rochester active sports club (rasc) cross country ski...

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Rochester Active Sports Club (RASC)

Cross Country Ski Trail Grooming Guidelines

www.rasc-mn.org

Version 1.2 draft November, 18 2011

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Grooming Principles................................................................................................................................................ 3

Grooming for Skate Skiing................................................................................................................................... 3 Grooming for Classic Skiing ................................................................................................................................ 3 Grooming for Walkers.......................................................................................................................................... 3 Principles as Defined by Mother Nature.............................................................................................................. 4 Grooming Technique Summary........................................................................................................................... 5

Weather Forecasts........................................................................................................................................... 7 Unusual Circumstances ................................................................................................................................... 7

Other Grooming Practices ................................................................................................................................... 7 Grooming Equipment .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Snowmobile ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 ATV with Tracks................................................................................................................................................. 10 Ginzu Groomer .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Packing Roller.................................................................................................................................................... 11 Packing Drag ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Scarifier or St. Mary’s Drag ............................................................................................................................... 11 Track Setter ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Sled.................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Personal Equipment .......................................................................................................................................... 14

Getting Ready to Groom ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Quarry Hill.......................................................................................................................................................... 14

Preparing to leave the shed: .......................................................................................................................... 14 Returning to the shed:.................................................................................................................................... 15

Essex Park......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Hitching Up ........................................................................................................................................................ 15

Checklist................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Grooming............................................................................................................................................................... 20

Basic Principles ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Your Safety ........................................................................................................................................................ 21 Skier Safety ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 Snowmobile/ATV Safety.................................................................................................................................... 22

What to Watch Out For .................................................................................................................................. 22 Be Sensitive to the Load on the Grooming Machine (Snowmobile or ATV) .................................................. 23

What to do if OverHeating Occurs..................................................................................................................... 24 Quarry Hill – ATV ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Essex Park – V800 Snowmobile.................................................................................................................... 24

Finishing Up....................................................................................................................................................... 25 What We Groom.................................................................................................................................................... 27

Quarry Hill Map.................................................................................................................................................. 27 Time Considerations.......................................................................................................................................... 26

Periodic Maintenance............................................................................................................................................ 37 Summerizing ......................................................................................................................................................... 39 Preparing for the Grooming Season ..................................................................................................................... 39 Quarry Hill Task List .............................................................................................................................................. 39 Essex Park Task List............................................................................................................................................. 39 Appendices............................................................................................................................................................ 40

Ginzu Groomer Directions ................................................................................................................................. 40 References ........................................................................................................................................................ 43

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Grooming Principles Our trails are designed to be groomed between 10’ and 12’ wide. This provides sufficient room for a skate lane and 1 set of classic tracks.

Grooming for Skate Skiing A skating lane must be packed firm. This provides a good base to ‘skate’ on as well as supports the strong pole plants that come along with the skating technique. It should not be too ‘hard’ however. When the base becomes rock hard, it must be renovated to provide loose snow crystals that can then be combed and provide a good base with a bit of ‘give’ for ski edges to grip.

Grooming for Classic Skiing A classic track is set to provide a pre-packed trail for each ski when skiers are using the classic ‘striding’ technique. It is also important to pack the areas on either side of the track to support pole plants. This should be easier now that RASC has rollers. The roller should be positioned all the way to where the outside pole plant area will be. The classic track can be to the side of the trail to allow more room for the skate lane however it should not cause skiers to run into brush and tree branches.

Grooming for Walkers There’s something that draws a walker to a packed and combed ski trail. It’s much easier to walk on then unpacked snow so if you groom trails, expect them to be walked on. Unfortunately, footprints are hard to remove

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however our trails are multi-use and most walkers have no idea that their footprints cause a concern to skiers and ski trail groomers. If possible, pack a walking path adjacent to the ski trail for walkers. Leave a 1’-3’ snow berm between to dissuade stepping from one to the other. Leave a different surface if possible. An Otter sled works well to pack and the imprint is much different than snow comb. Post signs illustrating which set of users should use each trail. It will get ignored by some but others will use it and the less boot traffic, the better.

Principles as Defined by Mother Nature In general, grooming at public or commercial ski trails is done either on a schedule or when convenient to the groomer. RASC grooming is done by volunteers, thus we have a bit more flexibility to groom when the conditions are best vs. when employees are present. There are a lot of variables that go into deciding when to groom and defining what you’ll encounter when you groom – too many to come up with a formula for 100% success. For RASC trails, we’re going to groom when the trails need to be packed (new snow), cleaned up after a couple days of skiing, or renovated (hard packed icy base) within the limits of our groomer’s schedules. Below is a list of items to consider when deciding the timing for grooming. Ground Temperature: In the early season, the ground may not be frozen yet. If it snows enough to groom, either groom quickly or let it go. The warm ground will melt the snow next to it and you’ll have a slushy base. In the late season, the cold ground will often refreeze a slushy base over night. Groom after freeze-up at night or early the next morning. Trail Base Condition and Temperature: Obviously groom new snow to pack it in. If it’s fallen on a deep icy base, renovate for better adhesion if possible. For recent snow, conditions may be soft for a day or so. If the ski marks are very deep, re-groom. If the trail base is wet and slushy, hold off until freeze-up or let it go. Grooming

