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Whitecourt, Alberta

Sharing the experience

The Whitecourt Trailblazers treated a group of sledders
and non-snowmobilers to a tour of their trail system

by DWAYNE BRANDLY

THE GANG: Everyone who attended the media ride enjoyed sledding and making new friends in Whitecourt.

AT WORK: The Trailblazers do an excellent job of maintaining their trails—and those on the tour got to see some club members in action.

Recently, I was invited to join the Whitecourt Trailblazers for their annual media ride—held in preparation for their annual Family Day Poker Rally on February 16 and 17, 2008. The theme was Take a Friend Snowmobiling. Thinking this was going to be a slow ride teaching some folks how to snowmobile, I agreed to go along. Boy was I wrong.

The club members had this trip well organized. We met at 10:30 a.m. at the Quality Inn parking lot in Whitecourt, Alberta, where the temperature was a balmy -18°C. About 28 sledders took part in the ride. There were experienced club members and local media types, as well as town council members waiting to go. Some of these people had never been snowmobiling before.

New discoveries
The club made sure everyone was outfitted with the proper snowmobile gear, helmets, boots and gloves. Several members made their sleds available for those who did not have a ride. Ken Linford, Trailblazers president, welcomed everyone and gave some brief instructions on how we should travel. We were divided into groups of four—two non-sledders with two experienced sledders—and off we went. That ended the mundane part of this trip.

The groomer had gone out earlier, so the trail was in top shape and there was no shortage of snow. I was among one of the first groups to leave.

We drove out of the parking lot, down the embankment and onto the Athabasca River. The newbies were a bit apprehensive going down the bank and crossing the river, but that hesitation very quickly faded as we made our way around an island and onto the far side of the river.

We climbed out of the valley and very soon joined the main trail system, stopping several times to take in the view or wait for the rest of the group to catch up.

Along the trail we came across a fresh set of wolf tracks, which had been made after the groomer passed by earlier that day. We checked in with one of our group members—Nieta World, who is a town councillor and first-time sledder—at every stop and she was having a blast. We gave her some tips on leaning into the turns and standing up and leaning while turning. She rode like a pro and it was great to see her confidence build as the ride progressed.

Twenty-four kilometres later, we arrived at the Athabasca warm-up shelter where we were greeted by a few club members who had gone out earlier that day to prepare a fire and make sure the lunch was ready for us to cook. The shelter is a good-sized log cabin, outfitted with a wood fire heater, a couple of tables and several lines of coat hooks around the walls for drying wet clothes. Although it was still -12°C outside, we put a couple of wieners on a cooking stick and headed outside to the fire pit to cook our food.

I was impressed with everyone. These guys and gals really had the ride, the trail and the food well organized. And it was a great day: bright and sunny with no wind and it warmed up considerably. All of the club members made sure everyone was well looked after, had something to eat and drink and had a chance to warm up and visit.

Lasting impressions
I talked to a radio announcer named Jeremy. By his accent, I could tell he was Australian. Jeremy told me he hasn’t been in Canada for very long and this was his first snowmobile trip. He was thrilled to be here. Jeremy told me that he had tried to describe snowmobiling to the people back home and they just could not understand the concept of having fun in the cold, dressed in bulky clothes and driving a noisy machine across the snow. I’m really glad Jeremy had a good time.

I also talked to Bob the trapper. He has lived in Whitecourt for more than 30 years and this was his first time at this cabin. He was very impressed.

After lunch and a group photo, we headed back along a different route. We got ahead of the groomer and the trail was still clean and smooth. That’s because earlier this fall, the club organized a couple of work days to clear the trails of unwanted debris. It sure paid off. In several places we were able to go off the trail and play in nice powdery snow. Even a few of the non-sledders ventured off the trail a couple of times.

Not far from town we stopped at an overlook on the bank of the Athabasca and enjoyed a great view of the frozen river, the town and a lumber mill.

Looking forward to more great sledding
Back on the trail, we followed our leader down the winding slope to the river’s edge, across the river and back to the parking lot.

I spoke with Nieta World and told her how impressed I was that she learned to take control of the sled and stand up and gain a lot of confidence. World told me that a few years ago she had to give up motorbiking because she had gotten a pacemaker. She was told not to do anything very strenuous, such as riding in a powerboat, so she was a bit concerned about snowmobiling. However, World was impressed with the smoothness of both the snowmobile and the trail. She definitely would take advantage of an opportunity to go sledding again.

Thanks to the members of the Whitecourt Trailblazers and their fantastic organizational skills—they made this trip enjoyable for everyone.

The Family Day Poker Rally on February 16 and 17 promises to be a great time. I can hardly wait.

Click here for information about the Whitecourt Trailblazers Family Day Poker Rally.