Trail Consistency Is Top Priority For All Available Trails
By The Numbers:
• $3.8M grooming investment
• 10 New groomers and 12 new grooming drags
• 19 Refurbished groomers
• 4 Standby grooming units
(Barrie, ON: October 22, 2020) – The Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs is pleased to provide a progress update on its grooming capability for the coming season, funded by a $3.8 million investment from permit revenues. In conjunction with its Trails To Ride 2021 plan, the OFSC’s comprehensive provincial fleet management strategy focuses on optimizing the effectiveness and efficiency of one of the world’s largest trail groomer fleets with 300 units.
New Groomers: With this investment, the OFSC has purchased 10 new groomers for use on the snow this winter. For example, 3 new groomers are assigned to different sections of the RAP Tour to keep up with high traffic demands. Three others are allocated to different sections of the TOP A Trail from North Bay to Cochrane. In addition, the OFSC has purchased 10 new drags.
Relocated & Refurbished Groomers: New groomers are typically assigned to areas with higher than average traffic areas, or where the new units will facilitate the relocation of good existing equipment to other areas in need. To date, 17 relocated units are in process of moving. Moreover, districts are shuffling their current equipment internally to make the best use of all units.
Meanwhile, 19 current groomers are undergoing refurbishment to improve their capability on trails. Plus, across the province, 11 of the oldest and most expensive to maintain groomers are now designated as surplus.
Standby Groomers: The OFSC is positioning 4 standby groomers near high traffic locations for the 2021 season to act as quick response units should a unit become unavailable. As well, the OFSC is prepared to transport standby units from no snow areas to high snow areas as weather and traffic necessitates throughout the winter.
This plan is also designed to support the Flex Trails component of Trails To Ride 2021. It will enable timely relocation of groomers to available trails elsewhere in the event that some trails are affected in a region with temporary health and safety restrictions.
“Permit holders should know we’re prepared for a great season from a groomer perspective,” said CEO Landon French. “Our Trails To Ride 2021 priority is to deliver the best possible consistency on all available trails throughout the coming season.”
Coordinating trail grooming by district, rather than by club, means that OFSC grooming routes now cross club boundaries and are less restricted by natural barriers. As a result, groomer units now operate with optimized route, fuel, shift and labour efficiency to get the most out of every grooming run. For snowmobilers, this means more seamless and consistent riding between clubs.
Last winter, the OFSC invested $3.6 million from permit revenues into its provincial groomer fleet, which logged almost 75,000 hours of grooming on available trails, using an estimated 1.2 million litres of fuel.
The Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) is a volunteer led, not for profit association that provides the voice for organized snowmobiling in Ontario. OFSC snowmobile trails managed by 200 community based, member clubs generate up to $3.3 billion in economic activity in the province each year.
