TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #47

1-31-2009

Glen and I will start grooming the Vasa trail tomorrow morning at 6:30AM. We will be using the snowmobiles and Ginzu’s and resetting Classic tracks on all loops. We will start on the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop, 25K loop and finish on the 3K meadows Trail.

Pam, Nicole and Glen had a very busy Open House today. They ran out of cookies and hot chocolate and the parking lot remained full all day. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi and enjoy a hot drink and a snack.

LMC Groomer Update: We have installed the parts from the old belts onto the new belts and are almost ready to put the first track back on the machine. Right now the plan is to install the first track back on the LMC tomorrow afternoon. Once we get the track back on the LMC we will lower the machine and jack up the other side to remove the remaining track. We hope to get the second track into the work area tomorrow to let it thaw out overnight and then begin changing the belts on the second track on Monday. We cannot completely install the first track since we are still waiting on some parts that should be here on Monday. We are still hopeful to get the LMC back on the trail and grooming by late next week.

Jim

Grooming Report #46

1/30/09

Happy Friday Skiers-

The snow sure has been flying today!

Dave is currently grooming the Leelanau Trail with the snowmobile. He plans to do a complete groom- all 15 miles- from Suttons Bay to the Cherry Bend Trailhead. A volunteer will again plow the Cherry Bend Parking lot. Thanks guys!

The parts arrived in the office today for the LMC Groomer repair. Jim has already stopped by and the parts are already en route to the Vasa Pathway barn where the LMC is partially taken apart. The groomers plan to meet later today to form a game plan to rebuild the tracks and get things back up and running.

Doug and Paul will to groom all loops (3, 5, 10 and 25K) on the Vasa Pathway tomorrow starting at 6:30 am. They will use the snowmobiles.

Don't forget...TART Trails will be hosting the second Open House of the 2008-2009 ski season this Saturday from 11 am-2 pm at the Acme Trailhead off Bartlett Rd. Stop by and see Pam, Nicole and Glen and enjoy a hot beverage and a snack. Get there early to enjoy the homemade cookies that were lovingly baked by wonderful TART volunteers. http://www.traversetrails.org/blog/winter-open-house-set-for-jan-31/

Have a great weekend,

Missy

1/29/09

Dear fellow skiers,

As Jim Dombrowski has reported, the track on the Vasa Trail groomer is broken. The parts have been ordered. There is a lot of work to get the LMC ready to groom again, hopefully by late next week. Also, the Track Truck that is used to groom the Leelanau Trail broke down on January 16th. Many hours have been spent working on it, but its broken again. Grooming will be done the remainder of the year with a snowmobile and a homemade groomer drag.

We have already had a great season of skiing on both the Vasa Pathway and the Leelanau Trail, and I am confident that the groomers will continue to do a great job with the equipment that is available.

I've just come back from a ski trip to Washington State where it cost $20 for a one day trail pass on the Winthrop City trails. Most daily trail passes are at least $12. If you've purchased a grooming badge from TART for $100 you can see what a great deal you received.

Now is a great time to rally and show appreciation for the grooming program and TART. Please consider an additional donation to TART to help offset the cost of the repair and general operations. There is a donation button right on TART's homepage (http://www.traversetrails.org/) that makes donating to TART really convenient. Thanks for your consideration.

And always, think snow!

Mike Tarnow
TART board member
North American Vasa race board member

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #45

1-28-2009

Glen and I will start grooming the Vasa Trail tomorrow morning at 6:00AM. We will be using the snowmobiles and Ginzu’s and will groom all loops and do our best to reset the Classic tracks. We will start with the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop 25K loop and finish on the 3K Meadows Trail.

LMC Groomer Update: The belts and other parts have been shipped and we expect them to arrive either Friday or Monday. We have removed the broken track and managed to get it into the office where it has been thawing out since yesterday. We will start to remove the hardware from the broken belt tomorrow and install it on the new belts when they arrive. We are hoping to have the LMC ready to groom again by late next week.

Open House: TART Trails will be hosting the second Open House of the 2008-2009 ski season this Saturday from 11AM-2PM at the Acme Trailhead. Stop by and see Pam, Nicole and Glen and enjoy a hot beverage and a snack.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report # 44

1/26/09

Paul and Doug will be grooming the Vasa trail on Tuesday morning starting at 6:30AM using the snowmobiles and Ginzu’s. They will be starting on the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K, 25K and finishing on the 3K Meadows Trail. They will attempt to reset the Classic tracks but if the new tracks do not turn out better than the existing tracks they will leave the existing tracks. In order to reset the tracks the top 2 inches of the existing base must be tilled. The base has been packed very hard by the LMC and the cold weather the past few days has made it even harder. The teeth on the Ginzu have a hard time penetrating the base deep enough to set good tracks. A couple of inches of new snow would improve the Classic skiing dramatically.

