TART Groomers Attend Cross Country Ski Grooming Clinic

Tue, Feb  14, 2006 - By Missy Luyk

TRAVERSE CITY (February 14, 2006)- Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails sent two groomers to the 2006 Midwest Grooming Clinic held in Ironwood Michigan. Jim Dombrowski and Dick Naperala attended the two day event which was attended by 60 groomers from Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Canada. New equipment demonstrations were put on by various manufacturers, and side by side competitions were held in both deep snow and icy conditions. The attendees were able to see first hand what equipment performed best in conditions found on their home trails.
 
The clinic also included classroom discussion on a range of topics including snow cat and snowmobile grooming, grooming with an ATV, early season grooming, new grooming techniques, tracksetting, repairing SUV damage to trails, and grooming from a skiers perspective. There were also plenty of opportunities to talk with other groomers from all over the Midwest.
 
Overall it was a great clinic and TART learned that most of the things we are doing on the Vasa and Leelanau Trail are practiced all over the Midwest. “There are a few minor things that we will try to implement while grooming our trails,” commented TART groomer Jim Dombrowski. “It was also nice to go to the clinic and be reassured that we are doing a top quality job,” continued Dombrowski. The North American Vasa race organization helped defray costs. Rave reviews were given from skiers who recently completed the Vasa race and are a testament to the wonderful job completed by our grooming crew.