Warmth, Postponed Races, Memories, More…
Warm Granite State Winter— New Hampshire’s newspaper, the CONCORD MONITOR reports that the unseasonably warm winter is being taken personally by some state residents.
Reports the Monitor: “For school bus drivers, firefighters and the elderly, the warmth is a blessing, keeping roads and sidewalks clear of snow and ice and preventing falls and crashes. For winter sport enthusiasts and anyone with snow tires or a plow, it's a curse, mucking up the slopes and rendering snow equipment useless.
“Cory Turner, a 25-year-old volunteer firefighter in Deerfield, said he's out at least $100 because of the weather. He registered his two snowmobiles (about $50 each), but he hasn't been able to use them for the past two winters because of warm temperatures and little snow.
"It's a lot of money to fork out if you don't end up using them," he said.
Snowmobile Races Rescheduled— Lake effect snows come early to Buffalo, New York, but this season, the snow went away early, too! That caused the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour Snocross race, originally scheduled for Feb. 11 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY, to be rescheduled due to lack of snow. The event will now move to Park X at Quadna in Hill City, MN on Feb. 10-11 where it will be renamed the PowerSports Snowmobile Tour Eastern National Snocross.
Scott O’Malley, PowerSports Entertainment president is quoted as saying: “This has been the warmest winter in many years, and the Buffalo event was an unfortunate casualty of that phenomenon. We have a great history of racing at Ralph Wilson Stadium; one we plan to continue next season. Buffalo is an important market for us, and its fans and business community are always extremely supportive of the Tour."
Weather in the mid-50s and forecasts for more above-freezing temperatures made snow making impossible at the venue. PowerSports Entertainment, Inc. Executive Vice President, Operations, Kent Lungstrom said: “We had to make a decision as to what was in the best interest of our fans, riders and sponsors, so we made the call to relocate the event.”
Park X will now host the PowerSports Snowmobile Tour Eastern National Snocross, featuring a full slate of racing. Park X boasts a purpose-built racing course, designed with both the riders and fans in mind. The event will be telecast on ESPN2 on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. EST. For ticket information, visit www.powersportstour.com or call 651-209-7404.
Maine Woes— Mark Chag, writing in the ADVERTISER/DEMOCRAT which serves the Oxford Hills area of Maine, notes that the impact of this year's warm winter has affected the outdoor sports fans.
Meteorologists reported temperatures into the first weekend of the New Year as high as 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the region. Temperatures like that hardly produce steady snowfall, or help solidify the area lakes — some lakes were showing whitecaps on the water, not ice cover.
Chag reported that snowmobile sales were an issue at Maine-Ly Action Sports, on Route 26 in Oxford. Sales representative James Bowden questioned the future of the sport this year.
"It's pretty bad," Bowden said. He says that each year, when new models of snowmobiles are released, customers typically order them well in advance of the winter season. Over the past several years, it was not unusual to sell anywhere between 20 to 50 snowmobiles during the preseason. This year, Bowden said the store sold one!
What would it take to get snowmobilers out on the trails this year? According to Bowden, it would take “…about a week of cold weather, when it doesn't get above freezing so that the ground will harden up. Then we need about 24 to 30 inches of snow over two or three storms. We need snow right away. At this point people are so desperate to ride."
Chag reports that while Maine-Ly Action Sports also sells and services ATVs for the warmer months, dealers across the state who specialize only in snowmobiles could truly feel the pinch if the warm weather trend continues.
Will McLaughlin, of Colby's Arctic Cat Sales and Service in South Paris told Chag: “I can't imagine they could survive two bad years in a row," speaking of dealers who specialize only in snowmobiles. "It's not just the little guys that get hurt by it either, the big guys get hurt as well."
Nevertheless, Mclaughlin, who says sales are "obviously down" with the lack of snow so far this year, says customers are hopeful about the remaining winter ahead.
“People I've talked to are pretty optimistic that we'll get some snow eventually," said McLaughlin. "They feel pretty much that there's no way we can go two years in a row with no snow."
Reporting for the newspaper, Chag found that area restaurants and gas stations which lie along shores of lakes and snowmobile trails —and depend on the snowmobilers for revenue in the winter months— could see a decline in business.
Bad Before — Having been in the snow biz for nearly 40 years, we at snowmobilia.com have seen bad winters, but probably nothing quite like this. In the early 1970s, an oil crisis combined with snow shortages and a poor economy to keep sled sales soft.
In fact, having started in the biz about 1973 as a snowmo-writer, every year seemed to be more of a downward slide than the one before. We believed the slide would bottom. And it did — about 1986! Then it climbed as overproduction, fuel prices, and economic conditions stabilized --and, the big boon, was lots of good snowy winters that brought sled sales to a second coming of profitability.
It seemed in those good times that no matter what marketing ploy was tried, it worked! Now, as in the late 1970s, it seems that no matter what magic marketing scheme is tried, nothing much happens!
Just remember this-- When Snow Happens! Good things happen!
40 Years— Michigan Snowmobiler, founded by Lyle Shipe of East Jordan, Michigan, in 1967 celebrates its 40th anniversary season! Congratulations to Lyle and his crew of Michigan snowmobilers.
Lyle is character with a long and extensive history in the sport as a snowmobile activist. He can tell you tales of how Michigan snowmobiling got started and about the fights for funding that state snowmobilers had to endure to get trail systems in place. His memory banks are replete with a list of “good guys” who acted on behalf of snowmobilers— and some not-so-good guys who tried to thwart snowmobiling in those early years. Way to go Lyle!
© 2007 snowmobilia/Jerry Bassett
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