This story by Jordan Cuddemi was published by the Valley News on March 9, 2019.
[S]ome love it, some hate it, and some depend on it. Especially snowmobilers. Unlike the ski industry, which can rely on snowmaking technology in the event of a lousy snow season, the tens of thousands of snowmobilers who take to the trails in Vermont and New Hampshire each year must deal with the cards Mother Nature has dealt them.
All things considered, this season turned out to be decent for snowfall at higher elevations in the Twin States. That means snowmobilers can find the white stuff they rely on — and statistics show they are doing just that.
So far, about 25,000 people in Vermont and 41,600 in New Hampshire have registered snowmobiles for this winter season, figures that are average to above-average, according to state officials.
“Snowmobile registrations are almost entirely dependent on snow — people will register if there are going to be riding opportunities,” New Hampshire Fish and Game Capt. David Walsh said recently.
“It’s snow-reliant,” said Cindy Locke, executive director for the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, or VAST
In the heart of the Upper Valley, Lebanon has recorded about 49½ inches of snow, enough for a satisfactory base, though below the normal season-to-date figure of 64.5 inches, according to AccuWeather Inc. Farther north, New Hampshire Bureau of Trails Chief Chris Gamache said parts of Pittsburg, N.H., which borders Canada, have received nearly 17 feet.
“Right now, the last two weeks, the trails have been beautiful,” said Upper Valley Snow Packers club President Stuart Bacon, of West Fairlee, who noted there were a number of riders on the trails in northern Orange County last weekend.
But bouts of rain and ice earlier in the season had diminished high hopes after good snowfalls.
“It’s been kind of an up-and-down season,” Bacon and others said.
And when the snowpack is meager, the industry suffers.
Although this season appears strong, a recently released study commissioned by the University of Vermont raised questions about the long-term viability of the sport with a warming climate. The study, titled Social Climate Change: The Advancing Extirpation of Snowmobilers in Vermont, surveyed VAST members and asked them several questions, including whether people had noticed any signs of climate change, and if so, how that has altered their snowmobiling routines.
Based on the 1,450 responses, the authors concluded in part that warming trends have led to a reduction in the number of snow-covered days, and that snowmobilers are changing their behavior.
“For instance, nearly three-quarters of respondents reported reducing their participation in snowmobiling in response to reductions they have noticed in the length of winter during which there is enough snow to snowmobile,” lead author Elizabeth Perry and the four others wrote. “All of these findings suggest that snowmobiling is likely to decline considerably in both amount of activity and quality in response to climate change.”
Bacon said he personally has noticed a shortened riding season, noting that snowmobilers in his area are lucky to get two to three months of riding in each year.
He doesn’t think there is much question that the weather — regardless of the season — in the Northeast is changing.
“We are getting some pretty crazy weather patterns,” Bacon said.
The season started off with strong snowstorms, but rain and warmer weather followed others, which was a “real killer” for snowmobiling in southern New Hampshire, said Dan Gould, executive director for the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association.
In higher elevations, though, like in New Hampshire’s North Country and in the Green Mountains in Vermont, the snowfall was plentiful. Right now, the Pittsburg (N.H.) Ridge Runners club is reporting conditions are better than they were in mid-February.
Although snowmobilers who live in lower elevations haven’t consistently been able to access the trails from their backyards, they still have been riding, statistics show. Riders follow the snowpack, so many in- and out-of-staters trailer up and truck their sleds to where the snow is.
Ronnie Rice, the trail master for the Hartland Hill Toppers snowmobile club, said he travels to northern Vermont as often as he can.
“The riding is better up there normally. They have more snow consistency,” Rice said.
People in the sport have been forced to adapt over the years, and not just to weather patterns. The costs of new snowmobiles have increased, much like the price tags for new pickup trucks and SUVs. The recession didn’t help.
Butch Robbins, an owner of Robbins Powersports, a snowmobile and off-road vehicle dealer in Windsor, said recently that sales are consistently growing. But he questioned whether purchases would ever return to pre-recession levels.
In the early 2000s, the business would sell 100-plus new sleds a season, whereas this year, the business has sold about 90 new and used sleds, he said. A new sled now costs double what a sled cost in the early 2000s.
“Years ago, it was common to see six or eight sleds in every dooryard, but you could buy (a new) one for $5,000 or $6,000,” Robbins said.
Snowmobilers can ride on a budget, though, and many people do so by buying used sleds and equipment.
With the economy rebounding and snow on the ground, snowmobilers are enthusiastic. Business owners are too.
Over the past three weeks, Royalton Village Pizza Owner Corey Cook said he’s noticed an influx of snowmobilers stopping in for lunch at his restaurant, located on Route 14 where some VAST trails converge. He attributed that in part to a good stretch of snowmobiling weather and the fact that the groomers had been out.
He estimated some 30 riders driving in for a pizza or sub on each weekend day recently.
“Every time a group leaves, a new group comes in,” he said.
Several people are from out of town; of the VAST survey respondents, 50 percent are from Vermont and the remainder are from out of state.
More snowmobilers means an uptick in business.
“It’s huge for us in the winter,” said South Woodstock Country Store owner Simran Johnston, who took over the store about two years ago. She estimated that 30 to 60 sleds stop by for a hot lunch or cup of coffee on a Saturday or Sunday.
“Today, a dozen have come in,” she said on Wednesday. “Here come some more,” she said as a group walked in.
Although the UVM study, which was published in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, seemingly casts shadows on the sustainability of snowmobiling as climate change progresses, Locke, the VAST executive director, remained optimistic for snowmobiling’s future.
The authors administered the survey to members in 2015, which was one of the worst snow seasons in recent memory. Perhaps that could have colored the responses, Locke said.
“It came at a time when people were bitter because there hadn’t been snow,” she said.
Overall, she said she doesn’t think there are fewer people participating in snowmobiling. But she does note differences in the sport today.
“Mostly the sport has changed because of the cost. It has come from just farmers having sleds to baby boomers with disposable incomes,” she said via email.
But some Vermont and New Hampshire club numbers are down, including Bacon’s West Fairlee club, which has about 70 members, down from about 200 members “at one time,” and Rice’s Hartland club, which has about 110 members, down from 300 to 400 “years ago.”
Though that can be said for other sports too — numbers are even down for school sports, Bacon noted.
“It’s a society thing,” he said.
When the economy tanked beginning in late 2008, the sport lost a lot of riders. When the economy recovered, many came back, but some did not, said Gamache, of the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails.
Asked whether he has long-term concerns about the snowmobile industry, Gamache said: “I think in the short term it is definitely viable.”
The sport could become harder to maintain down the road.
The volunteer clubs that service the trails may have more to do in the offseason, such as improving culverts and putting in extra hours to get the trails as smooth as possible so they can be ridden with as little snow as possible, Gamache said. But he hopes that level of trail precision is a ways away.
Typically, the last days for snowmobiling in New Hampshire and Vermont are March 15 and April 15, respectively.
Because of solid snowfall in northern New Hampshire, riders in Coos County, with landowner permission, will likely be able to enjoy the trails past that date, said Walsh, of New Hampshire Fish and Game. And the snowstorm earlier this month helped keep the season alive in southern regions.
“That’s the best advertisement we can have,” Gamache said. “That drives up registration.”