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slush will create a mess on the trail and a potential mess of the snowmobile/ATV and groomer (they’ll be more prone to freezing to the ground overnight too). New Snow Type: If its new snow, it will most likely get groomed however be aware of the following; wet snow will pack and firm up into ice. If you can hold off until the temperature is dropping, you’ll have a better result. Normal dry snow can be packed most anytime however it can help to groom at night so that the soft snow sets up overnight and is more firm in the morning. Very dry snow with bitter cold temperatures will resist packing and behave more like ball bearings. It’s a challenge to work with and there’s not much to do other than groom on a daily basis hoping that the friction of each pass along with that of skis helps increase adhesion. Air Temperature: Grooming should be done below freezing. Wait until evening or early morning if you have to. Groom when the temperature is on the way down vs. on the way up, if possible. The trail will setup better. Sun or Cloud Cover: Radiant heat from the sun can melt snow even when the base is cold and the temperature is below freezing. Groom on a cloudy day or mornings/evenings if possible. If you see the snow softening, best to wait. It’s similar to grooming slush as noted above. Time of Day: As mentioned several times above, evenings or early mornings are usually excellent times to groom. This also has the advantage of having less traffic on the trail. Time to ‘Cure’ and ‘Set up’: Freshly packed snow can be skied on immediately but the base will be soft and easily churned up by ski edges. A freshly packed base left untouched for 4-8 hours with below freezing temperatures will normally harden or ‘set up’. This indicates a preference for evening grooming. There’s no simple formula however we usually decide if and when to groom based on the following criteria:

1) Does the trail need grooming due to new snow or use? 2) If yes, then pick the best time based on the base, snow, and air temps combined with the schedule

constraints of the groomer. In summary, this all amounts to ‘Think about it using the information above’, and then do the best you can within the constraints of the moment.

Grooming Technique Summary To help understand what process to use when, we’ve included the table below that states what operation you may want to do with which piece of equipment given a set of trail, snow and temperature conditions. These are only suggestions but they give you some good examples of time-proven techniques. The number ‘1’ means the first operation to be done. The number ‘2’ means the second operation following ‘1’.

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Grooming Technique Summary Table Trail Condition

Pack

: Sn

owm

obile

Pack

: Rol

ler

– co

mb

if po

ssib

le

Pack

: Gin

zu

Ren

ovat

e:

Gin

zu

Ren

ovat

e:

Scar

ifier

Leve

l: Li

ght

Dra

g

Leve

l: Sc

arifi

er

Com

b:

Gin

zu

Set T

rack

: G

inzu

< 3” 1 1 1 > 3” 1 2 2 > 8” (1) 1+ 2 2 > 3” Undulating base

2 (then treat as Recent Snow - Level

1

New

Sno

w

Drifts (Big? Use Caution!)

(1) 2 (then treat as “Recent Snow – Level”

1

Level 1 1

Undulating 1 2 2

Rec

ent

Snow

: So

ft B

ase

Drifts 1 2 2

Med. Firm 1 1 1 Hard 1

multi-pass

2 2

Pack

ed B

ase

Old

Sno

w

Very Hard 2 1 2 (2) may not be possible

Temp rising (prior to trail closure)

1 - use Ginzu if texture is ‘snow’, use Scarifier if granular or hard and bumpy

Temp dropping (prior to trail re-opening)

1 – remove ruts, footprints, bumps

Froz

en H

ard

Gra

nula

r or H

ard

Ice

Temp – below freezing to Cold!

2 1 2 Typically not possible

Mis

c. –

af

ter b

ase

esta

blis

hed Square up

trail/widen, i.e. level from side to side

1 2 2

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Weather Forecasts Using the weather forecasts to help decide when to groom only makes sense. Be aware however that forecasts are typically given for broad areas of perhaps a 30-50 mile radius. Winter storms in south eastern Minnesota can have transition areas of less distance meaning it can be snowing 20 miles south but not snowing at all where you are. The most helpful technique is to let the storm get close and then watch the radar. These can be put in motion as well and from this, its easy to see precipitation moving toward your location, the intensity of the precipitation, as well as when the precipitation may end as it passes through. Using this information, you can use your time efficiently. Consider the case where it’s snowing and you see the ending edge of precipitation 30 miles away heading in your direction. You can use this observation to get an early start on grooming. By the time you travel to the site and get ready to go, the snow will be winding down.

Unusual Circumstances The ‘thaw’ or ‘warm spell’ is something skiers don’t like to see coming. It will happen several times a season, early, mid, or late. Worse yet is the warming trend with a strong south wind or where temperatures don’t drop below freezing over night. A ski trail with a deep base can handle a day or so above freezing, especially if it’s sheltered by woods, however even a full day or two above 32F will cause major problems. Typically, warm-ups are of short duration and it’s been seasonably cold in the recent past. Thus the cold from the ground and the trail base tend to provide insulation that helps keep the surface snow from melting. After a time though, the surface will reach 32F, melting will occur, and the water will sink into the snow. This starts a much more rapid meltdown. Also, if you compress the snow at this point with boot or ski traffic, the water is further forced around the snow crystals and you get more wet compressed snow. When this refreezes, it becomes ice. Here’s what you can do to come through this weather in the best shape.

1) Plan on closing trails while the temperature is still below freezing and the trail is not ‘wet’ or ‘slushy’. 2) Put up signs marking the trail as closed. We use laminated signs on wood lathe. 3) Groom as you close them leveling the surface. I prefer to remove classic tracks as well. This eliminates

ruts and boot prints that will otherwise freeze up into hard bumps after cold temperatures return. 4) Be patient while it’s warm. 5) Within a few hours after the temperature drops back below 32F, go out and lightly renovate the trail.

