Taking Advantage Of A Winter Wonderland

With just a few inches of snow on the ground, snowmobilers aren’t wasting anytime hitting the trails.
 
“We’re here its cold, we have all the snow so take advantage of it,” says Vice President of Clay County Trail Blazers, Greg Strommen.
 
Taking advantage of this winter wonderland is what these 20 kids and adults plan to do, as long as they pass the rigorous testing needed to get a snowmobile permit.
 
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a good reader or an excellent reader it’s going to take you two hours there’s just no way around it. It’s multiple choice and they test until you get it right,” says Marcia Norman of Moorhead.
 
The class includes an online test, in-class test and an outdoor course.
 
“Counter clockwise, clockwise circles, railroad crossings, county road crossings, left turns, right turns all to simulate the environment they will experience out on the trails,” says Strommen.
 
“Snow mobile safety is the biggest part of this class. The Minnesota DNR already reports that one person has died from snowmobiling this year.”
 
“We also show a lot of statistics that speed is one of the dangerous factors when you come up to a stop because on the snow it’s a little slippery,” says Strommen.
 
13-year-old Michael Baker has been riding since the age of seven, but even he learned some valuable skills he never knew before.
 
“I didn’t know about stopping at the railroad,” says Baker.
 
And soon Michael, along with the rest of the class, will move past the simulated course and hit the wide open trails.
 
“I think it’s just an experience of a lifetime the wide open air and the machine underneath you it’s just part of Minnesota.”
 
A part of Minnesota and…
 

“I think it will be a tradition. We have to go once during Christmas holiday,” says Norman.
 
…a tradition, at home here in the winter wonderland of Minnesota.
 
You can learn more about the Clay County Trail Blazers.