Tampico snow report

[01RMK800]

It is getting more and more difficult to donate to keep the snowpark open when we do not get any cooperation from the groomer. I heard many people in the snowpark on Saturday that will not be donating any money because for some reason the groomer can NEVER start when he is supposed to. Tampico and everyone from the ski benders work very hard to keep this going. Not to mention the people who donate their hard earned money to keep their sledding spot open. So all of us are working hard for the cause but I guess Vic can't pull his head out of his *** long enough to get the groomer going. It is the same date every year and every year there is a problem with the groomer. Then as we get more snow the whoops get worse and worse and he can't get them smoothed out. He is the one that is getting PAID for all of this while the rest of us are DONATING out time and money. For every day that goes by that he is not grooming he should get docked money maybe that would get his *** moving a little faster. It really seems that he really does not care so why should we care to keep raising money and there are many people that are not donating and the only reason is because of the GROOMER!!!!

my rant is over!!

 

[Snodawg]

I very much hear your rant, however, the fact remains, that if the money is not raised (regardless if the groomer is running or not) the area will be closed and then we won't have to worry about the grooming at Tampico at all. Myself, I would rather ride a few miles of whooped out trails to get to the play areas than sit in town and stare at the mountains from the back of my parked sled.
Has anyone bothered to find out what the true problem with the groomer is. Maybe he needs to hire a better mechanic, if he has 8 months to get ready for the first run and then fails to make it. Yes, this is a bunch of B.S., but we still need the money to keep it open.

Rant over...thank you....

On a different note, how was the ride this last weekend. 94F??? Where's the pics/vids????

 

[summ8rmk]

I like snow!

 

[TBONE]

REFUND

Tampico, since I donated extra money that I had set aside for Christmas gifts to ride groomed trails in Ahtanum, I would like my money back. I feel that I have been taken for a ride down a bumpy trail. Who is in charge of "REFUNDS"?

 

[Tampico]

Groomer Update - He now says he will be going this evening, I did see his fuel truck go past this afternoon about 4:30. I have been in contact with Washington State Parks about the situation. I also discussed with him the sno-park plowing schedule, as we have 7-8" of new in the sno-park and expect another couple of inches tomorrow. That should get done tonight or tomorrow night. I will check if he is there before work in the morning. IMHO, I won't get an accurate grooming schedule until he gets the loop around Darland completed. He has a couple of limbs/trees to remove on North Fork.

Snow conditions were decent up high, we went up north fork (lots of stutter bumps), broke open rollercoaster into the bottom of the convention center (little bowl). Foggy with crappy visibility. Down lower, near Green Lake, hills that I thought may have been good to go were still rocky.

TBONE; - I answered your post in the 1st thread in this Washington Riders section. Please also read the entire 1st post in the Ahtanum/DNR fundraiser thread for a better explanation of why we are fund raising and the specific purpose of what we need to do.

I have also added a link to the Ahtanum/DNR fund raiser thread to get the Washington State Park forms concerning the current groomer's lack of production per contracted duties. Please fill these out and send them in, and bring a copy to me or the next groomer meeting.

Thanks,

Tampico

 

[94fordguy]

01RMK800, I share your frustration with the groomer at this point.... the thing is, the fundraising effort we have is not to pay the groomer, it is to fill the DNR budget gap to keep the snowpark itself open... without the DNR oversight, the grooming and plowing can't happen anyway.

I don't know what his problem is but hopefully he cleans up his act and gets it figured out SOON!


This is kind-of an odd year for me so far this year, usually I don't even ride Tampico till the spring, but 3 of my 4 trips so far this year have been to Tampico and none of them have been on groomed trails (to be fair, only 1 of the 3 SHOULD have been groomed occassions).

 

[94fordguy]

I very much hear your rant, however, the fact remains, that if the money is not raised (regardless if the groomer is running or not) the area will be closed and then we won't have to worry about the grooming at Tampico at all. Myself, I would rather ride a few miles of whooped out trails to get to the play areas than sit in town and stare at the mountains from the back of my parked sled.
Has anyone bothered to find out what the true problem with the groomer is. Maybe he needs to hire a better mechanic, if he has 8 months to get ready for the first run and then fails to make it. Yes, this is a bunch of B.S., but we still need the money to keep it open.

Rant over...thank you....

On a different note, how was the ride this last weekend. 94F??? Where's the pics/vids????

Well said


The ride was alright, lots of fog and a bit of snow coming down. There was a bigger group than normal I was riding with and though it was fun, it was largely a trail ride around Red Saddle (I think, not really sure where the hell we were as I had never been that way) and then to clover flatts and down the middle fork on the way back.

To be perfectly honest, I was surprised how smooth the middle fork was with all the sleds it has been seeing without having been groomed yet... All things considered I felt it was in amazing shape given the circumstances (probably due to the new snow we had mid week filling in the low spots).

I haven't even looked at the pics or half the video I took let alone uploaded anything yet.... been too lazy and it really wasn't anything too special aside from a few patches of some decent snow around clover flatts... we got up there pretty late in the day compared to normal.

I'll try to get something uploaded tomorrow if I can.