This should shave off a layer of crystallized snow (transformed snow). If you wait too long, the base may harden up too much to have this crystallized snow shaved off.

6) Re-open your trails and ski.

While this won’t guarantee a skiable trail, chances are you’ll come out of a warm spell much better than just leaving them open and working with the frozen hard pack that’s left.

Other Grooming Practices When grooming with a narrow drag that requires 3 passes, it often leaves a cleaner trail if you groom one side, then the other, leaving the center for the last pass. This typically helps avoid ‘stair step’ ridges in the trail. Set a classic track on the last (for 2 pass trails) or next to last (for 3 pass trails) pass. For trails with cross-overs or short appendage loops, it can be helpful to do all of these and the intersections first, then link them together with long fluid passes. If you have open fields without high grass, the trail edges can be marked every 50’ – 100’ with 12” – 18” spruce boughs or wood lathe stuck in the ground. They show the trail route and help skiers see the trail on cloudy, flat light days.

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Grooming Equipment

Snowmobile This machine is used to pull the different drags, roller or a sled. It can also be used alone to pack deep snow. Note: there are spare parts under the seat (fuses, pins, and belt), a rope, and a flashlight. There’s also a snow shovel in the shed that can be strapped to the Ginzu with a bungee. Our snowmobile is a Skidoo Skandic V800 SWT. It uses regular gasoline.

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ATV with Tracks This machine is used for all the same purposes as the snowmobile. The ATV is a Yamaha Grizzly 700 EFI with Camoplast Tatou 4S tracks. It also uses regular gas.

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Ginzu Groomer Used to pack up to 2-4” of snow and to renovate and pack the trail most of the time. Do not use on a refrozen lumpy rutted trail. Please see the Ginzu Groomer Directions on page 40.

Packing Roller Used to pack new snow – RASC purchased 2 of these in 2011. There is a compaction bar with comb that allows the unit to leave a packed/comb trail base suitable for skiing. We quickly learned how useful these are in the 2010/2011 season when we had a number of large snowfalls.

Packing Drag Used to level drifts and take the air out of new snow – this is a shorter version of the St. Mary’s drag without teeth.

Scarifier or St. Mary’s Drag Its teeth will shave an ice base after a re-freeze. It also works well to re-level trails after being rutted by vehicles, rutted by footprints, or rutted by skis in soft snow that’s refrozen into hard icy lumps. If trails are undulating due to rolling, or grooming too fast, it will level out the bumps. It should definitely be used for the rougher work involving bumpy ice to protect the comb of the Ginzu from damage. Adjustments:

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1. Side weights – can be used with or without the weight bars on either side. For softer conditions, use without weights. For harder ice base conditions, use with the weights.

2. Teeth Height – these can be adjusted coarsely with nut/bolts however are normally set to scarify lightly so as not to go through a thin base. Please don’t change these unless there’s a good reason and you tell the other groomers.

Scarifying: for a very hard icy base, this is done at a higher speed (10-20 MPH – slower on curves and turns). Leveling: this is done at moderate speeds (5-10 MPH) depending on the size and hardness of the bumps, i.e. slower for larger, harder bumps.

Drag #1 – This one is stationed at Eastwood Golf Course. It has a heavier weight set and more sophisticated teeth. It has a 4’ piece of snow comb on the rear.

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Drag #2 – the weights with this one are slightly lighter and the teeth are coarser. It does not have snow comb on the rear. Storing drags tilted on their side prevents them from freezing to the ground during freeze/thaw cycles.

Drag #3 – This is a 5 foot version made by us in February 2009

Track Setter This drag is used to set a classic track. This is a stand alone track setter and no longer used. There are also integrated track setters with more shallow shoes that are part of each Ginzu Groomer.

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Sled We have 2 Otter II Magnum sleds. They carry snow or tools/equipment.

Personal Equipment You’ll want to have the following:

1) A set of warm clothes suitable for working outside. These must include insulated (felt pack) boots, hat, gloves, face mask, etc.

2) A set of glasses or goggles (optional) to protect your eyes from the wind and help with vision in different light conditions.

3) For night time grooming – a small flashlight or headlamp to help you see as you enter/leave the shed and to use while grooming. Headlamps work very well as they free up your hands.

Other comments: All of our grooming machines are now 4-stroke engines and do not emit smoky exhaust and are fairly quiet. We don’t believe there is any health risk but if a person was concerned, they could always wear a mask with organic filter and/or wear hearing protection. We also do not provide helmets. Grooming is to be done at slow speeds, thus the need for helmets seems questionable. Also, when used at very low speeds, helmets tend to fog up and present a vision challenge. A person may certainly choose to wear their own snowmobile helmet if they would feel more comfortable.

Getting Ready to Groom

Quarry Hill

Preparing to leave the shed: 1) Check the ATV fuel level – you should have ½ tank gas minimum. Preferably it should be near full. 2) Rock the ATV or use your weight and hip against the rear side of it to push sideways and make sure the

tracks aren’t frozen to the ground – they need to move slightly. 3) Starting the ATV:

a. Sit on the ATV – depress brake levers and throttle to ensure they aren’t frozen. b. Insert the key (on the right fender), turn to the ON position (to the right). c. On the left control cluster, slide the red switch to the right. d. Ensure the ATV is in PARK. e. Depress the brake handle and start the machine by pressing the GREEN BUTTON in.

