Pittsburg Ridge Runners President.
Paul A. Bergeron
Our vice-president, Armand Buteau, has taken over writing the monthly message/newsletter from Paul. I think he is doing a really good job and is getting them done in a very timely fashion to keep all of us informed of what is happening with snowmobiling in Pittsburg, NH.
Drop him a note to give him some feed back on his efforts. E-mail him at: prrsc@pittsburgridgerunners.org
Pittsburg Ridge Runners Manager.
Beverly Lord
This is Bev Lord our club manager. She is the treasurer, secretary, membership chairperson, payroll officer, quartermaster, etc., etc.. She makes a point to be at all club functions if at all possible.
She will kill me for putting this picture on the web site but she deserves to be recognized for her untiring work and devotion to the sport of snoemobiling in Pittsburg and throughout the state of NH. If you hear of my untimely demise, you will know why!
Mark Ziegler, Webmeister
Well, hard to believe as I am writing the last article for the SnoTraveler here in Pittsburg we still have well over 3 feet of snow in places. What a superb season it has been. It almost seems unbelievable after the lean snow years we have all suffered through in recent past. But all the struggles were quickly forgotten as we got fresh snowfall almost weekly to create a snowmobilers’ paradise up here.
My responsibilities to the club, as well as my business leave me little free time to enjoy it all. However, I did have a chance to take a night ride (the only time my phones aren’t ringing!) up to the top of Diamond Ridge. It was one of those picture book nights – crystal clear, not freezing cold, and believe it or not..no wind. As I sat atop the ridge in the pitch dark, admiring the sheer beauty of the lands we are so lucky to have access to, I had some rare quiet time to reflect. My first thoughts were how truly lucky we are to have the permission of literally hundreds of landowners to use their land for our trail system. Each one is no more important than another. And each one is vital to the preservation of our system. My next thoughts go out to our crew of groomer drivers. They are a dedicated, hard working team led by Keith Landry making sure the trails are as close to perfect as you will find for all our snowmobilers. Not an easy job, as you can imagine, but one that I can honestly say is second to none. The next thought that came to me is how blessed we are to have so many loyal and dedicated volunteers that keep the wheels of the state’s largest club turning smoothly. The key word of course is volunteers. I worry every day what would happen without them all. The ladies and gentleman that cook, bake, and serve our guests. Our webmaster, Mark Ziegler, who has donated countless hours providing updated and accurate information for you all. The warming hut crew that provides a fun, warm place of refuge in the middle of nowhere. The folks that have donated time and goods to make it all happen. I could go on and on, but I am reaching out to thank every single one of you who has contributed to make this one of our best seasons ever.
At this time, I would like to make special mention that our club Vice President, Armand Buteau is retiring from his position at the end of this season due to health reasons. Armand has been a good friend, tireless worker, and also the writer of this article, which he has done a wonderful job with. You will be missed Armand, and from all of us, a huge thank you!
In closing, I make a plea to all of you that come up to enjoy our trails in the winter. The summer is not “vacation” for the Pittsburg Ridge Runners. In fact, it is a critical time for us to maintain the trails you all enjoy. Make repairs, brush, and pick up literally truckloads of trash. Yes, I did say truckloads. If any of you could find even a day or two to come up and lend a hand, it would be a huge help to us. We will also be looking into the possibility of constructing an office at our clubhouse, and would really be grateful for any tradesmen that might be willing to provide us assistance with that formidable project. We will be posting work days and other important happenings on the website, and your help would mean so much to us.
So, to all…a safe and peaceful summer…and hope to see you soon.
Paul Bergeron – President, Pittsburg Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club
Vice President's April 2008 Message
The winter of ’08 will probably go down in the history books as a winter that was very accommodating to the snowmobile community across New England and beyond. Pittsburg was blessed with early, consistent snow and favorable temperature ranges that allowed us to carve it into a highly desirable form that most visitors to the area found extraordinary. We thank the “Snow Gods” for that and hope we can stay on their good side for a few years to come.
