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Show Low snow-pack brings halt to trail grooming Snowmobile trailgrooming operations originating out of Hardware Hard-ware Ranch have been suspended until more snowfall is received, officials with the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation recently announced. an-nounced. The division's huge trailgroomer used to groom trails in the Monte Cristo, Hardware Ranch area has been damaged due to the lack of snow, said Jerold Hover, associate director with the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation. Snow depths in the area are averaging only two feet in the higher elevations. The last time division personnel attempted to groom they were only able to do so for a 24-hour period before the trailgroomer s wheels were destroyed. The lack of snow on the trails caused the wheels to overheat. This breakdown forced the groomer out of operation for four days and resulted in $3,000-$3,500 in repairs, he said. So far, the only damage has been to the trailgroomer' s wheels, but continued use could lead to more serious damage to the machine's tracks and axles. Grooming operations will resume in the area, when at least four to six inches of new snowfall is received. In the meantime the division will try to groom part of the trail with a smaller trailgroomer based at Bear Lake State Park. The portion of the trail they will try to maintain begins at the Millie Springs trailhead, located west of Woodruff, and proceeds west, over the top of Monte Cristo, past the Monte Cristo guard station, and down State Road 39 to the Monte Cristo trailhead. If the light snow depths in the area causes damage to the smaller trailgroomer, these grooming operations would also be suspended. Even if the trails are not groomed, groom-ed, there should be enough snow from the Millie Springs trailhead to the Monte Cristo trailhead and from Hardware Ranch to the Sinks in Logan Canyon for about two more weeks of snowmobiling, said park i ranger Ron Horton. j Snowmobilers who would like to snowmobile on the trail between j Hardware Ranch and the Sinks will need to travel north of the ranch to find enough snow to pick up the trail. Good snowmobiling is also available in Temple, Cottonwood and Providence canyons, from ! Garden City to the Sinks in Logan Canyon, and in the Beaver Mountain, Moun-tain, Amazon and Franklin Basin . areas. Snow depths in these areas average two to three feet and trails are currently being groomed on a weekly basis. For updated reports on snowmobile trail conditions and grooming schedules, call the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation information line at 538-7221. Gov. Norman H. Bangerter has declared Feb. 24-March 2 Utah Snowmobile Week. 'The purpose of Snowmobile Week is to make people aware that there is another winter sport in Utah, other than downhill skiing, that generates tourism, money and winter activity in the state," said Craig Cazier, president of the Utah Snowmobile Association (USA). The public will have a chance to become involved in Utah Snowmobile Week on March 2, as members of USA's ten snowmobile clubs wrap up the week by hosting the group's annual state trail ride, Snowball and dinner. The trail ride will begin at 10 a.m. and will originate at Ruby's Inn. |