View Full Version : Grooming
Snowlover
02-23-08, 07:13 PM
Monday I am taking a day off work to go up with the Fish Lake groomer and learn the in's and out's of grooming. I am looking forward to seeing the process in person. I know it take years to become a great groomer but I hope to learn as much as I can in one day. Depending on how much I learn and understand, I was hoping to write an article for our newsletter about grooming and the dedicated volunteers who man our cat's so the rest of us can ride.
Monday I am taking a day off work to go up with the Fish Lake groomer and learn the in's and out's of grooming. I am looking forward to seeing the process in person. I know it take years to become a great groomer but I hope to learn as much as I can in one day. Depending on how much I learn and understand, I was hoping to write an article for our newsletter about grooming and the dedicated volunteers who man our cat's so the rest of us can ride.
Sounds like fun.... Take the camera with and give us a "behind the scenes" tour.
Have fun!
Ben
i went grooming for the first time this weekend as well....up at hoodoo.... we groomed about 50 or so miles. i must say it opens your eyes to some of the craziness that you can encounter driving /operating the groomer. i plan on going out a few more times and learning a little more about how to make the perfect trails and all that stiuff, then maybe i can start grooming on my own.. have fun though.. its a blast
Snowlover
02-24-08, 06:37 PM
The hardest part will be getting up in the morning! :) He is picking me up at 6:30 a.m.
http://www.ktvb.com/video/?z=y&nvid=220302
Sometimes you get your picture took!
Snowlover
02-24-08, 06:53 PM
http://www.ktvb.com/video/?z=y&nvid=220302
Sometimes you get your picture took!
That is an interesting video. More proof why I will never venture knowingly onto a frozen body of water!!!
I wonder why he didn't want to go "on camera"? I know I would be a little embarrassed about this happening to me. THey will get it out eventually I am sure, but it is going to be a tough haul for sure.
CrescentLake
02-25-08, 03:19 PM
I got to go along on a groomer this last weekend and what a kick in the butt. We drove around Crescent Lake and up by Summit Lake over to Kelsey Loop and back over Windygo Pass. I've gone out one other time so this time they let me drive on the easy sections. I noticed it takes a lot of hand eye coordination. I was always keeping my eye's on the mirrors seeing how much snow I was bring up with my blade. Also keeping an eye on the blade in front of the groomer. I was trying to keep the groomer on the section that had been groomed before but one time I went off in the the soft deep part and the front blade stopped the groomer. One thing I did notice while we were driving around Crescent Lake was people driving on the lake it's self. I was thinking this wasn't to smart. I noticed we did get a lot of thumbs up from snowmobilers that passed us. There were a lot of sleds out last weekend.
Snowlover
02-25-08, 05:29 PM
I just got back and am a little tired and have to get ready for work. It was a blast even though it was a twelve hour day! I took lots of pictures and shot a video of the groomer cutting out a road crossing. I will share them assuming any came out and as soon as I get them uploaded! I also got to drive the groomer on an easy part and that hydraulic steering isn't as easy as it looks. I got better as I got used to it but if you are up at Fish Lake this week and you see about a two or three mile section that makes you wonder if the groomer was drunk, it was just me!!!
Maybe we should check LC's lunch a little closer!
I just got back and am a little tired and have to get ready for work. It was a blast even though it was a twelve hour day! I took lots of pictures and shot a video of the groomer cutting out a road crossing. I will share them assuming any came out and as soon as I get them uploaded!
Sounds like fun. Looking forward to the behind the scenes footage.
Ben
Snowlover
02-26-08, 07:58 PM
Here we go:
The snow was a little sticky so we are cleaning out the Idaho (I use we loosely):
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer002.jpg
We had a beautiful day to work with:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer008.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer009.jpg
Dropping the Idaho to make a first run on a trail:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer014.jpg
We had to cut out a road crossing. Here we are digging out a hole and then used the blade to pull the snow away from the road:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer015.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer018.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer019.jpg
Finally breaking through the first side:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer023.jpg
Snowlover
02-26-08, 08:10 PM
The other side:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer027.jpg
Cutting out the other side:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer029.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer032.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer033.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer034.jpg
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer035.jpg
The finished product:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/ADayWithAGroomer038.jpg
cool. Looks like metal tracks? And the big cab, wow. Its not full of junk is it?? Do you have more pics? Maybe one with the driver stuffing his face with lunch..Some little piece of blackmail!! Unless it was not LC..
Snowlover
02-26-08, 08:26 PM
Yep, steel tracks. And yes, it was LC. It is full of tools and such but very organized.
I am currently working on loading a four minute video I took of LC cutting out the second side but it is taking some time to download.
He is having tooo much fun! He should be at our next meeting..some little embarassing picture...story..you know, what are buddies for??