All that being said, it was also a winter that most people had a chance to discover the system below the “Notches” was still extraordinary when the snow showed up. The traffic in the rest of the state tended to release some of the normal high traffic pressures on the trail system, much to the delight of those who did experience the system. Our system was as consistently in good shape for most of the winter and I think as we may be reading this in the “April” issue of the Snow Traveler, there will be people still riding here.
We have lots of people to be thankful for doing a part in making this season so successful. We have a president that has reached his fifteenth year in that position and wonder if he will ever slow down. We have a board of directors that have been there “at the drop of a hat” to make tough decisions all too often. We have great volunteers that have managed to be there for the endless projects that are a normal season.
We must also recognize the level of excellence that our groomer drivers have delivered throughout the season.
We thank our membership for putting faith in us one more season to get it all ready to “carve it flat” one more time. Without all levels of support we could not afford to do what we do out there.
We thank our good friends at the Ski-Bees for helping us develop a new fun event that we both had fun with, raising funds for both clubs. “The Great North Woods Vintage Snowmobile Race” was a very positive experience for both clubs to take on a project that was so enjoyable to be involved in.
At this writing we are looking for people to get involved in the club as our officers and directors are trying to plan for the future, which means new blood at all levels of involvement will eventually be needed.
Keep to the right!
Armand
Vice President's February 2008 Message
Most of the state, including Pittsburg, has been blessed by early season snow to the degree that it’s tough to type that statement. Pittsburg has three feet and up and its not even Christmas yet! It’s almost unbelievable to comprehend with the memory of the last several years fresh in our collective minds. People are riding here in “powder mode” the likes of which have not been seen in many, many years. Riding has been phenomenal with the trails actually open on December 8th much to the delight of everyone involved in the year round process of preparation.
Trails are being groomed by our fleet of groomers daily, signing is about done and Mother Nature continues to bring us meaningful doses of white gold. It seems like a perfect mixture of ingredients to “blend us” a season that could go down in the record books as a “good old fashioned winter.”
The stars seemed to have aligned for an early opening with a combination of early snow, logging operations done and hunting season ending early, along with receptive land owners who gave their blessing on the early start. We thank them all!
Our Craft Fair was a huge success with a big thank you owed to all who helped make this Easter Seal fund raiser possible, viable and fun! Our Fair chairperson, Helga Zeigler weaved her annual magic to the delight of the many crafters who return year after year for this worthwhile event.
Our Vintage Race committee would like to thank the growing ranks of volunteers who have offered help, material, support and encouragement to all involved in the series effort with our good friends the Ski-Bees. This series has been a labor of love that keeps growing in size, complexity and levels of cooperation between these two clubs. Everyone is already talking about enhancing the effort for next year and frankly, a lot of us can’t wait.
The Warming Hut opens January 5, and will be there to greet and nurture the many visitors in the northern reaches of our system. Most people really enjoy having a place to meet and talk while soaking up some btu’s and “goodies of the day”. Thank you to all who make this continuation of the hut possible!
Remember that our regular monthly meetings, second Thursday of the month, are all preceded by a “pot luck” supper that has become a favorite with lots of the membership who look forward to this 6:30 get together. Join us and partake in some great food and friendly conversation.
A big thank you to all who donated turkeys for our New Years Eve Turkey Dinner, as well as the crew who took the time to make sure this event was there for all our early season holiday visitors.
Our 2008 SkiDoo MXZ TNT 600, provided through the generosity of DaSilva’s Motorsports, will be on display at Young’s Store after its appearance at the Great North Woods Vintage Snowmobile Race. Check it out and buy a $20 chance at the great looking 399 pound package of performance! Remember you can buy your tickets through paypal by clicking onto the Ridge Runners website http://www.pittsburgridgerunners.org/ or at many local merchants in town. Good Luck!
With the greatest riding in recent memory at our door, we encourage all to consider making your reservations for riding in Pittsburg and the area as early as possible, for this year will be extremely busy and we would hate you to miss out on a truly great opportunity to ride The Great North Woods at it’s best!
Keep To The Right!
Till Next Month!
