Snowmobile season faced hiccup with Alberta Clipper weather
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Westman snowmobilers were set back by high winds in the middle of December despite a few dumps of snow this month, prompting the need for extra snowfall to get the season started.
Between six to 12 more inches of snow was required, without any more wind, two spokespersons told the Sun after a blizzard hit the area in the middle of the month. Snowmobile trails in the region had been carved down as the season built towards a start date.
“The wind is our worst enemy,” said Doug Atchison, president of Snow Club Inc. out of Portage La Prairie. “What we require is about a foot of snow that stays on the ground, especially in the open fields.”
LEFT: A driver tries to dig a pickup truck out of a snow drift after getting stuck while trying to rescue another stuck vehicle on a grid road just outside Brandon during blizzard conditions in 2022. (File) RIGHT: Wheat City Cycle is busy servicing customers snowmobile’s for the 2017, season. As the snowmobiling season approaches, windy weather has been a hiccup for clubs in Westman that have seen trails blown down closer to the ground, and requiring extra snowfall. (File)
Due to wind conditions that week, trails that go through farmers’ fields would have been blown nearly bare, he said. Snowmobilers risk riding on the ground in these spots, damaging their equipment, and then running into massive snowbanks near the treelines.
“The fields will be bare. We will need another probably eight to 12 inches of fresh snow with no wind,” he said. “And then we could get out and pack our trails. Every snowmobile club in Manitoba is hoping for snow.”
The Portage-area club president said that snowmobiling conditions typically take shape after Christmas. Out of the last 10 years, only two years allowed them to groom trails before the holiday. Another Westman club vice-president, out of Sprucewoods, said their season typically starts in January.
As of mid-December when the Sun spoke with the club members, more snowfall and windy conditions were expected. The spokespersons said that unless the wind died down, they didn’t expect the snowfall would bridge the gap.
Environment and Climate Change Canada spokesperson Terri Lang told the Sun at the time that winds gusted up to 69 kilometres per hour near Brandon during a blizzard that week. Meteorologists expected more windy Alberta Clipper weather systems to come through the province, and between eight and 10 centimetres of snow to follow – not exactly what the snowmobile club president was hoping for.
“What we require is about a foot of snow that stays on the ground, especially in the open fields.”
The president said Colorado low weather systems are much better for snowmobilers than Alberta Clippers, as they bring in snowfall with less wind. He was hoping for one more steady week of temperatures in the -20 C range as well, to solidify ice levels to about 18 inches below surface on water crossings along the trails. As of mid December, only 10 inches were recorded, making it unsafe for snowmobilers to travel across the trails that go over water bodies.
Gusty conditions this month broke at a time when snowmobile clubs were anxiously tracking the buildup of a snow base, and preparing their trails for the sporting season. About a foot is needed for the vehicles to run safely.
Brad Martin, vice-president of the Sprucewoods Snowdrifters, said that his club, near CFB Shilo, was in a better position. Only around six inches of snow was needed for the trails in the area; because many run in ditches, where snow naturally piles up, and near wooded areas that are protected against wind.
“If we had another six inches that didn’t blow away, we would probably be ready to go,” he said. “The amount of snow we have right now looks pretty good.”
The club recorded a good start to the season. This year, the snow came at the right time, but progress was set back by one roughly 4 C day in mid-December, and the Alberta Clippers that followed.
“That wind, and the warm weather, neither one of those was good for snowmobiling. It was looking good, then looking bad.”
“It’s the wind that will kill you every time,” he said. “We got a big dump of snow, but the wind just blew it all.”
Everything is ready to go at the Sprucewoods club, in terms of equipment for grooming the trails and erecting signposts. The volunteers are just waiting for the weather to kick in before they can kickstart their 200 kilometres of trails in the Westman region, with trails between Brandon and Shilo, near Carberry and Glenboro, and Treesbank.
Atchison’s club maintains roughly 450 kilometres of trails in Manitoba, riding as far as Spruce Woods from Portage, and down to the Holland and Treherne area.
»cmcdowell@brandonsun.com