Hitting a snow groomer?

[jshbrwn234]

Has anyone ever, or heard of someone, hitting a snow groomer? Didn't think that could be possible, those things are pretty big but heard some stories last year up in northern wi about someone hitting one and breaking their hand. If it is true I guess it could have been a lot worse......

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Ive heard of it, just think coming around a corner to fast and not having anywhere to go because they take up the whole trail....you dont slow down to a crawl around corners....or maybe..no i havent hit one but it does cross my mind sometimes how many times have you almost brushed someone because theyre in the middle of the trail around the corner... seems more likely in scony with narrower twistys

 

[getsome]

Danger

Daytime and tight corners it is very highly possible. If anyone has a chance to ride or drive groomer, you would meet up to ALOT of surprised riders !
I know someone who has fallen into/under the drag after fully stopped along the side of the trail as the groomer passed. She tipped over right between the tractor and the drag. Completely ran her over. This is the very reason MOST groomer drivers would rather stop, and let you drive pass by THEM instead.

 

[whitedust]

Ask Skylar lol :>) Then purchase tek vest.

 

[thebluff]

pretty sure it happened here last year or the year before, seems like Lenny told me about it??????

not a serious crash.

as a groomer, i have had 2-3 very close calls. had one guy stop just in time but his buddy rear ended him. again, not serious. I know i was always on the lookout for headlights and would just stop and wait.

 

[Yooper_Bob]

I was riding with a noob a couple of years ago....he was on a buddy's sled. We passed a groomer while out on the trails (the groomer stopped and let us go around him).

We we got back to the cabin, I noticed that there was orange paint down the side of my buddy's sled (an older green Polaris), and the hood was cracked.

I asked the noob if he had hit the groomer, and he said he didn't think so, but the evidence said otherwise!

I know in the past, there was a fatal accident with one of the groomers...hit head on. I don't recall the details.

 

[datdude]

Our club recently closed a section of new trail because a few of the hills were too steep. One driver had a close call with a sled coming over the top of the hill and almost hit the groomer head on. The trail I groom is mostly railroad grade and have not had any issues (as I would expect). I always stop and let the sleds ride by me

 

[cries]

+5 yrs ago while riding spring conditions down to Sagola from Republic, we came up on an accident where a guy ran into the back of a groomer and was killed. Sunny day around noon. When we came up, the groomer was off to the side in a ditch and the guy was laid out on the trail. We were coming up fast when someone flagged us to slow down. I believe the groomer was on its way to storage and had the drag up. If you know this area, it is very hilly and fast. It is easy to forget how dangerous of a sport we are in. Be careful out there.

 

[lookin4snow]

I ride and groom. One of the nice things I like about wearing a Communicator is that there is the Groomer Warning Beacon that really alerts you that there is a groomer nearby. Now they are not fool-proof, as not all groomers have the beacons or does the groomer operator always remember to turn them on. But, it at least improves my odds of me as the leader being provided warning of a groomer.

As a groomer, this issue is another reason for the groomers to only go out during times when sled traffic is low on the trails. We usually only groom in the middle of the night and early in the week. It is safer, and it also results in a better groom if no sleds hit the trail for an hour or two after grooming. I've met my share of sleds on corners, and one thing is for sure - the groomer will always win that battle.

 

[russholio]

Came across one 8 years ago near Mio. I think the groomer stopped in the trail to let a couple guys pass. One of them got too close, his ski caught the groomer's blade. No idea how fast they were going. Lucky for him the groomer was stopped, but he still ended up with an open tib/fib fracture. My buddy (a cop) and I were the first riders to to come up on it. We had cell phones and a GPS so we were able to summon EMS pretty quickly.

 

[zaskar]

It would hurt to hit a groomer.

 

[fshgrind]

jshbrwn, how is it goin man? long time no johndee.

cant wait for the annual sled trip up in BC, goin to be mad pow bro!

 

[mnguy]

I've had a few close calls over the years while grooming. The worst was meeting a young guy coming around a blind corner. He was going way too fast to stop so he threw the sled sideways. We both got stopped, but he fell off and rolled under the front blade. By the time I got out to make sure he was okay he was back on his sled and gone (probably expected me to rip him a new one).