4) Turn on the hand and thumb warmers. 5) Put the transmission in Low, release the brake, use the throttle to increase engine speed and pull

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forward out of the shed. Be sure to close the storage shed doors before leaving the area.

Drive once around the loop at the sheds to help the machine warm-up. Return to the grooming implements, back toward the hitch point at an angle and prepare to hitch up the grooming implement of choice.

Returning to the shed: 1) Unhitch the grooming implement 2) Back into the shed 3) Shut the ATV off – red switch to the left, turn the key to OFF and remove it 4) Clear snow from the tracks 5) Check the machine for any problems

Essex Park Preparing to leave the shed:

1) Check the snowmobile fuel level – you should have ½ tank gas minimum. Preferably it should be on the F – not past it.

2) Rock the snowmobile or use your weight and hip against the rear side of it to push sideways and make sure the track isn’t frozen to the ground – it needs to move slightly.

3) Starting the snowmobile: a. Sit on the snowmobile – depress brake lever and throttle to ensure they aren’t frozen. Emergency

brake should be off. Transmission should be in Neutral. b. Insert the DESS key and lanyard (on the left steering column), push it on to the contact firmly.

Wiggle it. c. On the left control cluster, push the grey ‘Start’ button. The computer will take over. d. Listen for two chirps in quick succession (less than a second apart). If you only hear one chirp

repeating every 2-3 seconds, reach down and press and wiggle the DESS key. You should hear two chirps.

4) Turn on the hand and thumb warmers. 5) Put the transmission in Low, release the brake, use the throttle to increase engine speed and pull

forward out of the shed. Drive slowly down to the drag area by going to the east side of the dirt shed, down the bike path to the pond and back up to the grooming drags. This gives the machine time to warm up. Back toward the grooming implement hitch point at an angle and prepare to hitch up.

Returning to the shed: 1) Unhitch the grooming implement 2) Back into the shed 3) Shut the snowmobile off – red kill switch on the right handle bar. 4) Clear snow from the track 5) Check the machine for any problems

Be sure to close the storage shed doors before leaving the area.

Hitching Up 1) Back up to the hitch point of the Grooming implement. We’ll refer to the Ginzu from now on but this

pertains to any implement. Back up to one side of the Ginzu hitch. Please see the diagram below. We recommend that you back up at an angle to one side of the groomer. Get off and remove the locking pin. You can then straddle the tongue and pivot the groomer to place it on the hook and replace the

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locking pin. Figure 3) illustrates this below. Please do NOT try to back up directly to the groomer tongue as shown in Figure 2). The friction clutch of the grooming machines does not allow sufficient speed sensitivity for this. Alternatively, if you don’t mind lifting and pulling the groomer about a foot, you can back to within a foot as per 1), straddle the tongue and pull the groomer to the snowmobile/ATV hitch. A variation of this is to shut off the machine, put it in neutral with the brake off, and while straddling the tongue, pull the machine backward to the groomer. Any variation of 1) or 3) that’s comfortable for you should work and not damage the equipment.

groo

mer

groo

mer

groo

merBest Way

Stop at least1’ away.

Do Not try toBack to the hitch

Pivoting the groomerIs the easiest

1)

2)

3)

groo

mer

groo

mer

groo

merBest Way

Stop at least1’ away.

Do Not try toBack to the hitch

Pivoting the groomerIs the easiest

1)

2)

3)

2) Check the Ginzu (or other drag) a. Make sure the comb is all present, b. Check the handles on the snow sweeps and track setter to make sure they’re tight. c. Hook up the Ginzu making sure it’s not frozen to the ground and hook up the electrical

connection. You’re now ready to start grooming – we recommend you make 1-3 passes around the field loop at Quarry Hill or the pond at Essex to finish the warm-up process.

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Checklist The following checklist is kept on a clipboard in the shed. Please perform the listed checks and fill it out before and after grooming.

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Grooming Checklist – Quarry Hill

1) Make sure the ATV tracks are not frozen to the ground. Check the machine visually for anything missing, out of place or damaged. Note it below. 2) Do not back up directly to the groomer hitch – aim to the side. 3) Buy Regular Gas for the ATV. If you empty the cans, fill them or let someone who can fill them later know. 4) Contact the Grooming Coordinator and Maintenance person if anything is running out, worn, broken or otherwise needs attention.

Before Grooming After Grooming

Date _________ Initials____

Odom/Hours Start___________

Odom/Hours End ___________

[ ] at least ½ tank gas

[ ] Visual Check

[ ] Tracks not frozen

[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check

[ ] Tracks clear of snow

Things to Fix:





[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check


Things to Fix:





[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check


Things to Fix:





[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check


Things to Fix:

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Grooming Checklist – Essex Park

1) Make sure the snowmobile track is not frozen to the ground. 2) Do not back up directly to the groomer hitch – aim to the side. 4) 3) Buy Regular Gas for the ATV. If you empty the cans, fill them or let someone who can fill them later know. 4) Contact the Grooming Coordinator and Maintenance person if anything is running out, worn, broken or otherwise needs attention.

Before Grooming After Grooming


Odometer Start__________

Odometer End___________


[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check

[ ] Tunnel clear

Things to Fix:





[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check

[ ] Tunnel clear

Things to Fix:





[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check

[ ] Tunnel clear

Things to Fix:





[ ] Visual Check


[ ] Gas filled

[ ] Visual Check

[ ] Tunnel clear

Things to Fix: Check Engine Oil – Add 0W40 Syn. Oil carefully if needed. Date: ____ Initials ____

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Grooming Make sure you have time to groom well. If your schedule is tight, have someone else groom. Problems can and will pop up and being in a hurry almost never results in figuring out better solutions. A good practice is to groom in sections such that if you have to stop before you’re done, the trails that you started are completely groomed.

