UP trail closure

[maim]

when this happens it sucks. hope they get it resolved soon.


from what was told to me, local clubs had similar issue here at home with cp (canadian pacific rail) and insurance issues. ofsc caught an insurance clause that they wanted the clubs to cover pedestrians on the trails in their insurance right around when trail passes where coming on sale. needless to say, they where denied permission to use cp's right of way areas for the trails that season. last season we where back in most of the areas locally but they kept the bypass route's cleared and groomed. just miss some of the sections that are not now availible.

 

[TrueBlue]

Me either but I normally ride in the middle or Eastern UP.

Going west out of Wakefield you come out on a road & drive along side of it & pass the bridge to the bottom of the road. At that point you turn left & go up the road till you hit the trail again. When you are at the bottom of the road making your left turn you can see the bottom of the ski hill off to your right. I find it hard to believe that anyone would drive there sled over to the ski hill unless they were planning on going there & stopping.

 

[MrSled]

Going west out of Wakefield you come out on a road & drive along side of it & pass the bridge to the bottom of the road. At that point you turn left & go up the road till you hit the trail again. When you are at the bottom of the road making your left turn you can see the bottom of the ski hill off to your right. I find it hard to believe that anyone would drive there sled over to the ski hill unless they were planning on going there & stopping.

You would no more than anyone since you have a place up there. I think they are full of crap with the reasoning.

 

[TrueBlue]

You would no more than anyone since you have a place up there. I think they are full of crap with the reasoning.

There is one area that the trail does go through the resort. There is stop signs in that area and if everyone obeys them there should not be a problem.

 

[Mooseman]

They're just using safety and insurance as a valid excuse. Surprising that the club didn't get land use permission prior to going through the resort, which gives them another reason. Permission was never given, at least no in writing.

In any case, it just sucks for all involved.

 

[cannondale27]

They're just using safety and insurance as a valid excuse. Surprising that the club didn't get land use permission prior to going through the resort, which gives them another reason. Permission was never given, at least no in writing.

In any case, it just sucks for all involved.

The club and State had permission on file for previous owners. It was insured through State and Club. He just doesnt like Motorized Rec. ATV Trail is also shut down. Sucks but there is alot of these type people out there. Getting harder to do anything fun!

 

[cannondale27]

Now on the other hand, I have run this trail in Michigan, and when we rolled through that area, if I remember right, the trail popped out on the top of the ski hill right near the chairs. It downright surprised me, as I was thinking in my head, WTF, we could have easily taken a wrong turn on what we throught was the sled trail, only to find it was a downhill ski trail.

Are you thinking Norway Mtn ? Thats only one I can think of that is as you describe. Sadly they are closed. I have a great Picture of my family coming up the chair lift with me on the sled watching there. We all can get along and Ski resorts are a great place to go Snowmobiling out of. Darn Shame.

 

[biffdotorg]

Are you thinking Norway Mtn ? Thats only one I can think of that is as you describe. Sadly they are closed. I have a great Picture of my family coming up the chair lift with me on the sled watching there. We all can get along and Ski resorts are a great place to go Snowmobiling out of. Darn Shame.

That could very well be, it's been years. And since we didn't come in near an entrance, there was no marking as to what resort it was. For those of us that are not locals, it was confusing.

I do doubt this ski resort owner is a hater on sleds. I really think without the proper permissions in place and insurance to cover it, he is in true CYA mode. There are too many lawsuit happy yahoos in our society these days.

 

[1nc 2000]

A statement from GRTA Club President Steve Hamilton regarding the Big Snow Resort trail loss:

"The Gogebic Range Trail Authority is a proud supporter of private property owner’s rights first and foremost. For the past 7 years this motorized trail functioned in beautiful harmony through these two ski hills beloved by all who visited them. While it’s utterly heart breaking for us, we warmly respect Big Snow Resort’s new direction to end motorized tourism on their property. However, we wholly refute Mr. Skinner’s claim of egregious liability and insufficient or no documentation, that is entirely false. Mr. Skinner has asserted that “A trail was built across the resort without a written use agreement or adequate liability plan.” The GRTA has held a liability policy and trail permits (land use agreement) for Big Snow Resort since the inception of the trail. The State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources wouldn’t allow GRTA to operate on their lands if we didn’t have liability coverage in place. It’s the absolute cornerstone of our program – landowner protection! The snowbelt region of the Midwest would not have the proliferation of snowmobile trails in this modern-day litigious society if egregious liability for landowners existed. Landowner protections in Michigan are stout and the snowmobile trail program hasn’t had a claim in 30 years.
Currently GRTA requests Snowriver to afford us a timetable for our departure – April 2023 – to find a solution off their property. However, there is currently no known reroute and not for a lack of trying. The MDNR granted $30,000 in 2018 to find a route for Snowmobile Trail 2 and the new Iron Belle Trail through this area. After 4 years the work has turned up no viable options. The only option to connect the ultra-critical snowmobile trail infrastructure was through Big Snow Resort. The fallout to area businesses from an abrupt shutdown will be devastating and everyone must do everything to prevent that from happening. We sincerely wish the circumstances of the trail were different and we were able to simply pick it up and move it. However, local landowner politics and exceptionally dynamic terrain make any solution outside of Big Snow Resort a multi-million dollar project. We look forward to constructive talks with the new ownership to avert a devastating trail shutdown."

