Kenyon Snowdrifters

With adequate snow blanketing the entire state of Minnesota, Victor Wolf, President of the Kenyon Snowdrifters snowmobile club in Goodhue County, sent a photo of the snow conditions in his area.

The Kenyon Snowdrifters snowmobile club started in 1971 with 20 to 25 local snowmobile enthusiasts, and incorporated in 1986, after creating a trail system in the mid-‘80s. Membership comes from Kenyon and Wanamingo and the surrounding areas. The club maintains close to 60 miles of trails from Kenyon, to Wanamingo, to Dennison and back to Kenyon. Additional trails head towards West Concord and connect with the Dodge Center, Zumbrota, and Cannon Falls snowmobile clubs.

The Kenyon Snowdrifters meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7pm at the Kenyon VFW on Main Street in Kenyon. Its members are proud of the trails they maintain, and want to let you know, it’s “snowmobiling at its best.”

SW Ridgerunners

SW Ridgerunners Snowmobile Club needed a better way to groom and pack the trail base on their 168 miles of trails in Lyon County. Groomer operators tried grooming with just a roller, but noticed it was not laying down a good trail, as it was leaving groomer tracks exposed in the snow. In addition, during the beginning of the snowmobile season, along with heavy snows, the groomer drags were difficult to use.

Built out of necessity, Doug Anderson, the Trail Coordinator for SW Ridgerunners, came up with the idea of a box blade and roller combination with transport wheels. The 8-footwide Marshall Rollr Blade is manufactured at Marshall Machine Shop, Inc., in Marshall, MN and is for sale, according to Doug, owner of Marshall Machine Shop, Inc.

These units are built heavy, to pack the snow base and roll through deep snow. The front box blade can carry snow along to fill in spots and hydraulically lifts to dump the snow, when needed. The large 36” diameter roller lays the trail down and makes the unit pull easier, and the six “pizza cutters” on the drum prevent sliding on side hills. The transport wheels are only used when not on the trail.

The Ridgerunners are grooming with two Tucker Snow Cats, two Marshall Rollr Blades, and two drags. Doug says, “With the Marshall Rollr Blade, we are able to start grooming with less snow and use less fuel while running faster ground speeds.”

The Marshall Rollr Blade is a new design to aid in the snowmobile trail grooming industry. For more information call 507-532-3613. To see the Marshall Rollr Blade in action: https://youtu.be/ hSK5ezssPeY