Sudbury Trail Plan aims to have all 2K of trails ready for sledders by next week

Volunteers with the Sudbury Trail Plan are grooming and clearing local trails in anticipation of sledders taking their snowmobiles out this winter.

Thirty per cent of those routes are currently open and being used by snowmobilers.

President Chuck Breathat says there are still a lot of wet areas and the STP needs to get its small groomer out to pack the snow down along the trails.

The group looks after 2,000kilometres of trails around the Sudbury region.

Amap showing the status of trailsis available on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club web site.

Breathat says the group hopes to have its entire route system open by mid-January, if the weather co-operates.

"Actually, this [recent snowfall]is a good thing, but its also a bad thing because it could hurt the lakes a little bit. It could create some slush on the lakes, which may slow the freezing process," Breathat said.

He told CBC News the group just bought a new $300,000 groomer, which brings to 13 the number of pieces of equipment the Sudbury Trail Plan hasto maintain the trails for the snowmobile season.

A trail that is marked as "closed"means it hasn't been checked or groomed yet.

"Just because you see tracks onitdoesn'tmean it's been open," Breathat said.

"There's all sorts of hazards on trails. There's rocks, there is stumps,there's trees sticking out ... all sorts of things."

Most of the Sudbury trail system is on private property, he added. That means when sledders take their machines on a closed trail they're trespassing.

If you don't know, don't go

Noelville OPP Constable Louise Monettesays ice stability is always an uncertain factor this time of the year.

"The ice in Sudbury could be different than the ice we have here in the French River," she said.

"And then again, in the French River the ice could be different from one lake to one creek, to another."

Police use the motto 'If you don't know, don't go' to remind people about the uncertainty of ice every winter.

Breathat says the Sudbury Trail Plan will markwaterways where a trail goes over the ice,only if the ice is frozen over enough to hold a snowmobile.

That means the ice must be at least 12 cmthick.

Monette says police officers patrol local trails either on snowmobiles or they'll park their cruiser along a highway where a snowmobile trail crossesover.

Officers can check if a sledder is impaired,if they are carrying proper documents. Police also conduct radar enforcement to check for speeding.

Sudbury Police reported the year's first snowmobile fatality January 4, after a sledder was killed while on a closed trail inGarson.

• Police release more details about fatalGarsonsnowmobile crash