Paul was able to find the belts for the LMC Groomer and they are now on order. They will be coming from Quebec. They will need to be cut to size and drilled and they have indicated that they would probably be shipped tomorrow. We expect to receive them late this week or early next week. We will begin removing the tracks from the machine this week and start the disassembly of the tracks. We must remove all of the cleats on the existing belts and install them on the new belts then install the assembled tracks on the LMC. Nobody is more anxious to get the LMC back on the trail than the groomers. After grooming in the heated comfort of the LMC since early December it has been quite a shock to get back on the snowmobiles. Especially as cold as it has been since the LMC broke down.

The second 2008-2009 TART Vasa Trail Winter Open House will be held this Saturday January 31^st from 11AM-2PM at the Acme Trailhead. This one will be hosted by Pam (a TART employee), Nicole (a member of the TART Outreach Committee), and Glen (a member of the grooming crew). They will be serving hot drinks and snacks and will have a fire nearby to warm up by. Get out and enjoy one of the best ski seasons in a long time and stop when you’re finished to say hi.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #43

1-25-2009

I will start grooming the Vasa Trail this morning at 6:00AM. The plan is to use the Ginzu and snowmobile to touch up the skating lane on the 5K Headwaters Trail and the 11K loops and leave the existing Classic tracks. I will probably touch up the 3K Meadows trail as well. I will only groom the 25K loop if it looks like it would help the conditions on that loop. Since most of the skier traffic is on the shorter loops chances are that the 25K loop will be OK.

Jim

Leelanau and Vasa Grooming report #42

1/23/09

Hello skiers,

This year has been tough on our grooming equipment. The Leelanau Groomer broke down on January 16^th and the Vasa Groomer broke down yesterday.

Dave and Mark spent over 24 hours collectively working on the Leelanau Groomer to diagnose the problem and fix it. There was a lot of trial and error. I'm happy to report that they got it running today and Dave groomed from Suttons Bay to somewhere south of Dalzell Rd but before the DeYoung Natural Area- where the groomer, unfortunately, broke down again.

If Dave and Mark can get it running again, they will attempt to complete the groom. Otherwise, we'll have to tow it back up to Suttons Bay and will groom the trail with a snowmobile for the time being.

Also, Paul and Glen plan to groom all loops on the Vasa Pathway starting at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow using the 2 snowmobiles and ginzu's.

Have a good weekend,

Missy

Vasa Groomer Update

1-22-2009

The rubber drive track on the LMC broke this morning during Doug’s groom. Even though the track is the original track, it showed no outward signs of wear.  The entire grooming crew (Paul, Glen, Doug and I) met at the trailhead and worked all day to get the track temporarily repaired to allow us to return the LMC to the barn. Luckily it was a little warmer today so none of us suffered frostbite. Using bailing wire, chewing gum and duct tape (not really but close) we were able to make it from the split rail fence to just past the bridge where it broke again. We repaired the track again well enough to make it back to the barn. We have located some suppliers of track belts and luckily it appears that some still make parts for a 10 year old groomer made by a company that has been out of business for 9 years. Paul will be contacting potential suppliers tomorrow to see when and if we will be able to get new belts. Needless to say we will not be using the LMC again until we can replace the belts. We will be switching back to snowmobiles and Ginzu’s until we can make the repairs. The next groom will be for Saturday morning. I will send out a grooming report when we look at the weather for Friday night/ Saturday morning and decide on a time to groom.

Jim

TART Trails Grooming Report #41

1-22-2009

Doug started grooming this morning with the LMC. After grooming the 5K Headwaters Trail and heading out on the 11K loop the drive track on the LMC broke. He walked back to the trailhead and is in the process of getting the snowmobile and Ginzu ready to complete the groom. He will be making one pass over the skating lane on all trails and leaving the existing Classic tracks.