Armand Buteau
Vice President's January 2008 Message
Snow on the ground looks good as I’m writing this and the season is on its way, ready or not!
Recent club meeting was full of activity in refining the endless details of The Great North Woods Vintage Snowmobile Race Series. Our continued cooperative effort with the Ski-Bees has been a very positive experience. It seems like the trend of clubs keeping their efforts to themselves in a sense of isolation in this area is being “bucked” by this series and nothing but good can become of it. Modification of rules has us with four single cylinder classes and three twin cylinder classes which should be great for both participants and spectators alike. Check out the link to the website dedicated to the race series: http://www.thegreatnorthwoodssnowmobilerace.com/
In a rare twist of fate we have been working on our trail maps and at this time they are out and available. This is a record as far as early availability goes and should be a great help to early visitors to our system. The bad news is we have been informed that some new possibilities of utilizing several old parts of the system closed for many years are becoming available. So much for early and accurate maps! We are looking closely at the situation and will be making decisions about these possible additions to the system as soon as we possibly can. If you are visiting us early make sure and check out maps at the local businesses, and if there are additions not indicated on the maps as printed we will have corrected maps to look at to point us all in the right direction. We are actively dealing with our mountain of signs that hopefully will be ready for your convenience. This is a really challenging task which deals with thousands of signs.
We have been in touch will local officials from US Customs & Border Protection, regarding crossing into and returning from Canada.
- The requirements to enter Canada at the International Border at Pittsburg, NH are: Photo ID; Proof of Liability Insurance; No Criminal Record. Canadian Customs Office Hours are 8:00 a.m. to Midnight.
- The requirements to enter the United States at the International Border at Pittsburg, NH are currently: Photo ID. The United States Customs Office is open 24 Hours. These requirements will be changing beginning January 31, 2008. After this date, U.S. and Canadian Citizens ages 19 and over will need to present a government issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license and proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, naturalization certification, or passport to enter the United States.
For more information and possible changes, the website is: www.cbp.gov click on Travel, then Ready, Set … Go, then click on Land.
Make sure and visit us on New Year’s weekend, if in the area and take in the annual Turkey Feed at the clubhouse, which is to benefit our local scholarship fund coffers. This is becoming very popular, and if you have any frozen turkeys that you could donate, we could use them. Call 538-1142. Thanks!
We would like to thank Helga Ziegler for her continued magic with the Crafts Fair which has been her “baby” for many years and gets bigger and better every year. Thanks to all who helped her handle this event.
We are looking forward to the continuation of the Warming Hut with the new friendly faces of Bob and Sue Gaudette, who will be taking the burden off the Mark and Helga Ziegler after their many years of dedication. We wish them well and ask that you consider visiting them for a hot drink, bite to eat and some friendly conversation!
Our appearance at the recent Snow Show at Rockingham was very successful and we thank all the volunteers who helped make it happen. Many memberships, raffle tickets, clothing and maps were sold while renewing many friendships of our members. Thanks to all who stopped by with an encouraging word about our system.
On an awkward note, we have been informed that many of the peripheral locations who sold gas, such as Ramblewood, Metallak Shores and Tall Timbers will no longer be able to sell gasoline, due to evolving red tape that makes a small gas vendor unable to service snowmobile needs for smaller locations. So it looks as if we will be more dependent on Young’s Store, Dorman’s Quick Stop, Dube’s Pittstop and possibly the old Trading Post for fuel needs in town.
Think Snow! Armand Buteau, V.P.
Vice President's November 2007 Message
We would like to thank all the new faces that showed up to help the club out during this year’s Old Home Day celebration. It seems our labor pool was more cooperative than Mother Nature was with “dismal” low temps and rain. The club was represented in the parade with a prototype ’08 MXZ decked out with a “teddy bear pilot” which turned a lot of heads, and generated a lot of “ooh’s and aah’s” from the hearty crowd. The sled was supplied to us from DaSilva’s of Moultonborough & East Hampstead and we thank them for the loan to help our raffle ticket effort. That effort was also enhanced by our presence at the Moose Festival in Canaan with the sled on a hot, sticky day that showed us brisk sales of Raffle tickets and Ridge Runner wear. Thanks to all who helped on both of these efforts, we can’t do it without your help; it was recognized and very much appreciated.