I prefer to groom late at night to avoid traffic (it's also easier to see them coming). As another poster said, the longer fresh trail sets and freezes, the longer it lasts. If you meet a groomer, pull over as far as possible (on the trail) and let them pass. Note: After passing DO NOT drive onto the fresh trail in a full on powerslide (groomer operators hate that!). If you come up behind a groomer (yeah, we can see you), relax until there is a safe place to pass. A drag full of snow can be tough to get started again. If we can spend all night in the woods making trails smooth, you can wait for a a few minutes to safely pass.

Groomer (8000-9000 lbs) vs Sled (500-700 lbs) = Groomer wins!

 

[groomerdave]

Our current groomer has had 7 impacts with sleds. All but one were at night. Luckily no one was hurt. Our past machine had lots worse luck. We have at least one near miss a week from people not getting off the trail or just being stupid.
30,000 lbs groomer vs a 500 lbs sled is pretty easy to figure out who is going to win.
Think Snow! -Dave

 

[rocketman356]

I ride and groom. One of the nice things I like about wearing a Communicator is that there is the Groomer Warning Beacon that really alerts you that there is a groomer nearby. Now they are not fool-proof, as not all groomers have the beacons or does the groomer operator always remember to turn them on. But, it at least improves my odds of me as the leader being provided warning of a groomer.

As a groomer, this issue is another reason for the groomers to only go out during times when sled traffic is low on the trails. We usually only groom in the middle of the night and early in the week. It is safer, and it also results in a better groom if no sleds hit the trail for an hour or two after grooming. I've met my share of sleds on corners, and one thing is for sure - the groomer will always win that battle.

Collett Communicators are the way to go with the Groomer warning beacon

 

[Skylar]

Feb of 2004 I hit a groomer, north of Mohawk. I was going to fast into a blind corner, and there it was. I got on the brakes, thought for a split second that I was going to stop in time, then realized that I wasn't. I hit the blade, flipped up over it, the left side of the groomer tracks rolled up on to my sled. Luckily the summer before I had bought a tekvest, it saved me from some serious injuries, I ended up with 1 broken rib, and one cracked, and a very swollen right thigh and knee.

You should see how slow I go through that spot now. Matter of fact, just rolled through there last Staurday afternoon.

 

[edmarino]

Two years ago I was snowmobiling in Munising and heard the warning beacon on my communicator so I pulled over and a couple of sleds can powering down the trail. I tried to flag them down, but they ignored me. And they hit the groomer coming around the corner. Didn't get hurt to bad but messed up his sled pretty good. The first guy hit the groomer the second guy hit the first one

 

[scoop]

I came darn close to hitting a groomer when riding on the trail that goes toward the Holiday Inn Express in Munising the day after New Years Day. The trail is pretty winding and narrow the closer you get to town that the rest of the trails further south. They were grooming during the day and I was going around a blind right hand corner (the trail went around a small hill) and BAM! the groomer was right in front of me. I wasn't even going that fast. I hit the brakes and slid sideways, mostly because of the fresh snow that had fallen. I had no out because of the hill. It was a definite "oh sh** moment! It was close enough to scare the crap out of me. I don't think it was such a great idea for them to be grooming that trail during the day. If they had been grooming at night, at least I would have seen the lights on the groomer before I went around the corner.

 

[vogelm1]

I'll admit I "fell" on one last winter. It was the first couple of rides on my new sled - still getting used to it....groomer saw us coming up from behind and stopped... the trail was no wider than the groomer so I had to go up over the bank at at sharp angle. Ended up tipping over on top of the drag and busted up a bunch of plastic on the cowl. Came down on my shoulder pretty hard too - I can see how someone could bust a hand or worse just from a newb manuever like that.

 

[Northwoods Hi-Rider]

I have often thought about this. I had to lockem' up pretty hard one time.

I thought it would be a good idea for clubs to have a "pace sled" that rides in front of the groomer in bad areas that would have a flashing light with a sign that said groomer. Kinda like the car in front of the wide load truck coming down the road.