 

[RobX-1]

I do doubt this ski resort owner is a hater on sleds. I really think without the proper permissions in place and insurance to cover it, he is in true CYA mode. There are too many lawsuit happy yahoos in our society these days.

That doesn't seem to be the case after reading the above post from the GRTA Club.

 

[sailor joe]

There is one area that the trail does go through the resort. There is stop signs in that area and if everyone obeys them there should not be a problem.

every club reminds sledders to "stay on the trail" and 99% of sledders do, we all know the rest of the story...the trail system is a privilege not a right. It totally sucks when trails get shut down...

 

[rtx moose]

I would not worry about this it'll work itself out! but there's no way they will shut this down east to west.theres to much at risk here so there will be an alternate route..also the trail VERY EASILY COULD BE GOING THRU THE SKI HILLS SAFELY WITH JUST A FEW YARDS OF ROPE AND SIGNAGE.. Everyone just needs to let this work itself out and help solve the problem not make it bigger!!

 

[MrSled]

This was posted as an update:

A statement from GRTA Club President Steve Hamilton regarding the Big Snow Resort trail loss:

"The Gogebic Range Trail Authority is a proud supporter of private property owner’s rights first and foremost. For the past 7 years this motorized trail functioned in beautiful harmony through these two ski hills beloved by all who visited them. While it’s utterly heart breaking for us, we warmly respect Big Snow Resort’s new direction to end motorized tourism on their property. However, we wholly refute Mr. Skinner’s claim of egregious liability and insufficient or no documentation, that is entirely false. Mr. Skinner has asserted that “A trail was built across the resort without a written use agreement or adequate liability plan.” The GRTA has held a liability policy and trail permits (land use agreement) for Big Snow Resort since the inception of the trail. The State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources wouldn’t allow GRTA to operate on their lands if we didn’t have liability coverage in place. It’s the absolute cornerstone of our program – landowner protection! The snowbelt region of the Midwest would not have the proliferation of snowmobile trails in this modern-day litigious society if egregious liability for landowners existed. Landowner protections in Michigan are stout and the snowmobile trail program hasn’t had a claim in 30 years.
Currently GRTA requests Snowriver to afford us a timetable for our departure – April 2023 – to find a solution off their property. However, there is currently no known reroute and not for a lack of trying. The MDNR granted $30,000 in 2018 to find a route for Snowmobile Trail 2 and the new Iron Belle Trail through this area. After 4 years the work has turned up no viable options. The only option to connect the ultra-critical snowmobile trail infrastructure was through Big Snow Resort. The fallout to area businesses from an abrupt shutdown will be devastating and everyone must do everything to prevent that from happening. We sincerely wish the circumstances of the trail were different and we were able to simply pick it up and move it. However, local landowner politics and exceptionally dynamic terrain make any solution outside of Big Snow Resort a multi-million dollar project. We look forward to constructive talks with the new ownership to avert a devastating trail shutdown."

 

[sailor joe]

"A trail was built without a written use agreement" could this mean Mr Skinner is looking to sign a contract for use of his land which would mean a fee? After all resorts are meant to provide service for a fee. if that's the case paying the ransom would spell the beginning of the end for snowmobiling trail systems.
As I look at the map of ski resorts in the UP, Big Snow is not the only game in that area. Negative publicity is not good for any business. I'd pitch in for renting local billboards...

 

[sweetrides]

"A trail was built without a written use agreement" could this mean Mr Skinner is looking to sign a contract for use of his land which would mean a fee? After all resorts are meant to provide service for a fee. if that's the case paying the ransom would spell the beginning of the end for snowmobiling trail systems.
As I look at the map of ski resorts in the UP, Big Snow is not the only game in that area. Negative publicity is not good for any business. I'd pitch in for renting local billboards...

it woudnt surprise me as . there are a few pay to play that goes on behind the scenes to keep routes open . its just not talked about. shhh..