Start Up History

03:00 PM - December 19, 2023

It hasn't been a great start for our 23-24 season. I've been keeping records for over 20 years and seen some of the bad and good times. Here is a brief history of grooming status over the last 18 years if you care to take the time and read through it. I want to give a personal thanks to all of my followers over the many years of doing my trail reports. I've met many of you through these years and some have become personal friends that I do cherish. Thank You!!!!

Year 22-23 Started grooming out of Rogers Lake on Dec 15. A little melt down near Christmas but up and running shortly after. Grooming out of the lodge area late Dec and into Bathurst early Jan. Great season overall. Stopped grooming early April.

Year 21-22 we had snow as early as October. A bit of rain and snow since then, but not enough to groom as of Dec 23 from Rogers Lake to Governor's. Dec 29 trails from the lodge going west were groomed. Big dump on Jan 14. This got us up and running until April. Stopped grooming early April. Good season overall.

Year 20-21 Pre Dec 15. Good dump in the high grn (24 inches) on Dec 5&6 Only 4 inches in Bathurst. Dec 15 started grooming out of Roger's Lake. As of Jan 15 we did not have enough snow out of Bathurst to groom.Good dump on January 18th. Grooming to Bathurst on the 19th. Good sledding until mid March. Closed trails from Bathurst on Mar 26 plus lodge closed. Stopped all major grooming by April 1.

Year 19-20 Pre Dec 15 Up to 3 feet of good snow Lodge to Serpentine. Plenty of sledding. Then Lost over 2 ½ feet two weekends Dec 7 an Dec 13 with extremely mild weather. Dec 27 Got about 40 cm back in the high ground . Opened trail to Bathurst, but minimal snow. Jan 11 & 12: 15 mm of rain followed by 30 cm of snow. Trails awesome after. Feb 7 40 CM of good snow. Trails excellent until 28 warm weather. Feb 28 30 CM of much needed snow .

Year 19-20 Pre Dec 15 Up to 3 feet of good snow Lodge to Serpentine. Plenty of sledding. Trails awesome after. Feb 7 40 CM of good snow. Trails excellent until 28 warm weather. Feb 28 30 CM of much needed snow and good through end of April

Year 18-19 Great snow from Oct to Dec 15. Sleds moving in the highlands. First time ever that we had groomers out prior to Dec 15th prepping trails. Dec 15. All groomers on the move Dec 15 through March 1 phenomenal snow with up to 6ft + perfect trails for the most part with no major disruptions. Mar 1 to Apr1, not much snow, about 30 cm in all but great sledding Apr 1 to 15 Still great sledding 4th Groomed all trails Bathurst to Serp.

Year 17-18 Dec 10 to Dec 15, Received up to 40 Cm by then. Dec 14 Floated #2 to Rogers Lake close to 45 Cm above the lodge. Dec 17 By them 75% of system groomed including to Bathurst Trails 7 out of 10. Dec 23 & 25 Received another 40 Cm and we were V Good to go. Jan 4/5 Another 62 cm Drifts as high as 8 feet. Jan 12 35 mils of rain & 5 cms of snow Trails still good.. Jan 15 to Feb 15 Lots of snow with some rain mix. Trails awesome. Mar 8th to the 15th three Nor’easters with a total of 90 cm but very warm temps, Mar 31st up to 4 feet of base and trails excellent, Not much grooming mild. Apr 4th Noreaster with 30 cm of snow

Year 16-17 Dec 3rd 15 to 50 cm of snow down from Bathurst to Serpentine. Dec 14 Floated #2 to Nepisiguit close to 3 feet at lodge. Dec 15 Groomed Nep Lod to Serpentine. Jan 10th Excellent conditions 3 to 4 feet of snow, great base. Jan 11 to 13 a little melt, but no damage, other than icy bed. Jan 13 to Jan 31 trails in excellent condition. Ice storm of 2017 didn’t affect us. Feb 1st to Feb 23 trails very good. A little wet spell for two days, nothing major. Mar 15th excellent trails everywhere in the north 12” of wet snow put a big damper on conditions. Mar 28 more snow 3 to 4 cm trails still good from Bathurst to Serpentine. Apr 3 Last day of any significant grooming. Conditions bad to good to great.

