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Article published Feb 27, 2006
No snow brings woe on Island Pond

ISLAND POND — It's late-February, when snowmobilers usually are flooding this Northeast Kingdom town, crowding Jennifer's Restaurant at mealtimes and filling the rooms at the Lakefront Inn and Clyde River Hotel.

Not this year.

"This week we're shutting down on Monday and Tuesday," said Jennifer Gendron, the namesake of Jennifer's Restaurant, as she served homemade chicken soup last Wednesday. "This is about the worst winter weather I've seen."

You won't find anyone here in this bastion of snowmobilers who disagrees, despite the fact this weekend brought the area a welcome 5-inches or so to coat the trails.

"I've never seen anything like this," said David Page, trailmaster for the Brighton Snowmobile Club. And he should know: He's been overseeing grooming for nearly two decades, since 1988. The club's groomers have been out about half as much as a normal winter and even then they're grooming snow the likes of which the club would normally not bother, he said.

The snow drought has hurt everyone in this winter-loving region. At just past noon Jennifer's restaurant would typically be crowded with lines of customers, Gendron said, but on Wednesday, there were far more empty tables than full ones. Other businesses in town have experienced the same problem.

Joel Cope, the town's Administrative Assistant, said he's heard from other business owners that this is a bad year for business and for outdoor snow recreation enthusiasts.

Diehard snowmobilers are hitting the trails, but find it tough. Island Pond's snowmobiling Web site has numerous postings both humorous and sad, lamenting the fact "the trails leading into and away from the village are mud."

Town Clerk Lucille Stevens, who has been snowmobiling for 30 years. In 2001 she was out on her snowmobile until April 27, but this year, she is running into mud, rocks and water. She's only put on about 50 miles on her sled rather than her usual 2,000 to 3,000 miles.

"The brooks aren't frozen," Stevens observed. "I do know the businesses are hurting."

Island Pond depends on snowmobiling tourism because it has no other major industry, but the rest of the state has lost significant snowmobiling cash, too, said Bryant Watson, executive director of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers.

"We are projecting we will have more than a 50 percent decrease in participation," Watson said, adding that translates statewide into $300 million lost tourist dollars compared to the typical annual $550 million. Trail-pass sales are down from an average 35,000 to about 16,000 reported as of about a week ago.

A season-long trail pass costs about $80 for residents and $115 for nonresidents, Watson said. Until this weekend, only about 10 percent of the trail system was open, including national forestland in Rutland, Bennington and Essex counties. And even where trails are open, caution is required due to "very poor" conditions.

"In Island Pond, you have to go five miles out of town to find semi-good trails," Watson said. "It is pretty much dirt and stone." Some trails above 2,000 feet in elevation on forest roads and in the Champion lands are accessible, he said.

But even with the lousy conditions, more snowmobiles could be seen in Island Pond than in most towns. Here, signs beckon "Welcome Snowmobilers" and well-marked crossings go right through the center of town. Seeing a snowmobile or two traveling down a sidewalk —unthinkable in Stowe or Montpelier — is not uncommon here.

Diehards have come anyway. The Czaszar-Gonyaw family recently stopped to fill up its four shiny rigs. Calling conditions "scratchy," Gary Czaszar, 44, of Enfield, Conn., said his family was in town escaping even worse conditions in southern Vermont. They own a vacation home in Cavendish, but the lack of snow there drove them to the Clyde River Hotel in Island Pond. They said they have been snowmobiling in Vermont since the 1970s and love the sport because it is something the whole family enjoys.

"Up in the mountains there are a couple of feet of snow," Czaszar said.

Czaszar's sister, brother-in-law, nephew and children crossed Main Street to join him at the Irving Station in one joyous roar of engines and smiling faces. They said although conditions were substandard, they refuse to break the family's annual winter tradition.

"It is more exhilarating than skiing," said Katherine Gonyaw, 13, who has been at it since the age of 3. She rode with cousin Zachary Czaszar, 10, who said he thinks it's fun to hit the jumps.

But as everyone in this town agrees, it's a lot more fun when the jumps are white.

It is amazing that this has not been an issue in the press statewide. Imagine if the ski industry had a %50 reduction in money for a year. The press and politicians would be screaming gloom and doom. It seems the only press we get is when it looks bad for us ie... accidents, drunks and trespass. No one outside the sport seems to recognize the massive positive financial impact we haveon the state. Maybe for it to be really important it has to impact Chittenden County, not the more rural areas.

I am not sure exactly what my point is but had to say it anyway.


PS. This year sucks!

Agreed. This season is a financial disaster for many. Hopefully we get a snowy March.