Another avoidable tragedy. I'm sorry, but the OFSC is trying to open trails so that their funding will be there for next year. Trails have been groomed with only 8" of snow on them and are listed as "Open - Limited". There is NO excuse for this, as there are dangerously large rocks, and unsafe ice EVERYWHERE! Land trails should be CLOSED until we get more snow, and lake trails should be CLOSED PERIOD for this year (Up in this area anyways). Odd weather conditions have caused unstable ice conditions everywhere up here, and as a matter of fact even the small lakes only have about a foot of ice on them, even though we've had -20 or colder weather for almost 3 weeks.
Getting a trail "Open" is not important enough to warrant risking the lives of the groomers or snowmobilers. 8" of ice is MORE than enough to hold the weight of a groomer, so it makes me wonder what exactly happened here. And why the ice conditions weren't tested before sending a groomer out.
I feel horrible for the familly of this gentleman, as I highly doubt they'll ever get the answers they're looking for as to why and how this tragedy was even possible.
And to those here that are involved in the OFSC trail system.....remember.....the funding is NOT that important. Worst case scenario, the OFSC doesn't get the funding they need, and trails have to be closed next year. That would really suck, but I for one am willing to ride crappy trails next year if it means preventing such a horrific accident!
