Tuesday Trail Talk: December 10, 2024

Stepping Up On Grooming

We’ve been grooming single-track trails for many years to provide a unique winter trail experience for snowshoers, skiers, and fat bikers. All groomed trails are open to these users, offering a distinctive and challenging outdoor adventure. With varied terrain and conditions, you can typically expect “take your bike for a walk” in certain areas.

Throughout the winter, we’ve worked to pack and maintain these trails. This has primarily been done using snowshoers and a “pulk-style” groomer pulled by either a skier or a snowshoer. In some areas, a snowmobile has also been used for grooming. While this method provides excellent trail packing and a smooth finish, our snowmobile isn’t ideal for slow-speed grooming, and at 42 inches wide, it’s unsuitable for areas with little to no snow.

To address these challenges, we’ve transitioned to a better solution: the SnowDog. This equipment is essentially a snowmobile track and motor that pulls a sled or groomer while the operator stands on it. At just 22 inches wide, it allows us to access virtually all trails!

We’re excited to announce that we acquired the SnowDog this past weekend, thanks to a generous donation from Chris and Sharon Smith. Their support enabled us to purchase this new groomer, which will allow us to efficiently and consistently groom 24-inch-wide single-track trails.

With the addition of more trail miles this year, we can offer users a reliable option to get off the ski trails and fully enjoy the single tracks of Casper Mountain. We’ll begin training on the SnowDog soon, and with the recent snowfall—and future snowfalls—we look forward to creating some incredible trails for you to enjoy.