byAlma Abell

For those that are serious about maintaining their winter trails for snowmobiling, cross country skiing and even for snowshoeing or hiking using snow grooming equipment is a must. Using the equipment correctly and with a definitely plan or strategy for the winter is always the best options as this ensures that either private or public trails are always well maintained.

The Purpose

The purpose in using snow grooming equipment is more than just to keep the trails easy to identify and looking good. It is essentially to create a roadway that is consistently uniform for safe snowmobile operation. Of course, the result is also that with a trail riders are much less likely to go off the trail and find themselves in area that are not suited to snowmobile use.

With a consistently packed road or trail the snowmobile operator has more control over his or her machine even at higher rates of speed. In addition, with a well maintained trail any damage to the trail due to use, melts and freezing or even drifting of powdered fresh snow can be minimized in even the worst conditions.

Costs

Choosing the right type of snow grooming equipment can help to reduce your costs of trail maintenance even on the most highly used trails. By choosing snow grooming equipment that is pulled behind a standard two passenger snowmobile rather than a separate piece of equipment such as a Snowcat you can save of fuel as well as equipment, storage and maintenance.

Grooming Frequency

Depending on the amount of snowfall, the weather conditions and the type of riders that you have on your trails you may find that you have to use your snow grooming equipment more frequently some years than others. Starting out the year by regular grooming to create a consistent, even base is always important.

Typically even those trails used by snowmobile clubs or by guides usually only need grooming once every three or so days unless you are receiving high levels of fresh snow or alternative warm and cold weather conditions.

You will be able to tell how often to use snow grooming equipment based on the condition of the trail, the number of riders, and the overall trail condition at the end of the day.