Speaking of the raffle, we must mention the positive affect that we are seeing by making the raffle tickets available through our website using PayPal. The convenience of being able to buy tickets this way has significantly helped our effort as shown by the number of total tickets sold compared to last year at this time. Thank you, all who have taken advantage of it. If you’re wondering what we are talking about, go to our website and check it out http://www.pittsburgridgerunners.org/
We have been approached by a few folks wanting to know what they could do to help the club out in a Work Party capacity, and after a little thought we came up with a project that was started a while ago and needs completion. That project is finishing the metal siding on the groomer shed gable ends. So if you know how to do this type of work and are inclined to help, let us know, we would like to get it done. We are also thinking about several other projects we could use some help, so stay tuned.
Excitement is building on a new project that has been in the works starting early last summer, during which time several members of the club started exploring the possibility of having a One Lunger Race sometime this winter. Interest in this project has been escalating to the point where we not only are having that race on January 5, ’08, but it has evolved into a circuit involving dates and races in Colebrook and Errol. We have had several meetings with representatives of these other communities and these meetings have been very beneficial to all involved. The name of the series will be” The Great North Woods One Lunger Race, Pittsburg”, “The Great North Woods One Lunger Race Colebrook”, February 2, ’08 and “The Great North Woods One Lunger Race Errol”, February 16, ‘08. We are anxious to see how these events will be received by visitors to the area and are actively seeking some willing volunteers to help out in the many tasks that have to be taken care of. If you have an interest in this type of fun event and would like to help out, we would definitely like to talk to you about it.
The Ridge Runners are looking forward to seeing old and new friends at the Snow Show in Salem, November 2,3,4. Stop by and say hi to the many volunteers who will be manning the booth during this event. This show is always fun and is a good way to feed the level of “snow fever” that infects us all by this time of year.
We encourage you all to take a moment and consider sending your membership forms and checks as early as possible. Most clubs including ours have been somewhat hampered by a significant number of people waiting to see if it will snow before joining the clubs and NHSA. Be aware that both the clubs and NHSA have to make long term plans and have year round expenses that have to be met, regardless of Mother Nature’s cooperation. If the Ridge Runners had to wait for the funding from memberships to determine if the groomers were going out, I think a lot of people would be more than a little upset at the results. “’Nuff Said!”
The Warming Hut will open on January 5th with new faces to greet, feed and warm the onslaught of visitors that descend on that haven of comfort in the wilderness. Visit them and tell them how you appreciate them being there to give us all break from the trail.
Several of the “Over The Hill Gang” members of the Ridge Runners have been helping out the Bureau of Trails crew in town, installing four by four posts in many locations, and generally making the signage more presentable, and uniform. Trails Bureau and the club, both recognize the interdependence we share and are doing the best we can to help each other through “budget anemia” that we both share. Thank you all for getting involved and doing something help the system get better for us all!
Think Snow!
Think Memberships!
Armand Buteau, vice president
Vice President's September 2007 Message
The “dog days” of summer are fast becoming a memory and the prospects of a “normal winter” loom ahead and all the details that involve the functions of a club and trail system have to be dealt with. The Ridge Runners last meeting was July 12 and the discussions turned to finding enough volunteers for the Crafts Fair, New Years Turkey Dinner, Steak Feed and Old Home Day. All the clubs seem to be facing a crisis in lack of volunteerism and we are seeing this become more and more of a problem every year. The “maturing” (getting older) of our officers and the extended length of their terms is bringing down this house of cards if we don’t find some new blood to continue the process. Anyone out there reading this that would like to step up to the plate and learn how it all works, we would certainly like to hear from you.