We will be working on the LMC and trying to remove it from the trail. If you are skiing today use caution in the area between the trailhead and the split rail fence. We may be blocking the trail with equipment.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #40

1-21-2009

Doug is planning on grooming the Vasa Trail tomorrow (Thursday) starting at 6:00AM with the LMC. He will start with the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop, 25K loop and finish on the 3K Meadows Trail. He will be tilling up the existing snow and resetting Classic Tracks on all loops.

With no new snow in the forecast the next groom will probably be on Saturday morning. This could change if we do get significant snow.

Jim

Vasa Pathway Incident

1/21/09

Hello all,

I have sad news regarding an incident on the Vasa Pathway this past Monday. A down-state man passed away after loosing consciousness on the trail. He was attended to by friends and other skiers until the emergency response team arrived.

Members from the TART Trails organization will be meeting with representatives of Grand Traverse Metro and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to review the incident.

Sincerely,

Bob Otwell

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #39

1/20/09

I will start grooming the Vasa Trail with the LMC this morning (Tuesday) at 6:00AM. I will be grooming all loops and resetting Classic tracks. I will start with the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop, 25K loop and finish with the 3K meadows loop. There has been 2 to 3 inches of new snow since the last groom and that will be tilled and mixed with the existing base.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #38

1-18-2009

Glen started grooming the Vasa Trail this morning at 4:30AM. He reported a temperature of 3 degrees at the trailhead with about 1-2 inches of new snow after yesterdays groom. He will be grooming with the LMC and will groom all loops starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop, 25K loop and finishing on the 3K Meadows Trail. He will reset the Classic tracks on all loops.

Thanks to everyone who braved the cold temperatures and brisk wind to ski and visit the TART Open House yesterday. We had a steady turnout and skiers seemed to really enjoy the hot drinks after their ski. They also enjoyed the cookies even though they were frozen by the time most of the skiers got them. Thanks to the volunteers who baked the cookies. They were very good.

The groomer for the Leelanau Trail would not start on Friday so Dave could not groom. He and Mark have been working on getting it running again and TART will send out a report when that groomer is repaired and the trail is groomed.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #37

1-16-2009

Paul will start grooming the Vasa Trail Saturday morning at 5:00AM. He will groom all loops starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop, 25K loop and finish with the 3K Meadows Trail. He will reset Classic tracks on all loops.

The colder weather may cause a few delays in the grooming process as the equipment takes much longer to warm up and sometimes will not work correctly. For example after starting the LMC this morning and letting it run for 10 minutes to warm up, I started grooming and as I tried to back up to groom the area by the parking lot, the tiller would not move to the right. It must be centered behind the LMC before we can back up or groom. The only way I could get it centered was to lower it back down and pull forward until the tiller straightened itself behind the LMC. After I groomed the Headwaters Trail the hydraulic fluid had warmed up enough so that it started working correctly again. This is just one example of the type of problems the groomers must solve during a groom.

We will see you at the TART Trails Winter Open House Saturday from 11AM to 2PM at the Trailhead. We have cookies. We also have warm drinks, a warm fire, and other snacks.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #36

1-15-2009

I will start grooming the Vasa Trail at 6:00AM on Friday morning. With more snow predicted overnight and continued cold temperatures there is no advantage to getting an earlier start. I will be using the LMC and doing a normal groom starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail, 11K loop, 25K loop and finish with the 3K Meadows Trail. I will be resetting Classic tracks on all loops.

Don’t forget to join us at the Acme Trailhead on Saturday from 11AM -2PM for the first 2008-2009 TART Open House.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #35

1-14-2009

Doug plans to start grooming the Vasa Trail at 6:00AM on Thursday. He will do a normal groom starting on the 5K Headwaters trail. He plans on grooming all loops and resetting Classic tracks. He will be using the LMC. The forecast for Thursday is for a high of 5 degrees with 1-3 inches of snow.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #34

1-13-2009

It appears that the latest storm is over for now with more snow in the forecast for Thursday. Glen will start grooming the Vasa Trail at 5:00AM on Wednesday. He will do a normal groom starting on the 5K Headwaters trail. He plans on grooming all loops and resetting Classic tracks. He will be using the LMC and the fresh snow will be mixed in with the existing base. The new snow came at an opportune time as we had been tilling up the same snow for the past few grooms.

