One Snowmobiler’s Thoughts Heading Into The Off-Season

Happy April 1! I hadn’t been tricked by an April Fools Day joke until my co-worker Becca, who’s the art director of Snow Goer magazine, told me that Hillary Clinton had been indicted today. “So now what?” I said, but she just smiled and laughed. Other April Foolery I heard today includes: an ad on Facebook said that reservations for Lake Superior whale-watching tours are filling up fast; and that management of the building where Snow Goer magazine is based is going to put a coyote on the grounds to help thin out the flock of geese who hang out here. Frankly, based on all of the land mines scattered on the sidewalk and parking lot, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. As we head into the first weekend of April and the impending end of the snowmobile season, here are some things that are on the mind of one Snow Goer staffer.

I hope to get another chance to ride a new Summit this spring before the snow melts in Montana.
I hope to get another chance to ride a new Summit this spring before the snow melts in Montana.

 

  1. I’m coming to grips with the fact that my snowmobile season is probably done because most of the snow has melted all over Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Snow Goer contributor T.J. Krob says conditions are still good out near his home in Bozeman, Montana, so I could head out there, but he’s not sure how much longer the good snow will stick around.
  2. So since my snowmobile helmet will soon be shelved for the summer, it’s time for me to dust off my dirt bike helmet. I’m going to head to southern Missouri next week for a dirt bike trip. That means I’ll be spending time over the next few days prepping my KTM for the trip. I’ll roll it out of my friend’s shed, clean the carb and tear a few ruts in his yard before swapping out the rear tire for a hoop that will have more grip in rocky conditions where we’re going to ride.
  3. The aforementioned melted snow means it’s time to take down the snowmobile trail signs. Tomorrow, I’ll head out with other members of my town’s snowmobile club to pull stakes and disassemble the semi-permanent map boards that we put up last fall. Last month was warm where I live, so warm, in fact, that some farmers have allegedly already been working some of the fields that our trails cross, so we need to get moving! Ironically, the forecast calls for snow overnight tonight and into the morning. [Rolls eyes.]
  4. The NHL hockey season is almost a wrap, and the Minnesota Wild are trying to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team with the silliest name/”mascot” in all pro sports lost last night to the Ottawa Senators, but the Wild can right the ship tonight against the desperate Detroit Red Wings. This is a fun time of the year for hockey fans like me as teams scramble to the finish.
  5. As I alluded to up top, I hope I’ll be able to make a quick run out to Montana after I return from Missouri. T.J. has been running a demo M 8000, Pro-RMK and Viper M-TX all winter, and for the past few weeks he’s had a prototype 2017 Summit X 850 E-TEC 165. I rode new Summits in Montana at our annual Rode Reports test event in February and loved them, so I’d like to become even more familiar with the new Ski-Doo Gen4 REV platform. T.J. also has three snow bikes, so it would be fun to rip around on those, too.

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