Remember our next club meeting is scheduled Thursday September 13, at the clubhouse, at 7:30 PM, with a pot luck dinner starting at 6:30. Our club is fortunate to contain some incredible cooks, and if you have never “taken in” one of our pot luck events, it’s a real culinary and social event, and gives people a chance to meet and eat prior to the meeting. We encourage anyone who has any questions or comments about our policies, procedures in running the club to please attend and make your voices heard. We sometimes hear some excellent comments, and complaints, second hand and would really like to hear what people have to say at a meeting, so we can all benefit from this type of exchange. So if you have something to say, the time to say it is at the clubhouse September 13, at 7:30PM, and we really want to hear what YOU have to say!
We are delighted, at this time, to announce the selection of a raffle sled for 2008, and that machine is a Ski-Doo MXZ TNT 500SS, made available to us through the extreme generosity of Bombardier Recreational Products and DaSilva’s Motorsports of Moultonborough and Hampstead, New Hampshire. There is already a lot of excitement and interest in this machine, being built on the new chassis and having a dry weight of under 399 pounds. Even though the model number says 500SS, it’s a 600cc liquid cooled, time proven motor that should push that light chassis very well. Be aware that for the first time you can go to the club website and order your $20 raffle tickets and pay for them through the mail, or using PayPal, online. http://www.pittsburgridgerunners.org/ Lots of people wanted this online convenience and tickets are already being ordered at a good clip.
One of the most memorable club meetings we ever had was held a couple of years ago and included a guest from the National Wildlife Federation, by the name of Margaret Struhsacker, who gave a mesmerizing presentation on “Wolves”, along with a PowerPoint presentation focused on being able to tell the difference between “wolves” and “coyotes”, complete with pelts to compare, plaster casts of footprints of each, skulls of each animal and lots of good information that everyone in attendance found fascinating. In a recent communication with Margaret, she mentioned she would love to do it again, so we are going to have her back sometime this fall for an “encore”. When the date is finalized we will let all of you know in plenty of time to make plans to attend. We are lucky to have a wildlife expert like Margaret take an interest in our area and the possibility of wolves making a comeback. She has recently taken a position with the Natural Resources Defense Council as a Wolf Specialist in the Northern Rockies, but will maintain contact with the National Wildlife Federation in Montpelier, Vermont.
The Ridge Runners had good representation at the International Snowmobile Congress in Minnesota in June, with President Paul Bergeron and past President Kathy Dickson in attendance. We are fortunate to have these two “Iron Dogs” take such an interest in our sport and club to make the effort to keep up on what the rest of the world is doing that may affect our sport. Thank You !
Last, but not least, remember to keep November 2,3,4 open to come to the Snow Show at Rockingham Park, and say HI to our representatives that will be there, keeping in touch with all our old and new friends.
Help out the club where you ride! Think Snow!
Armand Buteau
Vice President
Pittsburg Ridge Runners Spring Message
April 19, 2007 Vice Presidents Message
It is rare in this writer’s memory that a Spring message to club members and those who cruise our website is necessary. We started this season under the impression that it would never come, and now it seems that it will never end, with people still routinely riding out there every day.
I would like to remind all of you still enjoying the sport that snowmobiling is not a “right” but a “privilege”, and as a privilege we have to respect our landowners who are kind enough to tolerate our presence out there. The strange lengthy ending to this season has tested the resolve of the club and its many lease holders to the limit. We have seen people complaining about no grooming after trails were closed, we have had people go around barriers of closed trails, we have had people remove and destroy barriers in frustration, we have had lodge owners encourage people to use closed trails. All of these actions have been noticed by our lease holders and some are not too happy.
At this point, all the trails indicated on the website are still open, and basically include everything north of First Connecticut Lake, and East of Route 3. Anyone wishing to experience the genuine “privilege” of riding out their in the spring conditions is still welcome to do so, but please do not extend you ride into these closed areas or we risk losing access to some areas next season!
I wish to thank all our members and people who ride our system for their support during this past season, for the majority of those people understood why trails were closed and grooming ceased. It is not easy to make decisions about these issues, but once these decisions are made it is almost impossible to reverse them without weakening the level of trust between the club and our landowners. We thank you for you patience and understanding during the season that wouldn’t quit!
Have a great Spring Ride, and a prosperous summer!
Armand Buteau
Vice President