Year 15-16 Not a drop of snow before the 15th. 50 cm on the 15th and 16th Nothing frozen Between Bathurst and the lodge. Still very mild. Dec 18th Floated the #1 to Rogers Lake and started grooming from there to Serpentine. No significant freeze throughout province. Dec 22nd Patching Trail from Bathurst to Nine Mile East. Good from Lodge out. Dec 30th Trails still closed from Bathurst to Lodge. Jan 5th Trail open to the Lodge from the Host, Beaver pond from East an issue. Jan 10/11 30 mm of rain followed by a deep freeze. Ice conditions. Jan through to Feb Trails very good hard & fast. Feb through to March Rain & snow, but no trails closed, Some ice in late Feb but doable

Year 14-15 Up to 3 feet of snow, but very wet underneath. Lots of holes and water cuts. Dec 15: Started prepping the trails and lots of traffic. Dec 25: 25 MM of rain , but still going, Need big time freezing. still great sledding through the north. Jan 26 to 30 Rc’d about 60 cm of snow February: Trails in phenomenal shape. March 31: All trails stiil great with no severe melt downs yet. April 7: Trails great, no issues. 2 to 3 feet of trail bed.

Year 13-14 Dec 15: Started packing & grooming. Dec 21: Lodge opened. Earliest on record. All trails groomed. Lots of snow. Jan 12: 40 mm rain; 2nd rainfall in a week. Jan 17: Some water cuts here and there, but al trails very doable. Lube?? Jan 20: All trails good to excellent after some trail repair here & there. Lots of snow from now until end of season Stopped grooming Apr 10 after some rain, but trails good to excellent. Some sledding into may. Best season on record. Over 2000 hours groomed.

Year 12-13 Dec 28: Started grooming right from Bathurst, Conditions From Bathurst to the Lodge were doable. Grooming all trails above Lodge. Dec 27 8 to 10 inches conditions much improved. As time progressed towards Jan 12 snow gradually wore out between Bathurst and the Lodge where conditions just became doable in that stretch. Jan 13 /14 Mild spell 4 to 11 deg forced to call Everything closed from the City, doable from Lodge out to shelter. Jan 22 Reopened the trails after 10 to 15 cm Still scratchy. Jan 31 All Trails closed in NB due to rain & meltdown. Feb 3-4 10 cm snow open from lodge west but icy no grooming. Feb 9 Major storm to the south 15 cm in Bathurst. Feb 17 & 20 Two majors in a row total close to 95 cm. Back in Business. Mar 29 All Trails from the city closed. Still grooming Lodge going West. April 8. Last grooming. Trails fair to poor on what is left.

Year 11-12 Dec 22 Started grooming from Rogers Lake Conditions were not that great. A bit of mild towards Jan 1. People running off trail. Limited grooming Jan 4. Jan 8 to 9 Broke Trail from Host to Lodge, Not much snow + overhanging alders. Great freezing temps with no water. Great conditions with not much snow in PEI/NS. March 18, 19 temperatures near +28 degrees. Season is toast.

Year 10-11 Preping Trails Dec 26 . Started grooming on the 28th after Storm on Dec 26 & 27 Extremely mild weather. Lots of washouts and wet areas. Conditions much improved by Jan 20. Feb 21 over 260 Cm down in Bathurst area with great conditions. Mar 14 20 mm rain on 11 & 12 but very manageble. -5 deg. Mar 31 No trails closed yet with great base depth. Apr 15 Last day out of the Lodge. Still great up high. Apr 07 08 09 Last Grooming Days. Apr 23 Lot s of people still sledding in the golden triangle. Apr 27 Game over with the rain & mild weather

Year 09-10 Start-up Dec 29 last grooming Mar 28. Poor year as far as linking trails throughout the Province. We had a good year except for linking to the City

Year 08-09 Start-up Dec 16 and never looked back. Closed Trails April 15

Year 07-08 Start-up Dec 15 and never looked back.

Year 06-07 Preped Trails on Jan 15 and started Jan 19. Not a great year

Year 05-06 Dec 25 50 cm storm and started on 26 and 27. Decent Year

Year 04-05 Start-up Dec 17, Melt down with warm weather and 50mm of rain on Dec 24. Never got any better and closed the trails Jan 3. Due to ice and not enough snow cover. Started back up on Jan 10. So So year.