Another great year hitting pristine trails during the Annual Family Snowmobile Rally

After several weeks of cold temperatures, organizers and participants of the Whitecourt Trailblazers Annual Family Snowmobile Rally were happy to see a bit of a break in the chill. The two-day rally kicked off on Friday, February 15 at the Seniors Circle with pre-registration for Saturday’s ride. Both Saturday and Sunday featured a different route to take through the groomed area trails.

“We are using the trails on the south side on Saturday and the north side on Sunday. They are both about 80 to 90 kilometres round trip. The south side brings riders up to the Summit Cabin and on the north side to the Carson Cabin,” said Whitecourt Trailblazers executive assistant Cindy Brooks. This is the 39th year for the event. 

“The trails are amazing because we had that warm stretch that melted and packed down the snow that was underneath giving us a really good base. The trails right now are like highways. They are hard and great. We are going to have trails for a long time,” she said. Each trail featured checkpoints in-between and the cabins welcomed riders with food and music in a great social atmosphere. “Lots of people stop for about an hour and hang out. It’s a great time to mingle and share snowmobile stories.”

The demographic of riders has been changing over the years. Males aged 40 to 45 are still the predominate participants but the number of women taking part continues to increase. “There was a point where we didn’t have many prizes for women, but we now try to get as many prizes for the women as we do the men because we get so many joining. Lots of families come out, too. There may not be as many kids this weekend just because of the wind but we will still have the die-hard kids that go all the time and have the gear to handle it,” explained Brooks.

One of the biggest sponsors for the event was Whitecourt Canadian Tire which provided around $10,000 in prizes on top of selling tickets for the 2019 Polaris 850 PRO MRK 163 3” LE which was displayed in the store all winter. “Taking part in the rally brings like-minded people together. It’s a celebration and everybody can get out and have fun. The best part about snowmobiling is that you can do it from the age of five or less and into your 80s. We have fellows that come out riding at age 85 so it’s for everyone.”

Whitecourt Trailblazers president Dan Guenette said they wanted to give a shout out to a special group of riders throughout the weekend. “Our friends in the Whitecourt RCMP detachment were out on the trails on their snowmobiles making sure everyone was having fun and were safe. They are always heavily involved in our club and several are members. They are a great group of people who we enjoy being around and having as part of our club. Big thanks to them. Here we are at -18° C and some of them are volunteering on their days off. It’s great to see.”

Riders travelled in from across the province to take part. “We have people here from Calgary, Edson, Hinton, Drumheller, Grande Prairie, Stettler, Camrose, and Bonnyville. We have the reputation of having some of the best trails in the province and we are very proud of that. We work extremely hard to keep the trails in great condition. It’s all the little details that matter and we have a great group here,” said Guenette.

At 4:30 p.m. on both days the Seniors Circle was a hotbed of activity as riders poured in for the draw announcements. The big prize, the 2019 Polaris 850 PRO MRK 163 3” LE, was announced on Sunday with Whitecourt resident Taylor Kirkland taking home the shiny new ride. Over 7,000 tickets were sold for the snowmobile draw. In total, 548 riders took in the weekend’s festivities. The Whitecourt Trailblazers are in the early planning stages for next season and are looking to add in another feature. “It’s a little tease of information,” said Brooks. “You’ll have to wait and see what we do. Enjoy the trails!”