8.   As I mentioned in my previous article, snowfall this winter has so far been one of the best on record in about 10 years! We have over 120cm of snow on the ground and endured two weeks of -15 to -20 degree temperatures which played havoc with the province's electrical system. Rolling blackouts and extended outages now commonly referred to as Dark NL plagued our homes since the beginning of January. Temperatures have finally risen to a comfortable level and we've even had a little rain to help firm up the snow pack. Today a bunch of us took advantage of beautiful sunny skies and headed to the Sooley Family Cabin near Whitbourne for a day on the sleds.

7.   First to arrive were Maffer with his 2006 REV 500ss, Bill and his 2010 Yamaha Nytro X-TX and I with Project Powertek REV in tow. We were followed shortly thereafter by Sooley, Amanda & the Kids, and Sooley's brother Marc & his children.

6.   The kids all enjoyed a fantastic day of playing in the snow, sliding and skidoo rides up and down the pond.

5.

4.   Meanwhile Bill, Maffer and I enjoyed a day of bashing snow drifts and climbing hills all over the backcountry.

3.   Snow conditions were fantastic, probably the best I've seen at Sooley's cabin since 2011.

2.   Snow was firm on top and powder on bottom which worked great in gaining traction. The ponds were bare and slippery but the edges of held enough snow to easily travel around without overheating the sleds. French and Todd showed up later that afternoon, French promptly got the Honda 300 Quad stuck in the snow trying to get back up to the cabin from the pond! After a half hour of pulling and winching they got the bike back up the hill. 

1.   At the end of the day we managed to burn some gas and had lots of laughs. The kids had a great day, hopefully their skidoo rides will have them hooked to take up this wonderful sport just like the rest of us!

Cheers, MIKE

Copyright © 2025 Michael Smith