Temperatures might have been hovering at -30 Celsius on Feb. 20, but that didn't stop droves of snowmobile enthusiasts from showing up at Lac Bellevue Hall to take part in the 2011 St. Paul Trailblazers' snowmobile rally.
The rally covered about 67 miles (107 km), with the first checkpoint near the North Saskatchewan River, and the second checkpoint at the club's Three Mile Cabin, where lunch was served by volunteers.
After the second checkpoint, the rally proceeded north towards the Town of St. Paul and headed back south towards Lac Bellevue Hall.
“It's a little chilly but the turnout looks good," said Dan Blain, director of public relations for the club, adding the sledders who showed up for the rally were a “great group of people."
Blain, who has been an enthusiast for many years, went on to say that snowmobiling has been a big part of his life since age four, and that he has a couple of kids who are also into it.
The purpose of the rally was to generate funds for the upkeep of the trail system used by the members of the club.
“We also operate a grooming unit which costs $250,000 to groom the trails … and make sure that everything's clean and safe for the riders," said Blain, while explaining that the club also looks after the maintenance of two cabins along the trails.
Although it was still early to gauge, Chris Schuh, social director of the club, estimated that about $1,000 was raised, with 183 riders coming out for the rally. That was down from previous years, as typically 200 to 250 riders participate, but Schuh was upbeat about the turnout. “We were very happy to have that many riders come out with the -30 degree weather."
A couple of the first-timers at the rally were Rob and Amanda Baliquette from St. Paul.
“The weather's not too bad," said Amanda, with a laugh, adding that the couple had a great time trying out the trails for the first time.
That was a view shared by Grant Foerster. Foerster currently lives in Medicine Hat but is originally from St. Paul. “It's great, it's awesome and a good time," he said, adding, “I came out here to hang out with old buddies and have a ride."
“You get to see lots of friendly faces. What else can you ask for?" asked fellow rider Lucien Bolduc, adding, “And the food's pretty good."
