There are more than a few people in Estevan wishing for snow.
These winter athletes want the white stuff to hurry up and blanket the earth, or at least the southeastern part of Saskatchewan, so they can get on their snowmobiles and ride.
Dave Heier, president of the Estevan Snowmobile Club, said the trail captains are in place and once the snow falls their 260 kilometres of trails will be up and running. He said the plan as they head into the season is to make sure they have enough trail signs and they are properly placed and their groomers complete their necessary training.
“The other thing was we approved expenditures for a warm-up shelter somewhere northwest of Lampman on the trail,” said Heier, noting the shelter will be completed for this season and compliment their existing shelters near Benson, Wilmar and Outram. He said the cost to the club to build the shelter will come in at $3,000 to $5,000 depending on what they receive for donations and in-kind work.
The Estevan Snowmobile Club is planning to hold two derbies this season with the first happening on the first weekend of February and the second occurring on the first weekend of March. Each will be located at the Estevan Archery Club. A popular derby in Arcola staged by the town’s Optimist Club is also planned for the end of January.
Heier said the club is in a good position financially heading into the season with approximately $10,000 in savings and having almost paid off the $135,000 groomer they purchased three years ago. He said the club raises money through their derbies as well as the funding they receive from the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Association through their licence registration program and their 4-Sled Raffle promotion.
There are about 15 to 20 regular members of the Estevan Snowmobile Club and they also welcome a lot of other non-members who volunteer their time to help the club. Heier said new members are also welcome, but their gratitude towards volunteer help cannot be understated because it is a lot of work to get their 260 kms of trails up and running each season.
“Our trails run all the way up to Benson and across to Wilmar and then north into Arcola, so we join up with Moose Mountain trails up there,” he said. “We have a south trail that goes down past Rafferty (Dam) and goes out south of Oungre, comes around by Boundary Dam and back to town.”
