Shawn Flindall remembers the end of 2014 very, very fondly.
“We had two feet of snow on the ground this time last year, we had full November and December with -20 temperatures so the freeze up was perfect and last year we actually opened the snowmobile trails on January 2nd which was the earliest in 15 years,” said Flindall.
Fast forward 365 days and the President of the North Bay Snowmobile Club has seen Mother Nature do a complete 180 at the end of 2015.
He says the unseasonably warm temperatures have put the snowmobiling season behind by at least three or four weeks.
“At this point we are looking at, at best, the end of January,” said Flindall.
“We need a solid two weeks of -20 just to freeze up the waterways and the swamps before we can even hope for snow. If it gets really cold in early January and we get that freeze up that we need and then the snow comes and we can get grooming in the third or fourth week of January that would be the best case scenario at this point.”
Flindall adds the last few years have been fantastic for snowmobiling in the area, which has made this year’s lack of snow even tougher on snowmobilers.
“We have had four really strong years in snowmobiling with great temperatures and lots of snow and everybody was geared up for the same this year obviously and wow, we’ve got a late start to say the least,” he said.
But it’s not just the sledders that are feeling the heat. Flindall says the snowmobile business means big money for the local economy and the lack of snow in late December will hurt snowmobile dealers along with hotel and restaurant owners.
Despite the late start to winter, Flindall urges sledders to try and be patient.
“I know everybody is just like me and everyone is chomping at the bit to fire up those sleds,” he said.
“Sometimes we get a nice blanket of snow and people want to get out there quick but all those lakes, streams and swamps are not going to be freezing up properly at this point so safety is the biggest concern for us.”
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