It may sound crazy to newcomers, but long-time snowmobile enthusiasts will likely agree with us when we say snowmobiling really can be a year-round activity.
For the truly active members of the snowmobile community, snowmobile rides can inspire funding applications, which help trail maintenance take place just in time for a membership drive to support grooming for the next big snowmobile ride. In other words, the snowmobile season never really ends for thousands of dedicated snowmobile club volunteers around the world.
There are over 700 snowmobile clubs and associations in Canada alone, and the vast majority are volunteer operated. These clubs and associations are best known for a variety of snowmobile events and, of course, winter trail grooming, so snowmobilers and many other multi-use trail users can enjoy a smooth ride to and from their favourite spots. However, the work doesn’t stop there.
Every summer, these same volunteers spend countless hours clearing out overhanging brush, removing downed trees, replacing signs, designating routes, repairing trails and cleaning up litter. Much of this work is done during the summer and fall months so the trails can remain open for summer use and so that winter hours can be spent operating the grooming machines.
Here in the Yukon, especially, multi-use infrastructure makes economic and environmental sense. Although many trails are maintained by snowmobilers, they are almost all designated as multi-use, and snowmobile clubs also work closely together with many other clubs and associations to coordinate grooming, signage and other projects.
The Trans Canada Trail is a great example. The Trans Canada Trail is a true multi-use trail that stretches over 27,000 kilometres long and connects Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and the Klondike Snowmobile Association is proud to be the official Trans Canada Trail agent for the Yukon Territory.
Although the snowmobile association is the official agent responsible for development and maintenance of the Trans Canada Trail in the Yukon, many other community groups are also involved, and volunteers of all kinds work on the trail so that users of all kinds can enjoy the trail.
In addition to trail work, many of these snowmobile club volunteers also spend countless hours meeting with various levels of government, to ensure snowmobilers concerns are being heard, as well as reviewing and promoting various safety and education programs, doing maintenance and repairs on the club’s equipment, arranging funding for future projects and, of course, catching up on the never-ending administrative duties.
It’s important to support local volunteers because they do so much for our community. Annual memberships to local clubs and associations is a very affordable and very effective way to show support, and many of them offer great membership benefits and discounts that can easily make up the cost of your membership!