Basic Principles Grooming is always done in LOW range or 1st gear. When towing anything, use LOW Range or 1st gear. Good practice is to adjust the mirrors so you can glance back and ensure you’re getting sufficient clearance around trees. Drive with your hand on the left steering handle bar – not the brake lever. Your hand will stay warmer and you won’t inadvertently apply enough pressure to lightly engage the brake. Clutch – a snowmobile uses a centrifugal friction type clutch based on two clutch flanges pressing against a belt as the engine speed increases.

(Note: an ATV is somewhat different but still uses a drive belt and similar care should be used). This is the weak point of the drive-line by design. Belts can be ruined in seconds by burning a narrow spot into the belt. If the burning continues, a clutch flange can be pitted and ruined quickly. The important principle to keep in mind is that if you increase the engine speed with the throttle, the snowmobile/ATV needs to start moving. If it doesn’t, you’re starting to wear the belt. All of the following conditions can prevent this and must be avoided: 1) The snowmobile/ATV track is frozen to the ground, 2) The emergency brake is on (snowmobile only), 3) The groomer is providing too much drag because it’s frozen to the ground, the knives are too low, its plowing snow, or the hill is too steep for any knives or track setter at all. In all cases, if you pull on the throttle but don’t move – stop and find out why. Packing – if we get more than 3-4” of snow, you’ll need to pack the snow before grooming. The depth can vary depending on the moisture content and temperature of the snow. For example, in 2007/2008, the temperatures were colder and the snow drier. There were several times when 3 inches of snow would mound up in the teeth of the Ginzu and packing had to be done first. Packing is done with the roller. Do repeated passes as needed. Grooming - Grooming with the Ginzu is best done at low speed. YTS indicates that a grooming speed of 5-10 MPH is sufficient with a maximum of 15 MPH. Note: the V800 Skandic’s speedometer/odometer registers in units of miles and is accurate. The ATV with tracks registers in mph and is off by a factor of 0.6. Thus if it reads 10 mph, you are traveling at 6mph The ATV’s speed as indicated by the speedometer should be kept between 8 – 16 MPH for grooming Only groom 10-12’ wide. This is two passes with the groomer. The diagram below illustrates how this is done. Simply place the snowmobile ski slightly inside the previously groomed trail. This will yield a trail ~12’ wide. Any wider is a waste of time/gasoline and makes it harder to farm snow from the trail edges. Note: the one exception to this may be the bike path to the west park at Quarry Hill. This often gets a little wider to leave more room for walkers and a classic track on each side of the trail.

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groo

mer

7’

~5’7’

groo

mer

7’

~5’7’

Stance – How you ride the snowmobile is your preference and will vary based on the trail conditions. You may need to be standing to shift your weight in new wet snow where steering is poor. When going up a hill, it is often prudent to stand for better vision and to put your weight forward. For the ATV, sitting seems to be the best option. We are still learning how to groom with this machine. Using the actuators - please use them to raise or lower the implement (knives or track setter) but then they should only be used in a momentary mode. They should only be used separately – never together. How to use the knives: lower them until they start to shave the snow - then stop. Nothing lower is needed. Do two passes if that doesn't work. If they are too low, snow builds up in the knife section, or you get round pellets coming out the back, and turning becomes much more problematic. Remember that you may have to raise the knives on hills and turns. And plan your route to go down all the steep hills. Even on the gradual up hills, if you start to bog down, raise the knives fast. If that doesn't work, stop. If you start spinning the track, you'll dig down right through the base and as the trail base gets deeper, this becomes harder (more time) for you to repair. How to use the track setter: Lower it to the ground and then a little further – you’ll see the actuator raise the Ginzu frame. Back off an inch. It seems like YTS has it designed that it provides about the right pressure when the actuator is at this location. So when you hear the 'click, click, click' that indicates the track setter is down – stop and then reverse momentarily. The track setter should be raised at intersections and on steep hills. Raise it slightly - a count of 2 or 3 is sufficient, then lower it when on the level again. Other than that, leave it alone. Tracks can be set on either side of the bike path to the west park. Everywhere else should only have tracks on one side. Never use the actuators together. When you use them for adjustments, use them with momentary pushes or pulls. When you raise or lower an actuator to its full extent, that's fine but it’s best to be stopped and watch and be sure you take your hand off the lever when they are fully raised. Key point, don't drive along holding the lever down for extra time just to be sure things are up (or down). The actuators won't be damaged but you'll be drawing up to 30 amps of current and discharging the battery. So use the actuators - that's what they're there for - just be aware that they do put more strain on the snowmobile/ATV charging system than it was designed for and use them only as needed.

Your Safety When temporarily stopping the snowmobile/ATV to pick up debris on the trail or to shovel snow – do one of the following to prevent the machine from moving:

• Turn the machine off in gear, • Engage the emergency brake (snowmobile only) • Put the machine in Park (ATV only)

If the snowmobile is left running, it is essential that you use the emergency brake if you get off of the snowmobile. If the throttle is accidentally pushed, the snowmobile will lurch forward when the clutch engages as the engine RPM increases. You can also take it out of gear however this will put more wear on the transmission. Similarly, for the ATV, if it is left running, it must be put in PARK.

