Methow Trails Winter 2017

12 | Methow Trails The big news from the groomers for the 2017-18 ski season is our new PistenBully 100. The PB100 model has been the workhorse that provided our world-class corduroy for skiers for many years now. Methow Trails is stepping into the future to maintain that world-class status with our new, redesigned PistenBully which boasts a tier 4 diesel engine. This means we are meeting the industry EPA standards for pollution control. PistenBully calls it “eco-friendly exhaust gas technology.” This upgrade pairs our commitment to the environment with our commitment to our trail users. Our new machine has a wider tiller and totally adjustable track setters. The tiller has more teeth for grinding up the old snow before laying our famous corduroy. A newly designed blade will carry a snowcutter. We’ve tested and confirmed the benefit of a snowcutter for the last two seasons. It helps us “shave” the top layer of a trail that hasn’t had new snow recently. As a skier, you see our final product of corduroy and a track set. What you don’t see is what it takes to leave that treasured corduroy. Our new PB has a redesigned operator’s station with state-of- the-art controls. Larger windows and clear plastic fenders and additional mirrors aid our visibility. The cab is plush and our groomers might be fighting over this new machine. They’ll certainly be using it to lay down the best product possible for you. With the wider tiller on this new machine, we’ll be able to provide a slight (but significant) increase in trail width. Methow Trails has also taken a closer, head scratching look at the tracksetting locations on all of our PistenBully’s. We’re moving the setters outboard about 8 inches on three of our cats. The fourth cat has been used as our template and it has been setting tracks further towards the edges for years. We’ll match up the new cat as well. Our aim is to maximize the skate lane width to preserve the track set. We also aim to keep our track set firm for your skis and pole plants. And this approach will standardize our trail system in regards to track set positioning. Methow Trails has also budgeted for a purchase of a new low-snow, multi-purpose Geek Out With The Groomers By Ed Stockard groomer. As magazine goes to press, we are deciding which option to add to our already versatile fleet of snowmobiles and ATV. Fat bikes, like other sports or activities, also deserve iconic grooming, hence the Methow Fat Roller. We like the idea of rolling the finish versus greasing it out with a weighted bar, with or without corduroy. New this year for our fat bikers is our Methow Fat Roller to compact the new snow. We designed, built, and tested our roller over the last season. Methow Valley Cycle & Sport gave us some used fat tires for our test roller. Now Surly bikes has donated a few new tires to Methow Trails. We’re excited to lay Surly tread on some of our select fat bike trails this coming season. It could just be that the best trail grooming for fat biking is the tire itself! As our marketing director said the other day at a staff meeting, “More than anything, we have to be different. This is the Methow.” We’ll be playing with this some more this season. Maybe we’ll add a side-sculpting attachment to get your ride up on edge around a corner. Come ride and see! And the holiday season: Watch for our PistenBullys around the trail system. Somebody’s elves may be decorating the groomers. The elves might even get out of the cat and put a few ornaments on some trees. Inside the cockpit of the new Pisten Bully 100 Photo By Ed Stockard

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