TART will be hosting the first Vasa Trail Open House of the 2008-2009 season on Saturday January 17^th from 11AM to 2PM at the Vasa Trailhead. The season has been very good so far and has kept the groomers busy since December 1^st (the first day we are allowed to groom the Vasa Trail). The open house is held to thank everyone who supports the TART grooming program by purchasing a Grooming Badge or feeding the pipe. We will have warm drinks, a warm fire, some snacks and hopefully some homemade cookies. Missy will be on hand to answer questions about TART and will have Grooming Badges for sale for anyone who has not purchased theirs this year. The price is $100 for the season. I will also be there to try to answer any question you may have about grooming. Please join us on Saturday to help celebrate a fantastic start to our ski season.

Jim

1-11-2009

During this morning's groom, Paul noticed that at least two vehicles had driven on the Vasa Trail sometime on Saturday night or early Sunday morning. One had either entered or exited at the trailhead and had driven on portions of the 3K loop and the 11K loop. The other had gained access off of Holiday Hills Road or Lands End and had driven on the 11K loop. This is not only illegal but a danger to skiers especially those who use the trail during the early morning hours while it is still dark. Apparently there was a party with a bonfire near the power lines at the Holiday Hills crossing and some drinking was involved. Paul was able to repair most of the damage by driving the LMC very slow to allow the tiller to grind away the tire marks and fill in the ruts. If anyone has any information as to who may be involved please contact the TART office or the DNR. If you see any vehicles on the trail at any time please get the license number/registration number and or a description of the vehicle and report them. There seems to be more incidents this year than in the past few years and hopefully we can catch them before a skier gets hurt or they damage the trail beyond repair.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #33

01-10-2008

Paul will start grooming the Vasa Trail with the LMC Sunday morning at 4:00AM he will do a complete groom and cover all loops. He will reset Classic Tracks on all loops. The trail was in great shape today but with a lot of skier traffic it was starting to get glazed over later in the day. Tomorrow's groom should have it back to perfect conditions.

For those of you who missed it here is a link to the story that ran on TV 7&4 on Friday. You may recognize a few faces. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get as much face time as Paul did on Fox 33 news on Thursday night but I guess that is one of the advantages of being the Head Groomer.

http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/video.aspx?id=244916

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #32

1-10-2009

The trail set up nicely after yesterdays groom and was fast and hard. With no new snow overnight we have decided to not groom today. The trail was still in great shape yesterday afternoon and the skier traffic was not impacting the trail surface too much. To groom again without new snow would require tilling up the old snow again for the third day in a row. As they say in the grooming business "if your tilling your killing" (the properties of the snow). Re-grooming would also require that the snow set up again before it became as good as the conditions that now exist. A new groom at this time would only slightly (if at all) improve the skiing.

We expect the trail to be busy today and are planning on grooming early tomorrow (Sunday) to eliminate the effects of today's skier traffic.

Jim

1/9/09

Hi there skiers,

Dave called in to report beautiful conditions on the Leelanau Trail today. He groomed from 4^th Street in Suttons Bay all the way to the Cherry Bend Trailhead in Traverse City. He should be finishing up in Suttons Bay shortly. So, get out there and go for a ski on the Leelanau Trail this weekend. It is groomed for both skate and classic-style skiing.

Kudos to our hard working grooming crew! Because of their hard work, we've been quite the hot news story! Both 9-10 News and 7-4 News picked it up and you can read the print features here:

http://www.record-eagle.com/local/local_story_009094800.html

http://www.mynorth.com/My-North/January-2009/Affordable-North-Ski-Traverse-Citys-Vasa-Trail-Now/index.php?previewmode=on

I hope you all enjoy the trails and thank the groomers when you see them around. They do a great job! What a winter!

-Missy

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #30

1-9-2009

I will start grooming the Vasa Trail this morning at 6:00AM. Heavy lake effect snow was predicted overnight and as of this morning we received about 2 inches in town. The Vasa Trail probably received more. I will be grooming with the LMC and will reset Classic Tracks on all loops. I will do a normal groom starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail, then the 11K, 25K and finish on the 3K Meadows Trail.

Some of you may have seen our Head Groomer and Media star Paul on Fox 33 News last night. He was talking about the new snowmobile TART purchased this fall and how busy the groomers have been this winter. Nice job Paul.

Jim

TART Trails Vasa Grooming Report #29

1-7-2009

Glen plans on touching up the skating lanes on all loops Tuesday morning starting at 7:00AM. He will be using the snowmobile and Ginzu and make one pass on all loops starting with the 5K Headwaters Trail. He will leave the existing Classic tracks that were set with the LMC yesterday morning. This is assuming we do not receive any significant additional snow overnight in which case he may do a LMC groom.

Jim