Creating corduroy: Grooming program opens up back country for winter recreation – Ravalli Republic

One recent morning when the sky was an impossible blue, Tony Neaves kept his head on a swivel as he deftly maneuvered the multi-angle blade attached to the tracked Tucker snow grooming machine up the steep road leading to Skalkaho Pass.

After seven years behind the wheel, it’s a trip that he knows well.

Driving a machine whose company motto is: “No hill too steep. No snow too deep,” Neaves knows there’s no time to daydream.

“The light can get kind of flat up here when it’s snowing hard,” he said as he gently pushed the joystick that operates the blade this way and that. “It can be kind of hard to figure out where the edges are. It certainly makes you pay attention. Surprisingly, you end up burning a lot of calories when you’re running full speed all day. There is a lot of concentration involved.”

Save for the straight-as-an-arrow track of a wolverine taking advantage of the packed surface, there was no other sign that anything or anyone had been up the road since the last dump of snow.

In some places, large drifts narrowed the track. In others, snow sloughing off the steep hillside above the road has done the same. Neaves points out places that he knows from experience will experience avalanches sometime this winter.

He hopes that never happens when he and his groomer are passing by.

It’s a 65-mile round trip when he grooms the road over Skalkaho Pass and down toward Philipsburg. He goes as far as the sapphire mine on those longer runs.

On this day his plans called for going to the top of the pass from Bitterroot side. After making a couple of trips up and down, he’d leave a 16-foot wide track of hard and smooth corduroy for winter recreationists of all makes and models.

“I think this year I’ve seen more skiers than snowmobilers using the groomed trail,” Neaves said.

And that’s not to mention the fat tire cyclists, snowshoers, and dog walkers who take advantage of the packed track.

With two clubs working together to create opportunities for everyone, Neaves said the Bitterroot Valley is becoming a destination spot for winter recreationists.

Neaves operated a groomer owned by the Bitterroot Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club. The machine was purchased through a state grant program that uses a portion of the state sales tax on gasoline to provide funding for snowmobile grooming through the winter months.

“The Bitterroot Ridge Runners have been receptive to that program for about 15 years,” said Dan Thompson, a longtime member of the snowmobile group. “Every year we write a grant proposal that’s reviewed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, who administer the program.”

FWP provides funding to operate the machinery. The club is required to pay for the maintenance. It also purchased the truck and trailer used to haul the groomer to both the Skalkaho and Lost Horse trailheads. On top of that, the group built and maintains the building where the groomer is stored.

“We’ve had a lot of fundraisers over the years,” Thompson said. “There have been races and all kinds of other stuff. The snowmobile club has been quite effective in raising the money it needed to make this work.”

Initially, the focus was on Skalkaho. A few years ago, the Bitterroot National Forest let the club groom the Lost Horse road up the agency cabin three times a winter. After seeing use there climb, the snowmobile club was allowed to groom the road once a week.

“Lost Horse used to get so rough that people wouldn’t even try to drive it,” Thompson said. “It’s amazing to see how many snowmobile-assisted skiers use that area now. It’s really opened up a significant opportunity for backcountry skiers.”

The snowmobile club and the Bitter Root Cross Country Ski Club work together to create winter recreation opportunities at Skalkaho, Lost Horse and Chief Joseph.

Neaves is a member of both clubs.

The ski club now pays Lost Trail Powder Mountain to groom its extensive trail system at Chief Joseph Pass. While some areas are set aside specifically for skiers, other trails are open to a variety of recreational uses, including snowmobiles, dogsleds and dog-power skijorers.

Once the ski club turned grooming over to the ski hill, Neaves said that opened up the use of the club’s snowmobile equipment to begin grooming trails at Lake Como.

“Use at Lake Como has exploded this year,” he said.

Neaves does much of the grooming at Lake Como as well. He’s seen the parking lots fill to the brim on weekends. There are plenty of Missoula license plates in the mix.

“People will travel long distances to take advantage of these groomed trails,” he said. “The money they bring often finds itself deposited in local businesses along the way. It’s all about these two groups working together for everyone’s benefit. We all win when that happens.

“We’re all in this together,” Neaves said. “What affects their access affects your access.”

Grooming is allowed between Dec. 1 and March 31.

Neaves said he gets a lot of high-fives and people saying thank you during his long hours driving the groomers.

“There’s a sense of satisfaction that comes when you look in the mirror and see that beautiful corduroy that you’ve created,” he said. “Of course, then all I want to do is go ski it.”