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Stay on the trails at all times. Toward the end of the season when the base gets deep, if you go too close to the edge of the trail, the outboard snowmobile ski or ATV track can sink in the soft snow past the base causing the machine to lean precipitously or roll. Of course, never drive the grooming machine and groomer across a hill (side-hilling).

Skier Safety When encountering skiers while grooming, slow down (or stop) and always make eye contact with them. Sometimes you may have to get their attention by calling out to them. Most skiers will stop and step to the side. In some cases, you may want to stop and wave them past if they don't show signs of stopping. The eye contact is essential though to make one of you stops and lets the other pass. Try to avoid weaving around them – you’ll get a weaving track or leave ungroomed trail. Depending where they are on the trail, this is a good reason to stop and wave them by. If they want to get out of the way, give them direction and point to the side of the trail you want them on... with a smile of course.

Snowmobile/ATV Safety Starting Up and Driving - push firmly but steadily on the throttle. The engine RPM will increase and you should feel the clutch flanges grip the belt and the snowmobile/ATV start to move. From that point on, the snowmobile/ATV’s speed should increase/decrease as you increase/decrease the engine RPM by adjusting the throttle”. Never push hard on the throttle – when towing, there’s virtually never any reason to do this. If you feel like you're bogging down on a firm base and you have the knives down, raise them. If you’re bogging down on a soft base, stop, raise knives and track setter, clear any massed snow built up in and around the knives, then start out slowly. If that doesn't work, back up 1-2 feet and try again. My experience has been that the snowmobile/ATV can start up and make forward progress if it just has the unencumbered groomer to pull. If you feel like you’re bogging down or not able to turn the snowmobile (Essex), check the knives. Your knee may have bumped the switch and they may be down without your knowledge. If too much snow continues to build up in the front of the groomer – stop, unhitch, and pack the snow with the roller. Note: if you have to unhitch the groomer on the trail, use the parking jack. This will prevent the snow sweeps from being bent. When there’s a deep soft base, when starting up on a grade, you may feel the snowmobile/ATV frame drop a few inches. This is the track digging in. You’ll need to go through the same steps as above to keep from getting stuck. You may also need to unhitch, drive forward, hook a rope to the groomer, pull it a few feet ahead, re-hitch, and start up. Don’t forget to come back and fix the mess caused by getting out. If during any of the situations above, it feels like the belt is slipping, i.e. the engine RPM increases but nothing happens – STOP and call for others to help.

What to Watch Out For If you see any warning light come on – STOP and find out why. If the warning lamp indicates over-heating, see the procedures in the next section for the actions to take. Check the snowmobile/ATV to make sure the air intake is not clogged by snow. If you smell anything burning (plastic, belt, oil) – STOP. Note: you should be familiar with the smells of:

• Oil on a hot surface • Gear oil (you should never smell this during operation) • Anti-freeze on a hot surface • Burning plastic or belt

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All of these are bad and require attention or a change in operating mode. If you try to go up a hill and the snowmobile/ATV won’t go – STOP. If you try to move forward or backward and the snowmobile/ATV won’t go – STOP. If something feels, smells, or sounds ‘different’, STOP, look over the equipment and see if you can pinpoint the cause, maybe a pin came off somewhere, or a bolt loosened, or something is pulling off center. If anything suddenly changes in the feel, it’s almost certainly not meant to be that way and could cause premature wear or damage if not found and corrected. For any of these conditions you can’t fix, call the park grooming coordinator or maintenance person and get their assistance in assessing the problem and getting it fixed. Failure to be sensitive to how the machine is running can and will result in major equipment damage.

Be Sensitive to the Load on the Grooming Machine (Snowmobile or ATV) During the 2010/2011 season, we had several cases of major breakdown and damage on our sleds. Why did this happen? After much thought, we’ve come up with one theory – and it is only a theory but taking precautions based on it won’t hurt. The theory is that we overheated the machines and heat caused or contributed to the damage. We had a heavy snow year with more 'large dumps of 6-12” of snow' than normal. It was hard to pull anything through that mess plus the heavy snow would clog air inlets. Even after it was under control, it set up firm under lots of traffic and we started renovating. The tendency was that since we had a deep base, to renovate deeply. Thus the knives were dropped down deep into the base. That put lots of strain on the machines and the end result was heat. In retrospect, we can conclude the following with a moderately high degree of certainly: 1) HEAT melted the Skandic 550 oil line and caused total engine failure and subsequent re-build. 2) HEAT helped deteriorate the dip stick O-Rings of the Skandic 550 transmission and at least contributed to some degree to the transmission failure. The V800 transmission dip stick O-Rings also showed significant softening and have been replaced. 3) HEAT melted the Skandic V800 plastic pan on the side of the sled. Figure: The internals of a transmission after bearing failure due to the dip stick being chewed up in the gears.

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To try and avoid this, we should adopt the following practices. 1) Renovate lightly and if needed, multiple times 2) Try to pull in new snow from the edges when the trail is firm - this requires grooming narrow when the trail is soft . 3) Renovate with the scarifiers when we have a really firm trail. Later have someone else lightly renovate/comb. The knives will cut with less load after being renovated with the teeth of the scarifier.

