TART Announces Grooming Badge Program

Thu, Jan  19, 2006 - By Missy Luyk

TRAVERSE CITY (January 18, 2006)- Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails is excited to announce our grooming badge program to the general public. The program was launched earlier this winter to help raise money to support our cross-country ski grooming program. The purpose of the program is to provide sufficient funding to pay for grooming operations and maintenance. 

Grooming badges can be purchased online for $100 at www.traversetrails.org or at the TART Trails office located in downtown Traverse City. As a grooming badge supporter, people will receive emailed grooming reports, a button and a window decal sticker.

TART grooms the Vasa Pathway and Leelanau Trail for cross-country skiing. The Leelanau Trail had good skiing all through December. However, the Vasa Pathway has kept it’s snow since the December 1st snowfall.

The reason for the well-preserved skiing surface on the Vasa Pathway is the grooming efforts of our esteemed grooming crew and the shaded, wooded setting. TART owns a LMC snowcat that has the ability to set a skating lane and set classic tracks. TART also owns two snowmobiles with grooming drags and an ASV Track Truck. Typically, the Vasa Pathway is groomed 2-4 times a week. The Leelanau Trail is generally groomed once a week, usually on Fridays.

TART Trails executive director Bob Otwell comments, “Many people have been very surprised to learn that the Vasa Pathway has been in great shape even throughout the recent warm weather. With the fresh snowfall, the trails are gorgeous! If you are a cross-country skier who uses the groomed Vasa Pathway or the Leelanau Trail, please consider supporting the grooming badge program. It is a great resource for our community.”

“In addition, TART recently sent two of our groomers to a training conference in Iron River, Michigan to learn more about different grooming techniques,” Otwell added.

For more information on the grooming badge program, please call (231) 941-4300 or go online to www.traversetrails.org