Snowlover
02-26-08, 08:38 PM
Hopefully this works. Here is a four minute video of making the road crossing:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/th_ADayWithAGroomer040.jpg (http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u87/SnowloverMT/?action=view¤t=ADayWithAGroomer040.flv)
Snowlover
02-26-08, 08:40 PM
He is having tooo much fun! He should be at our next meeting..some little embarassing picture...story..you know, what are buddies for??
And you call me mean!! ;) I'll see if I can't come up with something....does it have to be true?? :)
Not if he know what its about!!
The movie was good, sound and all, I need a btter shooter like yours. How do you get your pics up without thumbnails?
Thanks for sharing. It's always interesting to see how some of this is done.
Ben
Snowlover
02-27-08, 08:25 PM
The movie was good, sound and all, I need a btter shooter like yours. How do you get your pics up without thumbnails?
I download them onto Photobucket and then use the image code Photobucket provides in the post. I use this method on the Rogue Snowmobilers website so that the pictures don't take forever to load up and slow the website down. I truly don't understand all the computer gobbly gook but I know it works!
p.s. Photobucket is free..
blubyou
02-29-08, 04:42 AM
http://www.roguesnowmobilers.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=149
No competion here but I encourage you all to check this out as well.
That's such a great video and pictures. Snowlover did you get all the safety training necessary before the OSSA grooming director at large took you for a ride in the cat? I ask because when I asked to go for a ride in the rogue cat a few years back I was told that I needed a cpr and first aid card before I could ride along. Don't you think we all have to follow the same rules?
Lets make you the captain of the football team, you and one other person have to choose from a group of people one at a time to make your team. If you used the same rule to choose you might have all big slow brutes that can't run or catch. You choose a winning team by identifying whats missing on your team and choosing those traits. Nothing against the person who may not have those traits, but if that person wants to play ,they play by looking around for the team missing what they have to offer. So..the rules are the same for all, they are more complex than someone not familier with the game might suspect!!
Snowlover
02-29-08, 07:45 AM
And what makes you think I don't have a card....have you been digging around in my purse again??? ;) :) :)
blubyou
03-03-08, 07:11 AM
Well as long as we are using sports anologies I think I have identified what's missing in some grooming programs and clubs team wise.
Good and honest communication is integral for all teams to work well. If you consider that OSSA is the team and that the clubs are the players or the league then I think we all have a lot to work on when it comes to teamwork fundamentals.
I learned something recently and I won't make the same mistake twice. You have to be careful who you listen to and who you express your opinion to! Why? because sometimes team mates get traded to other teams and they know the game plan from the team they just left. Does this give the new team an unfair advantage over the old team the next time they play? It all depends on the integrity of the player.
We as groomers have a communicating relationship with the OSSA quite a bit..Sometimes we do a lot of listening followed by begging if we break something!!
I have been trying to get OSSA involved with something for the powder and boondocker people..like me..for a few years. Trails are nice to socialize on and critique what works and dosn't work grooming wise, but I like to ride logging roads, cuts, mountains..things that haven't been ridden. What does OSSA do that would require more involvement for the general club, like the groomers? Nothing!, except work against closure like SAWS. What can they do? Work with USFS for a high country shelter or"Hut to Hut" program for us? Like Mamouth? Does that or something else like it mean enough that if OSSA picks up the idea a LOT more of us boondockers and powder people would feel like they are one of us again and join? We need something to be involved with outside of the groomers too. To many clubs hardly care what the groomers are doing anymore! I guess what I'm trying to say is when OSSA started they were all united because everybody rode trail. Now very few short track and two up machines are sold, most are powder specific in oregon. OSSA is in a rough way to follow the trend..We use the trail up pelican as something to jump, mostly we go up on the ungroomed routes on the east side. Ash creek is fun especially if you don't ride the trail to get there. Swan lake..How can OSSA get our interest and lnvolvement?
The "team" example was thinking like wild fire fighting teams, We work with the other teams, trading players between us broadens our bag of tricks we use against the "enemy" that darn trail!!
blubyou
03-03-08, 06:14 PM
You have a unique perspective that I see the truth of. Seems like OSSA might want to pay attention to the feed back here!
Snowlover
03-03-08, 07:32 PM
Movin,
That is a very interesting point which I have never really thought about. I am pretty new to snowmobiling (about 4 years) and only this year have I tried off trail stuff and I love it.
So if the trend it off trail and most of the people I know only use the trail to get somewhere to get off and play, what does our club or OSSA have to offer them? As a board member of my club, that is something to ponder and discuss.
We are OSSA..can we help them with idea's, if it works for them it works for us. Their idea is we all go get a new member and wow watch us grow! The person who just bought the new trail machine approached by a club member and shown the trails will feel like joining.
The next 99 people bought crossover and powder machines approached by club member and shown umm duh..will feel like joining? That ratio is not far off by the way. What do we insert in the empty spot there?