 

[01RMK800]

I understand that there are two different subjects and the money does not go to the groomer. I have been to the meetings and understand that none of the money goes to grooming. I also do not want to loose our riding area, BUT there are many people that do not understand the subject completely and only see that the grooming is not starting on time and therefore are not donating. That is the point I am trying to get across.

 

[Tampico]

The groomer was parked at the workstation this morning, and the parking lot was plowed last night. Apparently a couple of hours of grooming was done on the middle fork road, BUT, I want complete verification before I get to excited. He has a ways to go to catch up.

We did get 1-2" of new snow last night at the snowpark. The berm was also put up on the Jackass road, did not see one on the north fork rd.

For those just wanting a road ride, the Jackass road has ample snowcover from the bottom up, and is fairly smooth up to the drifts below ewe neck.

Tampico

 

[dooguy]

are scratchers needed?

 

[KrazyKen]

Seriously......you live in Washington, scratchers are standard issue!!

 

[norsepeak]

maybe for you trail riders Ken. I've never had a set of scratchers on a sled in 30+ years of snowmobiling, but you don't really need them when you ride in backcountry in the deep snow.

 

[94fordguy]

Well said


The ride was alright, lots of fog and a bit of snow coming down. There was a bigger group than normal I was riding with and though it was fun, it was largely a trail ride around Red Saddle (I think, not really sure where the hell we were as I had never been that way) and then to clover flatts and down the middle fork on the way back.

To be perfectly honest, I was surprised how smooth the middle fork was with all the sleds it has been seeing without having been groomed yet... All things considered I felt it was in amazing shape given the circumstances (probably due to the new snow we had mid week filling in the low spots).

I haven't even looked at the pics or half the video I took let alone uploaded anything yet.... been too lazy and it really wasn't anything too special aside from a few patches of some decent snow around clover flatts... we got up there pretty late in the day compared to normal.

I'll try to get something uploaded tomorrow if I can.

Finally looked through my helmet cam video.... nothing too terribly interesting really unfortunately....

I do have 1 pic to share tho taken from just above the Clover Flatts cabin.....

 

[jdeb59]

Rode up there yesterday and didn't use scratchers.

 

[Tampico]

OK, here is the amount groomed as of this afternoon. Kid #1 and #2 and myself did the loop, weather was decent on top, fog then sun. Snow was OK, but we still need more. Kid #3 (the fairly squirrelly one) did a mom day.

Middle fork has had one round from the bottom to Clover Flats, the sidehill was cut out. Road is OK, lots of stutter bumps, but better than before. Had enough traffic that scratchers were not needed. Wasn't real cold on top, lots of tracks in Super Bowl.

North Fork was groomed to the switchback in Dead Hole, the bridges were filled so the groomer could cross (groomer is wider than bridge, so snow needs to be above the guard rails). North Fork is in pretty good condition and is harder than middle fork, we put the scratchers down.

Last night the schedule was to do the loop tonight. Middle Fork needs another round, at a minimum.

Parking lot is plowed and in good condition, he also plowed some more spots in the campground.

Berms are up on Middle Fork, North Fork, and Jackass; didn't see the others.

Kids and I have over 530 miles combined on 3 sleds so far, not bad for pre-Christmas.

Have a great ride!

Tampico

 

[stuck a lot]

Thanks Tampico. This is one of the most useful post on here. Is there any chance you are willing to continue your posts in a new thread? The reason I ask is that those of us who are basic members are only allowed to read up to around 70 post per thread before it gets blocked. I would like to continue to get your updates without having to upgrade to premium. Again thanks very much.

 

[KrazyKen]

maybe for you trail riders Ken. I've never had a set of scratchers on a sled in 30+ years of snowmobiling, but you don't really need them when you ride in backcountry in the deep snow.

Oh Ty, you're such a stud!!
You wait until the day when your leading your family of 3 up the trails, you will get tired of replacing hifax to!!

 

[KrazyKen]

We've been fortunate to have been getting just enough fresh each week to keep some on the roads. I think I've actually needed them one time in about 6 rides, but when you need them it sure is nice to have them (scratchers).

 

[Tampico]

Good ride today! Beau and I put on almost 50 miles in just under 4 hours (and 3/4 of a tank of gas) all off of the Jackass Road, most of it boondockin and climbing.

Areas above 5k received at least 1' of new on Monday night, a strong NNW wind filled in many of the hill climbs that were undoable last week. It is also snowing mod-hard now again, with another couple of inches predicted.

The groomer schedule is as follows, as given to me yesterday afternoon:

Monday night-Darland loop
Tuesday night-Whites Ridge and Red Saddle
Wednesday night-Jackass (drifts are severe near the top of the switchback going into the upper end of Nasty Creek Flats).
Thursday-Sunday nights-Middle and North forks, Darland loop, depending on conditions.

Weather forecast is for sunny and cold starting Thursday into Sunday. The conditions today were warm, so the current snow should set up well. I have relatives over this week, don't know how much riding I will get in until Friday. Pretty sore tonight, anyways.

Looks like a good weekend coming up!

Tampico

 

[sunbather1969]

why do you need a goomer

lol i like his dog crazy monday and tuesday.