What to do if Overheating Occurs

Quarry Hill – ATV There's an engine temp warning light on the center instrument display. It looks like water with a small flag/thermometer in it. It is the center light of 3 that run top to bottom on the right side of the gauges. If this indicator comes on, you should: 1) Stop the engine as soon as safely possible and let it cool for 10 minutes. 2) While cooling check the radiator for debris/snow plugging it. Lightly brush any snow away. 3) Unhitch any towed implement. 4) After waiting, restart the machine and drive for 1 minute in Low at a slow speed to get the coolant circulating. The indicator should be off. Re-hitch and continue grooming. If the temperature indicator comes back on, repeat the procedure above but once cooled, return the implement and the ATV to the shed and contact the grooming coordinator and maintenance person.

Essex Park – V800 Snowmobile There's an engine warning light on the instrument display. It looks like [either ‘water with a small flag/thermometer in it’ or ‘an engine’]. If an indicator comes on, you should: 1) Stop the machine and let it idle in Neutral, emergency brake ON. 2) Check the air inlets in the front of the machine for snow plugging it. Lightly brush any snow away or poke through the holes gently with a blade of stiff prairie grass. 3) Unhitch any towed implement. 4) Drive the machine to the area south of the Quonset and east of the dirt shed. Drive it through loose snow there for a couple minutes. 5) Stop the machine – the indicator should be off. If not, wait 5 minutes with the machine idling.

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After the indicator turns off, drive back to the grooming implement. Re-hitch and continue grooming. If the temperature indicator comes back on, repeat the procedure above but once cooled, return the implement and the snowmobile to the shed and contact the grooming coordinator and maintenance person.

Finishing Up Unhitch the grooming implement and return the grooming machine to the storage shed. The pintle hitch is spring loaded. A bungee cord positioned as seen below is helpful to hold the latch open while unhitching. We also now have jacks on the Ginzus. This lets us hold the pintle open while raising the implement by turning the jack crank with the other hand.

Quarry Hill Process 2011/2012

1) Clear the ATV tracks of loose snow. 2) Turn off the hand and thumb warmers. 3) Fill the gas. Do this by having the machine off but the switch on so that the gas gauge on the instrument

cluster is on. Pour in gas until the last LED indicator comes on and stop immediately. Reinstall the gas cap… just snug it lightly. This is forgotten a lot!

4) Fill out the clipboard checklist noting anything needed, not operating correctly, broken or lost. 5) Refill the gas cans when empty or let someone else know who can fill them. 6) Remember to lock everything up.

Essex Park Process 2011/2012

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1) Check the snowmobile tunnel for a buildup of wet snow, clear it if present, and then park the snowmobile.

2) Turn off the hand and thumb warmers. 3) Fill the gas (when the indicator hits ‘F’, that’s sufficient). Reinstall the gas cap… just snug it lightly. This

is forgotten a lot! 4) Fill out the clipboard checklist noting anything needed, not operating correctly, broken or lost. 5) Refill the gas cans when empty or let someone else know who can fill them. 6) Remember to lock everything up.

Put a notice on the bulletin board summarizing what you accomplished and handle trail condition web site updates using the process for your trail.

Grooming – Time of Day Considerations Try to groom during normal ‘waking hours’. This would be in the range of 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM. There isn’t a hard and fast rule here but we don’t want to get complaints from neighboring homes. If you do groom later in the evening (after 8:00 PM), groom areas around homes first, then do the remote areas at the end.

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What We Groom – Quarry Hill

Quarry Hill Map

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.1k

.44k

.78k

QHNC

1.3k

.21k

.18k

.24k.27k

.16k.1k

.15k

.34k

.84k

.21k

.70k

.28k

.37k

.74k

.94k

West Bike Path

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Cherry Grove

East Trail

ParkwoodHills Loop

FutureExpansion

West ParkLoop

Pump House

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Quarry Hill Ski Trail Map - 2007West Park Loop – out & back 2.4kNorth Park Loop – out & back 3.4kQH Sports Trail Tour 4.5k

10.3k

.14k

EasiestModerateIntermediateExpert

Map

Always Groom

Down These Hills

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What We Groom – Essex Park

Essex Park Map

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Grooming Sequence The following is a description of one way to groom Essex Park. The 3 main sections can be inter-changed. These sections roughly are the NW loops, the NE Woods loops and Gardens, and the South Prairie. This is only a suggestion. It may not always end up with perfect intersections but skiers usually seem to be happy and it is fairly efficient. If problems aren’t encountered, grooming can be completed in a couple hours.

First Trail: Go out the bike path to the bottom of the west hill staying to the right side of the trail, turn around at the base of the west hill, and return. Set track on the return (if required). If you don’t like to turn around, make a loop north of the stream. This will get groomed 4 times then.

1

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Second Trail First pass, do the 55th St. field going up the large hill to the left first. Stay to the right side; turn right at the top of the hill into the 55th St. field staying to the right. If you are rolling new snow, optionally do the connector to the park entrance, turn around and return. After returning, head to the pavilion and continue staying to the right. Go up toward the pavilion and do a loop to turn around. Second pass, come down and stay straight heading toward 55th St. Stay to the right. Set track now if applicable. Continue around the entire loop coming down the large hill setting track on the right side. Return to the pavilion area.

V

V

V V

V V

1, 2

V V

V

V V

V V

1, 2

V

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Third Trail Head from the pavilion to the west up the trail behind the pavilion. Stay to the left this pass. Go across the 55th St. field and head down the west hill slowly – Use caution on this hill – creep down it! Turn into the Trail north of the stream and continue staying to the left. Come out into the pavilion area, loop past the corn crib and pavilion and repeat. Set track on the right side this pass if needed. Lift the track setter at intersections.

