The Valley Spur ski system acquires new trail groomer.
Read more: Local, Tourism, Outdoors
MUNISING -- They say it's just as smooth as riding in a car. That's because it is one.
"We have a larger piece of equipment called the Tucker that takes care of the bulk work," explained trail groomer John Swanberg. "Then we have snowmobiles that take care of the detail work or on days when there's not a lot of snow. So what we're looking for is something in between."
And what they found is a Chevy Blazer, retro-fitted with a groomer track system. The Friends of Valley Spur, which operate the trail system, are leasing the machine from a company in Chassell for $400 a month. Because of its power, the truck can be used to groom trails with up to four inches of fresh snow, if there's a hard base.
And for Swanberg, that means less time spent behind the wheel.
"What we can do is we can hook our 10-foot roller up behind it," Swanberg said, "we go out and knock the air right out of it in one pass and then we have another piece of equipment that can go right behind that, and we can really create a world-class ski system."
Swanberg says the new groomer is also a cost-saving measure for the Friends of Valley Spur. Unlike the Tucker, all repairs and parts can be purchased locally.
The Friends of Valley Spur have until March to decide if they want to purchase the $10,000 groomer.
