Many Maine snowmobile clubs are struggling to attract young people to help maintain trails and carry on the sport. But some club leaders say networking, open attitudes are keeping them young.
snowmobiles
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Snowmobile jumping held in Auburn
Alex Bishop of Turner hits the jump at the RaveX Motorsports event at Lost Valley, kicking off the Beach Bash Weekend in Auburn on Saturday. Bishop has been jumping snowmobiles for eight years. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)
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Posted inNew England
A warm winter could cool down next winter’s snowmobile funding
CONCORD, N.H. — Who would ever have imagined a Maine winter where snowmobilers have nothing to do but lament a lack of snow? It’s not just Maine, though. A warm winter is proving to be a double whammy for snowmobilers in all of northern New England. Not only are thousands of miles of trails closed […]
Posted inBusiness
Rough snowmobile rides inspire JUDGED Gear
BOWDOINHAM — Walter Beesley takes his snowmobiling seriously. Won’t-reveal-where-he-snowmobiles-because-it’s-such-a-sweet-spot seriously. During rough and tumble off-trail rides in the winter, he and friends would rip through gear. They fogged up goggles, tore clothes and frequently had to modify sleds. Three years ago, Beesley, a computer programmer, reached out to a factory on a lark: Could he […]
Posted inFranklin
Children’s snowmobiles stolen in Rangeley had special meaning to Mass. family
RANGELEY — Dan and Jennifer Smith of Pembroke, Mass., had hoped to hold onto their young sons’ snowmobiles forever. And maybe, one day, pass them on to their grandchildren. As of now, that won’t happen. The two children’s Polaris 120cc snowmobiles, one orange and black and the other blue and red, were stolen over the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Digging out, digging in and digging it — Maine’s snow businesses happy with Juno
But overall the Twin Cities and Maine in general handled Juno with relatively little pain, according to state and local officials. “We’re doing pretty good,” said Joanne Potvin, the director of Androscoggin County’s Emergency Management Agency. Potvin said overnight Tuesday there were no reported incidents, and that agency activities were largely back to normal returning […]
Posted inMaine
Holiday weather boon for some, bust for others
“With over 30 inches of snow on the ground, a few hours of warm weather is not a concern,” said Chris Farmer, the general manager of Saddleback Ski Area near Rangeley. Maine’s notorious, if not fickle, winter weather this year has given plenty of snow to some parts of the state dependent on winter tourism […]
Posted inLetters
J. Major: Make snowmobiling safer
I think it is time for legislation to improve snowmobile safety. I would like to see a bill that would require all new snowmobiles to be equipped with two mirrors and some sort of signal light. There are way too many drivers out there who don’t have a clue what is happening behind them, and […]
Posted inLetters
J. Kearns: Intent was misunderstood
I expected misunderstanding would happen regarding my letter (Feb. 13) concerning snowmobiles on the “ski trail” at Bradbury Mountain State Park, as evidenced by Dan Bilodeau’s response on March 4. I often enjoy skiing on snowmobile trails. In some cases, the grooming they provide is sometimes excellent, and sometimes, it reduces the snow cover to […]
Posted inRiver Valley
Mexico Blessing of the Sleds event does well despite low turnout
MEXICO — Riders instead of snowmobiles were blessed Saturday in a break from tradition at the 17th annual Blessing of the Sleds. The fundraising event was hosted by the Poodunck Snowmobile Club and the Mexico Trailblazers Snowmobile Club. It began at 10:30 a.m. with a cookout. Then, just after noon, a lower-than-usual turnout of snowmobile […]