John Trumbley knows sleds. The member of the Border Explorers Snowmobile Club has taken trips as far south as the Canada-U.S. border. He said that advances in technology, both inside and outside the snowmobile have made riding safer than ever, comparing the advances in technology to cars.
“Drive a 1955 or 1965 Volkswagen and jump into a 2020 Cadillac and see what the differences are,” Trumbley said.
“Snowmobiles are much warmer. They have heated seats now, heated handlebars, you have heated vests. Technology has improved miles and miles.”
Trumbley emphasized the importance of learning how to maintain and fix your snowmobile on your own and have supplies on hand if something goes wrong miles from home.
“Always, always, always bring spare parts,” he said.
“The main things to carry are a spare belt and spark plugs.”
Trumbley said on longer trips, he employs a buddy system and packs away survival gear.
“Always let somebody know where you’re going and don't ride alone,” he said.
“Let somebody know where you're going even with a buddy. Bring a safety kit, a first aid kit, always helps. Bring more if you’re traveling to more remote or further distances. We take things like a solar blanket, lighters, survival gear.”
Trumbley also said riders should use the interactive maps that both Saskatchewan and Manitoba use to show trail conditions, including the last time they were groomed.
He added that riders in Saskatchewan have to complete an online course before riding in that province.
“I think there's more respect for responsible riders now than there was back in my younger days,” he said.
“It’s so much easier to find information out there.”
Trumbley said the Flin Flon area isn’t in the greatest condition right now and urged riders to be aware.
“There’s a very fair amount of slush out there right now,” he said.
“We preach to our people to make sure we're very careful around the slush. I run a groomer so you know make sure that we're extremely careful around the slush. We don't have super great ice right now. We can't get out yet in some areas because we just don't have enough ice for the machine. In our area, make sure you know where you're going.”
Trumbley has to be especially careful when running the heavy trail groomer the Border Explorers use to create the trails around Flin Flon.
“There's no room for error,” he said.
“We absolutely do not take it out without proper ice checks. It's a slim possibility, if you ever go down, you don't surface. Even if you do swim to the top, lots of times I'm miles away from anything. By the time anybody gets to me, I'd freeze to death anyways. We absolutely do everything in our power to not to make sure the ice is enough for us to groom.”
The strict staking program means that trails are ensured to be safe.
“Every lake has a stake on it every tenth of a mile,” he said.
“Every stake is ice checked, so we know how much is iced. We drill every marker and we put in about 1,400 holes.”
For up to date trail conditions in the Flin Flon area, visit snoman.evtrails.com.
