Safety Hazard!!

Please be careful going under the McKeekan Causeway (bridge to old town) there is a huge metal piece blocking the entrance/Exit

We have contacted the City of Yellowknife and this is the “Curtain” that they put in every fall to slow down the current and allow ice to form under the Causeway.  Unfortunately the water level has dropped since it was installed in October and left it exposed,  the city is going to haul snow down there and ramp up both sides to make it passable (December 13th Update)

TRAIL REPORT-December 1

Watch for thin ice; keep eye on speedometer

Chance of flurries. I keep reading this from the weather forecast at Environment Canada and for once pray they are wrong. Most of our smaller lakes have sufficient ice for snowmobiling so now we need a record dump of snow – not just flurries – to improve the trail conditions. Despite the lack of snow your Great Slave Snowmobile Association has been busy.

Ice testing for the city has finished and results are available on the City’s website (see “resources” tab). The Frame Lake walking trail has been constructed for the season. We’ve been moving gravel to improve some city trails making it easier to groom.

Trail maintenance will continue throughout the season, so watch for us. We will begin grooming the trails within city limits as soon as snow conditions improve. For those new to snowmobiling in this area there are speed limits within the municipal boundaries.

The speed limit is 30 km/h within the built up area and generally speaking is within the area of Highway 3 and the Yellowknife Access Highway, west to the Highway 3 and Old airport Road, south along Old Airport Road and also along the east boundary of the airport to Kam Lake Industrial area, the Industrial area to the west shore of Kam Lake, east to the south side of Con Mine to Great Slave Lake, north to the north end of Latham Island including Mosher and Joliffe Islands, then west to the north end of Fault Lake and along the west side of Giant Road to the Highway 3 – Yellowknife Access Highway intersection.

The area outside the built up area, but within the city limits is 70 km/h. Therefore the speed limit on Kam Lake and Long Lake is 70 km/h as is the west half of Yellowknife Bay and the north portion of Back Bay.

Snowmobiles are prohibited on the roads within the downtown business district, parks and playgrounds, the cemetery, nature preserves and ball diamonds as well as the greens at the golf course.

Trail reports are provided by snowmobilers. The trail from Ingraham to Walsh Lake is open, as is Walsh to Prosperous. 
Ice is strong at the southern reaches of Walsh. Please be aware the water levels are low, so watch out for rocks and stumps in areas you may not expect.

For more tips on snowmobiling the association’s Trailriders website or visit our Facebook page. It is best not to travel alone. When travelling in a group, spread out to avoid collisions, on the trails and on the lakes. And most important, keep praying for more snow.

The trail report is published weekly in the Weekender. If you have any information regarding trail conditions please send them to m[email protected] for inclusion in the weekly article.

Thank you

Yellowknife Search & Rescue has graciously offered to provide some GPS training for our members and for Yellowknife Search & Rescue. 

Dates vary depending on what level of training you are interested in.  Training for GSSA will occur on Dec 4, 5, 7 & 10.  On Dec 4th or 5th Tom will go through Basic GPS use, Dec 7th will cover the planning aspect of trail riding and Dec 10th will be a field session where you can test your skills on the ground.  If you know how to use a GPS I suggest Dec 7th and 10th.  

Please visit the training section of yksar.com for more details.  

If you have a GPS please bring it along.  It’s great to have one but essential to know how to use it.  Your trail logs will be helpful to the club in updating our map for next year.

Good evening,

We finished up the ice testing this past Saturday.  All areas tested within the city have 6 inches or more.  Thank you to those who participated.  This is one of the few sources of revenue our club has.  The ice conditions outside of town are also improving but be careful where water might be flowing such as creeks and rivers.  I also recommend staying away from the reeds because these areas often have thin ice due to the biological activity under the ice.  

Club volunteers also put out the walking trail across Frame Lake on Saturday.  Pylons are up so we’ll start grooming as soon as there is enough snow.  

Thanks to Bruce Hewlko who was out with RTL this weekend spreading gravel over various trails within city limits.  They worked on the Old Ski Club trail in Niven and the road crossing near Coronation Drive.  We’re well into the $5000 grant the city gave us to work on trails.  More will follow soon including a request for your time to help haul, by toboggan, some gravel to more difficult areas.  

I am looking for some info on the current trail conditions for this Friday’s Yellowknifer article.  If you’ve been out please email me at [email protected].  I need to submit the article tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

If you are interested in grooming the local trails this winter also email me.  I know there is little snow out there but I’m still praying for 4 feet by Christmas.  It would be good to get the schedule made and offer some hands on training for those with no experience.

Sincerely,

Michael Arbuckle

GSSA President

There will be a work party on Sunday October 15th to cut a new trail by the Snowboard Hill Parking lot

if you are wanting to volunteer please meet at the Snowboard Hill Parking Lot at 10:00am

The Great Slave Snowmobile Association Annual General Meeting
Thursday November 2nd, 7:30pm at Northern United Place

Polartech is having an open house Saturday October 14th from 11:00am to 4:00pm

the association will have a table set up to sell and renew memberships as well as discuss club events
if you would like to volunteer some time contact Bruce or Kate

September 31 – Newsletter

Please see attached Bullmoose-Ruth Winter Road bulletin for March 28, 2017 and note the nighttime travel restriction effective 10:00 pm March 29, 2017.

YELLOWKN-#878404-v1-Bullmoose-Ruth_Remediation_Project_-_Winter_Road_Bulletin_#2017-08_-_March_28__2017

Hi all – as many of you know this Saturday is our Making Trax Snowmobile Rally. The Rally is our major fund raiser for the year. The money raised goes to the AVENS centre in support of their facilities and also to Yellowknife Search and Rescue. Both very worthy causes. A small portion stays with us to be used for trail maintenance and grooming.

There are 2 parts to the event. First is the Snowmobile Rally. For the $10 registration fee you receive one Card Hand. You can buy additional card hands for $10/hand. You will pick 1 card per hand at registration, there will be 3 stops along the ride and you will pick one card per hand at each stop. The 5th card will be drawn upon return to the Long Lake Beach Kitchen. While the Card Hands are being counted Chili, hot dogs, hot chocolate and coffee are available as part of your registration fee. Along the ride there will be door prizes presented – approximate 26 prizes will be given out. There will be 10 prizes for the rally consisting of a ice fishing package from Canadian Tire, toboggan, snowmobile suites, jackets. Gift certificates, Fuel, Portable jump start, coffee maker, etc.

The second part of the rally is the Silent Auction. The business community has been very generous and prizes for the silent auction include airline tickets, passes to city facilities, paintings, prints, Glasses, luggage, speakers, spring tune-up gift certificate, make-up kit and many more. Remember this is a Silent Auction to raise money for 2 very worthy causes, loosen up the credit card.

I have estimated that the total prize value is in excess of $15,000 and there are at least 60 prizes to be won on the ride or purchased at the silent auction.

The rally will be held at the Long Lake Beach Kitchen which is on the east side of the beach NOT at the boat launch. Trailers and trucks can be parking at the parking lot off Hwy 3 opposite from the airport. Access to the boat launch area will be marked. Snowmobile access can be made by crossing Hwy 3 adjacent to the Fred Henne main entrance – be very cautious when crossing the road.

The trail ride is about 40km and the trail was in good condition and remember this is a leisurely ride not a race. Hopefully the weather will be good and you can enjoy the day.

Bruce Hewlko, President
Great Slave Snowmobile Association