a slow start with no snow down low

Thanks for the update!

 

[32nBelow]

They started grooming at Fish Lake on the 16th. Every time I've gone there the grooming has been awesome.[/QUOTE]

Then go ride Fish Lake!!!

 

[STAFFORDIRT]

I appreciate a speedway smooth groomed trail as much as anyone. The way the trails were Tuesday morning though with 2 ft of new snow, I like even better than groomed snow (it was all whooped up again by mid afternoon though. There were quite a few riders up there Tuesday). IMO, there is enough snow on the roads to groom them, especially since it's the 3rd week of December and they are getting PAID to groom them. They will definitely stop grooming after March 15th (or even sooner as in the case of Baker last year) no matter how much new snow there is.

It must be nice to get paid for a job and then not do the job because you don't feel like starting yet. If I did that on a contract job I would get sued, and I would have a heck of a time ever getting another contract.

They started grooming at Fish Lake on the 16th. Every time I've gone there the grooming has been awesome.

Sure is easy to say from the sidelines!

 

[STAFFORDIRT]

Fyi

Just a couple days ago it said that grooming was going to start Thursday the 17th, and now it says grooming schedule coming soon? That's twice they've done that now. Personally I don't really care about grooming but I'd really like to know what's up with the parking lot plowing, and the road into the parking lot.

There needs to be some kind of nonperformance clause/penalty in these grooming/plowing contracts. People win the bid, get their money, and then plow/groom whenever they feel like it (or don't if they don't feel like it). There hasn't been much need of grooming yet, but isn't somebody getting paid to plow the parking lots and the roads into the parking lots?

They get paid hourly, there is a budget, and would you really like them to burn up all the money this early in the season? They dont get paid if they are not plowing. Did you know there is less than $75,000 alloted to plow all 5 snowparks on the I-90 corridor each season, that is not much. They are not getting paid to not plow, and they plow when the the state tells them too. So you should probably get your facts together first.

 

[skis_n_skid]

Well apparently I jumped to a false conclusion as to how the grooming is contracted/scheduled. I thought they groomed on a set schedule from Nov 15 to March 15 unless there is no snow to groom. I apologize for speaking out of line.

So the state tells the groomers when to groom? Did the fish lake area get that much more snow than the I90 area? I would imagine the I90 area gets a lot more use.

I still don't understand why they waited so long to plow the parking lot and the rode in. It was the middle of December, it shouldn't have caught anyone by surprise.

Then go ride Fish Lake!!!

If it was closer I might have. To long of a drive though and have to go up over the pass both ways (takes a lot of gas).

 

[JETJOHNSO]

the facts are

The forest service didnt even close the roads till this past week in the I-90 area. Thus it was technicaly illegal to even ride a sled at stampede and other places. Luckly they do not enforce that. Threre was not much snow to plow till this past week, monday and tuesday they got snow, went up and plowed, Stampede and other area's didnt have enough snow to start grooming till this past week, You cant expect the groomer to drive up dirt roads till they hit the snow at the higher elevations. State parks should have the web sites up dated this week.

 

[skis_n_skid]

I fully understand that there has to be a decent amount of snow to groom. Again, I apologize for speaking out of line on the grooming. I didn't realize the Fish Lake got enough more snow to start grooming earlier, and I didn't know that the state tells groomers when to groom.

If it's going to be 24-48 hrs after a good snow before the parking lot and rode in get plowed though, it sure is going to be tough on people who like to go up right after a good dumping. Last year whenever we went up after a good overnight dumping, the road in was always plowed and the parking lot was usually plowed.

No big deal, I have chains and I know how to use them. Just never had to chain up in the Crystal Springs parking lot before. It was definitely open for snowmobiles on Tuesday.

Anybody know what the deal was with the dump truck blocking/tearing up the rode to Lost Lake? The forest ranger was going back to talk to the driver when we turned around. Then later he was getting stuck, blocking/tearing up the main rode.

 

[skis_n_skid]

The forest service didnt even close the roads till this past week in the I-90 area. Thus it was technicaly illegal to even ride a sled at stampede and other places.

