Snowmobilers flock to snow-asis in west Interlake as warm weather closes southern Manitoba trails

The final day of winterisa blusteryone east ofLake Manitoba.

Clayton Gibson's black Ski-DooRenegade kicks up a mist ofsnow on March 19as he rips through thewoods towardan Ashern Snowmobile Club cabin just north of thecommunity. His friend and club presidentJay Ruchotzketrailsclose behind.

"Everything about snowmobiling: the camaraderie, the friendship, meeting new people," says Gisbon. "You can really drift away ... have the rush."

That rush wasn't so accessible for riders in southern Manitoba this winter due to low snow, warm temperaturesandpoor riding conditions. Quite a fewsleds sat idle in garages because many trailscouldn't stay open long, if they opened at all.

But those in the know eventually learned of a couple snowy havens in parts ofthe west Interlake and Westman where the white gold was plentiful.

"This winter Mother Nature was being difficult in some places and fruitful in others with the snow,"said Gibson, economic development officer for therural municipality of West Interlake. The municipality which sits against the northeastern shore of Lake Manitoba, about 130 km northwest of Winnipegincludes the communities of Eriksdale and Ashern, among others.

"This influx of people took us by surprise ... our trails were the busiest they've ever been."

WATCH | West Interlake snowmobile trails 'busiest they've ever been':

Going for a rip in one of Manitoba's lone snowmobiling hotspots blessed with enough white gold this winter

6 months ago

Duration 3:24

Parts of Manitoba's West Interlake drew large numbers of snowmobilers from southern Manitoba this winter after warm conditions resulted in many trail systems being unable to stay open, if they opened at all.

The influx in snowmobile-related tourism was good for local business. Gibson said hotels were often booked solid. Grocery stores and restaurants werebusier than usual.

The clubhouses,where riders can stop to warm up along trails, were often buzzing.

"Every cabin that you stop at there's 20 sleds there, sometimes more," Ruchotzkesays from his yellow Ski-Doo Expedition. "There were people running into ... 60 sleds at one cabin, which is almost unheard of in our area."

Rossburn and surrounding areas of western Manitobaalso had an uptick in snowmobile activity.

El Nio warmed winter

Both became riding hotspots during an El Nioseason that brought warmer-than-normal temperatures across most of the Prairies this winter, said Natalie Hasell,a warningpreparednessmeteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Hasell says El Niopushes jets streams further north. Those streams bring colder air and higher amounts of precipitation, including snow. That'scompared to parts of the south of the province, which got more warmer air and for longer periods.

The Interlake also experienced warmer temperatures than usual but it wasn't so frequently above 0 C, like what happened in the Red River Valley and other parts of the south, she said.

"Whatever snow we did getmelted in a lot of places, Red River Valley included," she said. "Just a little north of us in the Interlake, they've managed to keep some of their snow and it sounds like they've managed to keep enough for snowmobiling to become popular."

Trail pass sales dropped

Though there were a few hotspots that reaped the benefits of snowmobile-related tourism, other rural communities lostout, said Yvonne Rideout,executive director of Snomobilersof Manitoba, or SnomanInc.

On a good year, Manitoba may have around 13,000 kilometres of groomed trails, butmany of the four dozen or so snowmobile clubs in the province that maintainthose trails were hampered by conditions.

That was also reflected in the "drastic" drop in sales of trail passes, said Rideout. Shesaid revenue was down about $100,000 this season.

"This was a winter of extremes ... it was all over the map," said Rideout, who hasn't experienced a winter like this in10 years at the helm of Snoman.

"We were watching areas, you know, 'What's going to open? What's going to close? Oh my another trail system is closed.' So, it was a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat type winter.... We were victims of Mother Nature in a lot of areas."

Snomanhad to cancel a ride with its corporate partners planned inBeausejour.

The same happened for theannual"Making Tracks" ride in February, where Snowman staff take provincial ministers out to showcase the trail systems and discuss priorities. Attorney General Matt Wiebe, Tourism Minister Glen Simard and Tracy Schmidt, minister of the environment and climate change, were all expected to attend, said Rideout.

She hoped to pitch a snowgroomer replacement or update program to ministers. She said some of the agingmachinery operated by Manitoba clubs should be replaced by moreenvironmentally-friendly models. They go for around $350,000, she said.

Snomannow hopes to meet with Finance Minister Adrian Sala to discuss that idea, as well as convey how the drop in snowmobile activity hurt rural economies.

Ruchotzkesaid the snowmobile boom in Ashernmeant more time spentgrooming local trails and cabin upkeep. With just 20 or so volunteers in the Ashern club, it wasn't always easy.

"It's a struggle trying to find ...volunteers and people with the time to go out and help," he said. "It's a lot of evenings, lot of weekend work."

Despite the hard work, he and Gibson are already brainstorming ways to leverage the rush this yearby pushingthe trail system and Ashern's amenities more online in hopes of drawing riders back in droves again next winter.

"We can just start to market ourselves and put ourselves in the right place for the space," said Gibson.