Keweenaw PB's

[1boringguy]

There's got to be a lot of cubicles with way worse daily scenery than yours

 

[alryA]

The other operator broke the drag last night so we are officially off the trails until its repaired. No it wasn't his fault. I needed a day off anyway and with all the snow in the yard, have lots to do. I'll post pictures of a lame drag later.


Thank you for your kind comments.

 

[redsqwrl]

A question - in multiple posts you guys are grooming into traffic on the left hand side of the trail. I'm guessing there must be a reason for it, but can't figure one out for flat ground. (i.e. on hilly sections you would be wanting to push/pull snow back up the hill)

I groom silly side first often as well. I take it akin to walking. Im going 6-9MPH sleds are going faster. If you were walking down the trail where would you be.
Now with all that said my drag is 10' wide, my pulling unit is bit under that. side of the trail is a moot point.

my silly side approach is usually leading and lagging on corners and it is a seat of pants decision based on what i see. on the ski course im thinking about the skier and their stride, on snow machine trails it is a process of getting the snow back where it needs to be. It is either plowed to the outside by the skis, or thrown there by the track. often times depending on the previous corners and flow of the trail. to that point some corners gain snow from braking into the corners and carrying snow to the apex.
you used the hill analogy and that is spot on.

Arly is making seat of pants calls based on experience and trail interpretation. The Bill nichols trail is a fairly wide trail bed, we don't have that to the south, we are twisty tight and thankful for permission to used the segments we get,

 

[alryA]

When I leave the barn at 6am, I usually don't start to see serious traffic until around 9 or so. Nonetheless, its not all the fun to have guys coming at you at 60+mph while on a corner. When the traffic gets to high, we just switch to the other side.

The max width our trial is about 1.75 the width of the PB's blade and this is what we're told to stay close to 1.5. Some locations the trail is the same width of our blade but on average for our section might be 1.5. Its not all that wide but it is much easier for me to take photos while on wider or straighter portions.........

 

[JimVT]

a lot of groomers run after dark with lots of lights so you can see them.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

When I was grooming I preferred going at night. With the lights shining down the trail I can see the upcoming bumps and hazards better. Plus if there's a sled coming, you can see the glow of their headlights from a distance and they can see you. Also it's easier to see what the snow is doing in the drag and what kind of trail you're leaving behind.

 

[alryA]

Photos from this am since we got the machine back out of the repair shop. As seen the the static photo and I'm meeting sleds, I've got my baled in the right side snow and the sleds can just barley slide by.



I got a tip from one one these groups today and seen 130 sleds.

 

[alryA]

Been working. When you have plenty of fresh snow, you carry lots in the blade. The 1st photo is what we strive to create. Seen 230 sleds today. Ya, busy weekend here.

 

[alryA]

Photos from early this am. 1st one looks as if some idiot fell off the trail.


Then our bridge.

Next is a parking lot I groom past and the snow is deep enough, I look down at the autos parked there.


The sun came up and shinned for a bit. We don't often see it here.

 

[alryA]

Photos from the last time out and I had to leave the barn later than normal. Doing that offered better photo light.

The bottom photo is a field I'm grooming right next to our storage barn. I'm knocking down over 2ft of fresh snow. Can anyone guess why I'd be doing that?

 

[olympicorange]

…… antique sled race course/radar run,....

 

[alryA]

Your close but not quite...

…… antique sled race course/radar run,....

 

[alryA]

Here is a few photo from the past few days. The guys off the trail had multiple sleds stuck.....

 

[olympicorange]

Your close but not quite...

…….. dog sled racing,.... kool…….

 

[alryA]

Here is some PB photos I found in dearests phone. I call this post "leaving da barn" In the 3rd photo, I did not run into the fuel tank.... In the bottom one, this is the hand positions we use 90% of the work day.

 

[alryA]

What do you mean, "sled dog racing"????

…….. dog sled racing,.... kool…….

 

[DAVENET]

Like this

 

[alryA]

We host the Copper dog sled dog racing here and have friends who do that sort of thing. But I have no idea what the poster was referring to...

 

[alryA]

Recent photos from the trail. First two is a forum member. His hands are in normal operational positions which are this way 95% of the time. One steers and the other is on the blade joy stick.

 

[JimVT]

I noticed a 15mph speed. that seems slow,is it just in town?

 

[alryA]

yes, just in residential area. Make me think we could be going muuuuch faster here.

I noticed a 15mph speed. that seems slow,is it just in town?

 

[alryA]

I'm recovering from my cold and got back to work today. We are moving towards spring here and don't have much for exciting photos to post her. Cooler weather and snow is predicted but we've sure had a warm winter, nonetheless still with near normal snow fall at around 230". The first one is what we strive to create.. (not that often) The D5 cat is dozing open a logging road and I brought signage out for that.

 

[alryA]

I'm still working here guys.

Seen 130 some sleds today on our section. The sun even came out!

 

[JimVT]

how fast do the sleds go in that section?

 

[alryA]

Good qestion! We have a few straight sections like but as soon as they see us, they slow down and many get right off the trail. I guess that us taking up 80% of the is trail is intimidating.. So we don't see them at top speed.

how fast do the sleds go in that section?

 

[1boringguy]

alryA,

Do you come across a lot of deer on the trails?

 

[alryA]

No, none at all since the deer can't stay wherever snow pack gets deep. As the snow builds up, they migrate to area's with less snow, or into woods that offer them food despite the snow depth. Most deer migrate to the lake shore since lake snow does not occur there.

alryA,
Do you come across a lot of deer on the trails?

 

[alryA]

Well guys, I warmed up the bully this morning and thought it sounded funny. I called by boss and gave him all the details and he said "go out and give it a shot anyway". I went less than a mile and it sounded terrible, the engine vibrated to much and it stunk. I called him back and said "maybe the head gasket is gone?". I had added lots of antifreeze to it that past two times I was out. The other operator is a lose cannon so I can't figure out what he does. The boss came and he looked at it, listened to it and said the came to that conclusion. Might be out of work from now on.... Said they'll need to get a quote from a Cummings mechanic.

 

[PJL]

Sounds like your loose cannon guy might have over heated it. Bummer. $$$$$

 

[alryA]

I'll not blame the other operator at this point. He wasn't filling out his "what I added or did to the machine" papers but I'd still not blame him on this. This machine has required some anti-freeze, engine oil and ATF ever since I've operated it but that's only this year but the other guys said it looses it. It does have almost 9000 hours on it. I was sick for a few days and when I came back I added a gallon of antifreeze to it and I did ask if he had been checking it. Since he wasn't filling out his paperwork, I had no idea what he did, or not do to the machine.

Gee, we've got cool temps and nice snow falling here today.