Sign was up at Gold Creek trail head a couple weeks ago. I made a point to look because the first couple of miles were torn up so much by 4x4s.

 

[ruffryder]

lots of good info here.

curious to those in the know / active with the grooming council. Is there a location for all this information somewhere?

It seems like sometimes the inter workings of how / why the grooming system works are only known to a couple of people.

Maybe an easier way of disseminating the information is needed? If so, let me know and I can do some work on the subject..

Maybe a grooming sticky!! ha ha

 

[32nBelow]

A lot of good info at the grooming meetings, most of the time any questions is answered. I know they can be hard to get to but a real eyeopener when you do.

 

[Lake Cle Elum]

Cle Elum Groomer Mtg - 7:00 PM, 2nd Mon. each month Nov-April - Forest Service Conf. Rm. I sign up to get the minutes by email, but they never get to me.

I'll try to post a re-cap here each month, wasn't much from the Dec. Mgt as it was just starting to snow that day.

Tim (32Below) and Dan (JetJohnson) are always there too, they both post good info here.......

 

[deepdiver]

The Snowmobile Advisory Committee assists and advises the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission in the development of snowmobile facilities and programs (Chapter 46.10 RCW). Committee members serve one three-year term with the option of an additional three-year term. New appointments begin Oct. 1 in the year of appointment. The committee meets twice a year; the first full weekend in February and the last full weekend in July.

Here is what a typical grooming contract looks like..take note of the 16 week season and the minimal snowfall depth at the trail head needed to start.

http://www.roundtableassociates.com/Snowmobile/Grooming Contract.pdf

Geographical reps.

Region 1
Sandy Sternod
30986 E. Lake Morton Drive S.E.
Covington, WA 98042
(206) 236-4213
sandy.sternod@tcgi.com

Region 2
Gary Allard
710 Edmonds Street
Omak, WA 98841
(509) 826-5215
garyl@hamiltonfarmequip.com

Region 3
Douglas Fase
42621 N Division Rd
Deer Park, WA 99006
(509) 276-8023
ropes@wildblue.net

Region 4
Bill Jackson
20200 NE 152nd Circle
Brush Prairie, WA 98606
(360) 798-3823
rvalong@q.com

Region 5
Mary Van Amburg
1417 S 34th Avenue
Yakima, WA 98902
(509) 452-8775
ckvanamburg@q.com

Region 6
Kelly Lambert
217 South 4th Street
Daytun, WA 99328
(509) 520-6319
moonshyn79@hotmail.com

Government Agencies


Washington Department of Natural Resources
Recreation Manager, SE Region
Mark Mauren
P.O. Box 47014
Olympia, WA 98504-7014
(360) 902-1047
mark.mauren@dnr.goa.gov


Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Enforcement Officer
Pam Taylor
2315 N. Discovery Place
Spokane Valley, WA 99215
(509) 892-1001
Wildlife199@hotmail.com


Association of Counties
Andrew Lampe
123 Fifth Ave. N. Room 150
Okanogan, WA 98840-9436
(509) 422-7101
alampe@co.okanogan.wa.us

 

[V-Man]

Per park.wa.gov, here is this year's schedule for Crystal Springs:

Wednesdays - Trails 54, 5480, 5483, 332, 118, 54 Fridays - Trails 54, 5403, 5484, 332, 5480, 5483 Sundays - Trails 54, 5403, 5484, 332, 5480

Question

Does grooming on Wednesday mean it is done during Wed day/evening and completed by Thurs morning, or is it done on Tuesday night and completed by first thing Wed morning?

 

[skis_n_skid]

Per park.wa.gov, here is this year's schedule for Crystal Springs:

Wednesdays - Trails 54, 5480, 5483, 332, 118, 54 Fridays - Trails 54, 5403, 5484, 332, 5480, 5483 Sundays - Trails 54, 5403, 5484, 332, 5480

Question

Does grooming on Wednesday mean it is done during Wed day/evening and completed by Thurs morning, or is it done on Tuesday night and completed by first thing Wed morning?

I was wondering the same thing. I also noticed that 41 isn't on the list anywhere, but 54 is listed twice on Wednesday. So I'm guessing that 41 is on the Wednesday schedule.