1, 2

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Fourth Trail Proceed up the old sledding hill – left side. Turn left into the woods at the top of the old sledding hill. Turn into the cut across and turn around at the large oak. Go back to the main trail and proceed, going in a counter clockwise direction. Stay to the left on the first pass of the whole loop. At this point, you can do the ‘Fifth Trail’ when you reach the downhill connector to the Gardens, then resume this trail when done. At the end, bear to the left coming out of the woods to avoid going off the trail, then right down the old sledding hill. Go into the archery range to make a loop and turn around. Repeat but skip the trip into the cut over. In the woods, stay to the right and set track.

Always go Counter clockwise On this trail

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Fifth Trail First pass – proceed up the old sledding hill and go straight at the top turning left into the woods at the top corner. Proceed along the fence line turning onto the bike path, and then turn right down the hill to the gardens. Alternately, you can start this from the Garden Hill midway through the Fourth Trail At the bottom, bear left and stay to the left. Go around the garden loop. At the west end, if rolling, do the connector to the bridge, otherwise, proceed up the bike path. Stay to the left Turn down into the gardens. Loop the gardens again staying to the right. Start setting track at the west end, then all the way around to the bike path. Proceed up the bike path staying to the right and setting track, lifting the track setter at the intersections. Stop setting track at the roller coaster intersection and head out either way taking care not to destroy tracks.

Always go Counter clockwise On this trail

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Sixth Trail This is the south Prairie. Go up the hill parallel to the old sledding hill. Start the loop going counter clockwise, stay to the left. Do the full outer loop.

Pass 1

Pass 2 For pass 2, continue counter clockwise, stay to the right now, setting track on the prairie areas. Do not set track on the loop around the woods, just pack.

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Pass 3 This run picks up the extra trail going back to the tree grove loop. Stay to the right going down. Set track around the loop, lifting the track setter at the intersections, and return staying to the right and setting track on the return trip.

Sixth Trail – Wrapup A pass may be needed to fully pack/comb the trails entering the prairie. Do what is needed and set a track on the last pass. Best to set track going up the south hill and down the old sledding hill.

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Finishing Touches Archery Range – cleanup and make sure there is a nice teaching loop. Pond – cleanup and make sure there is a nice teaching loop Pavilion – cleanup and make sure all the little loops are OK You’re done!

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Installing Snow Fence We install snow fence at Essex Park in the open 55th St. field. Snow fence is installed as follows:

1) Fence must be 10’ from the trail on the prevailing up-wind side. Snow will fall out into a large pile on the downwind side and will block the trail if installed too close.

2) Install the fence in a straight line or gentle curve. Laying out the fence on the ground to mark the ‘line’ is helpful.

3) Drive posts every 8-10 feet. Further than 10’ apart does not provide enough support. 4) Remove existing wood lathe from the fence if present. 5) Put the fence on the upwind side of the posts. This way, it is pushed into the posts by the wind. 6) Install a piece of wood lathe woven through the fence at each post. Wire the lathe/fence to the post

in 3 positions (top, middle, and bottom). Keep the wire ends on the side away from skiers. Use electric fence wire. Plastic zip ties are sometimes used but they snap after cold and UV exposure. Also, if lathe is not used, the fence plastic will break mid-winter and start to come off. We sometimes get south winds and these will break the fence at the ties in a matter of hours if the lathe is not there.

7) Proceed to the next post weaving the lathe through vertically a bit short of the post and stretching the fence slightly. You must work from one end and progress to the other in order to keep the fence tight.

8) Join fence pieces together with wood lathe woven through both in two places, then install as if one piece 9) At each end, wrap the end around and weave a piece of lathe through both pieces. 10) If the fence billows between posts, weave a piece of wood lathe vertically through it centered between

the posts and wire in one location. A note on fence installation – the prevailing wind comes from the west/north. Take your time and get it tight. Loose fence will only loosen more as the winter progresses, and then it falls down into the snow and gets covered. It is far easier to tighten it on a nice warm November afternoon than to dig it out, and then try to fasten it back up on a cold January night! The map below shows the location where fence is installed. Typically, the location for each piece is written on the lathe at the end.

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Periodic Maintenance 11/18/2011 – This section to be updated. In addition to the checks done each time the snowmobile is used, perform the following checks every ~2 weeks.

1. Check the belt and clutch every 2 weeks for signs of wear. 2. Check all fluids (oil, brake, transmission). 3. Check the snowmobile overall for worn, damaged, or missing parts. 4. Check each grooming drag overall for worn, damaged, or missing parts.

Summerizing 1) Fill the tank, stabilize the fuel and run the snowmobile. 2) Wash and clean 3) Top off all fluids and lubricants 4) Grease all grease fittings 5) Park and raise the track 6) Put the cover on and place moth balls under it.

Run the snowmobile once a month at a minimum through the spring/summer/fall to keep gas in the carburetors, lubricants on the engine parts, and charge the battery. Note: There are other techniques that can be used to ‘summerize’. All of these involve taking actions with the battery and engine that prevent the snowmobile from being moved under its own power. Because we want to be able to move the machine using only one (or two) person(s), we’ve chosen to summerize this way.

Preparing for the Grooming Season TBD

Quarry Hill Task List

Essex Park Task List

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Appendices

Ginzu Groomer Directions

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Ginzu Groomer Wiring

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References 2006 Skidoo Skandic 550F Wide Track Operator’s Guide 2009 Skidoo Skandic V800 Super Wide Track (SWT) Operator’s Guide Yamaha Grizzly Operators Manual – Location?

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