It"s come up and ride, or see you all next year. Big thanks for coming to Safari Motel it was a great winter with all you Guys and Gals. (HAVE A GREAT SUMMER) BERNARD IS MY NAME,SLEDDING IS MY GAME.

Bernard, Will they be grooming this Friday and Saturday? My daughter and son in law (matt and jen ) want to beat me up one last time.

They will be grooming 2 more times for easter weekend.

How were your club's trail pass sales this year verses last year Bernard? Up or down?

Trail Passes down by 400. Quebec ridders up 10% It"s going to stay cold for a long time,and trails should stay good for another 3 weeks, I would think with this cold weather trend coming on. Even if the Club is shut down, the Stops and pree Stops will still be out there, Theyare FROZEN in 6 ft of Snow and Ice. This winter has been long and hard for the Club, and we are out of MONEY. Do not saddle bag, many GAS stops are closed so Beware. Many of our American riders stayed in the states, and we got hammerd with one snow storm after another. We sold 400 less trail passes witch did not help. Your Buying power is a way down, and GAS for your trucks is BULLSHIT. HOPE IT GETS BETTER FOR NEXT YEAR. If anybody wants to buy some good low milage snow, we have plenty. Will go on Sale at our local WALL-MART at half price. (SNOW NOT MADE IN CHINA) ONE HUNDRED PERCENT PURE COLD WHITE CANADIAN LOW MILAGE SNOW. WITH SALT OR WITHOUT SALT,SAME PRICE. (BERNARD IS MY NAME, SLEDDING IS MY GAME).

Sorry to hear about the pass sales down so much. I believe a lot of our nieghbors from the south didn't venture up this year due to the exchange on the $$. I saw this and heard about it in many of the places I stayed this winter. Outback Jack told us he saw a huge difference. However I believe if they had done the math verses last year the difference would not have been that much. I would bet per day the difference would have been much more that $20-$25. Is that a price too high for some of the best trails in North America??

Trail Passes power groomers. Another 400 passes right now would likely run your machine a few more days.

Actually, beleive it or not, the states trail system was better then yours this year in alot of respects, not all, but some. That's truely surpriseing. Quebec was the best and I still can't wait to ride there again. States got similiar amounts of snow, and there still groomong! States trail passes cheaper. The states trail system was well marked from the beginning of the season, not for the one month everyone came up.
Yes, i no you've read some of my posts before and this year has been fustrating up in quebec to say the least. I've been honest about what i've experienced up there this year and wrote about it or complained about, but ethere way, i stand behind it.
Bernard and the quebec people were absolutly the best resources for haveing a great sledding experience up there. But, there's noticably something different this year verses previouse years. I will continue to spend 250 a sled in reg. and pay the excellent hotel owners, food stops, gas stations and extras that come with the sport in quebec in hopes it changes for the better next year.
I feel bad for the hotel and restuarant owners and groomer operators that depend on this sport and our money. Everytime i was in a hotel or food stop, someone was complaining about something with the trail system, wether it be signage(or lack of), trail closures that weren't on maps, forgetting to groom for days on end ect. All you'de hear in the past was how outstanding everything about quebec was. there's definatly a change in the air and i hope it's only temporary. thansk, rich

I think it was just the price of fuel for me and the little bit of border hassle after jan 31.
Even though I am crazy and drive 650 miles one way to go to Northern Maine (with big trailer), I feel supporting that area was the thing to do this year. They did a great job!
Rode QC and NB and properly gave to support the local economy and enjoyed every mile.
Will try Bancroft Ontario and north next year for a recon trip, 4 hours less drive time, but the snow comes late.
Will always need a annual gaspie fix.

Thank you Bernard, for all you do.
This has been a great year to be a sledhead!

Thanks for the input; We have are good years, and our very good years and glad to see States trails had a good year. I have been told many times by American Sledders that Quebec has the best trails Anywhere.

Have a great summer.

I have logged over 30 thousand mile in
Quebec over the years and there is absolutely no comparing the states to
Quebec. We don't get the prolonged cold weather to build a base and keep the trails for months on end. Not to mention a system so big that you can put on a pack and litterally ride for 3 months and never see the same trail twice. yes the economy has hurt, it is probably 25-30 dollars a day more to ride, but stop and think about all those years at 154 when all we said privately was how can they survive on so little , we were all telling each other what a bargain Quebec was...and now all I here is how outrageously expensive it is. Truth be told it is still a fair value and a dollar for a dollar is fine with me, the exchange is out of my controll and theirs too. This season I had the pleasure of staying at the famous Motel Safari and meeting Bernard. I rode out for 4 days and left my truck and trailer there as did my riding partner Stan. I can tell you that Bernard is a fine gentleman who more than lived up to all that has been told of him on this site. His rooms were very nice, we did get a free beer, we used his heated garage, and witnessed him aranging for a pickup of a broken sled miles away. This guy is amazing, he will do or get you anything you need, wax your truck while you are riding, give you a ride to a restaurant, you name it, and he is a great people person...you will not find anyone better, he is the definition of honesty and integrity. So throw this into it when you say you found it better in the states...my guess is you never stayed at Bernards...no he doesn't have a pool or a hot tub...but he has a great sense of humor and a lot of respect for people, I will ad that his wife is very nice too!! You will not find many people who represent our sport as well as these folks do, it will keep me coming back that is for sure!!!

ok so is this the last weekend or is march 28th the last weekend??? i was hoping to go up one more time march 27th to march 29th.

With all this snow we used $5000.00 dollars of fuel a (WEEK) I hope the American and canadian truckers park there trucks for three weeks till we run out of Food. Only they hold the key to get these oil and gas companies to bring the price down. (WHAT ARE THEY WAITING FOR???????

I have the same question. We were heading up next Thursday for a long final weekend. Hopefully they'll still be grooming next week.

yes,what is "this" weekend??????

Exactly what about Quebec was so bad this year and where were you riding? Im just interested in avoiding bad riding next year.

Ive been riding up there for 11 yrs., and ride from my house in NH as well.. I can honestly say this was the best riding Ive ever had up there. 4 trips. Dec, Jan,Feb and 1st week of March. 2800 miles. I can only remember one bouncy trail the whole winter!! Most of my riding was Shawinigan East and North to Lk St. Jean. I also rode quite a bit at home, and it was OK, but it absolutely sucks compared to Quebec. So at home, my trail pass is about $50 and Quebec $225. Guess what? The trails are 5x as good up there. If it wasnt for my trips up there I wouldnt own sleds. Period.

Riding should be good for 27th to 29th going north east from Safari motel. After that date no more grooming. However Locals will ride these trails till 15th April. Thats the information i got from Club President.

I too would give up sledding if I did not ride in Quebec. It is atleast 5 times better than the states, I actually have quit riding the states. Quebec has spoiled me and nothing else even comes close to comparing to Quebec...simply the best trails in the world....PERIOD!!!!!!!

Just throwing a great place out there to recon.
Shhhh. my secret place....Caribou Maine
That would be two NYSSA reps that I took with me to show them how to groom.

Yes, northern Maine is nice but small compared to Quebec and you find yourself at Quebec or New Brunswick borders fast if you go any real distance and then you have to buy another pass to cross into Quebec....not to mention it is a longer drive...there are nice places to ride outside of Quebec....but if you want the best....Go to QUEBEC!!!!!!!!!

My sentiments exactly!!!!!