Rain hampers Priest Lake trail grooming

SANDPOINT — Bonner County snowmobile trail groomers won’t start tending routes at Priest Lake unless there’s at least 18 inches of snow on the ground at Coolin.

County Commissioner Mike Nielsen said the county and the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation agreed to implement the snow-depth threshold in order to avoid damaging grooming equipment.

Nielsen said equipment, particularly groomer tractors provided by the state, took a beating last season. The costly repairs nearly busted the county’s west-side groomer advisory board budget and officials are hoping to avoid a similar situation this year.

Nielsen acknowledged there is pressure from snowmobile riders and resorts to have the trails groomed for the holiday season, but the current conditions in the Selkirk Mountains threatens to damage grooming equipment.

“You can’t groom without tearing up the machines,” he said.

Snow depths are ample at higher elevations, but recent rains have left lower elevations with swaths of rock and ice that are unkind to grooming tractors and implements.

“The rain killed us,” said Nielsen.

There is reportedly more snow at the north end of the lake and Nielsen said the county is considering loading groomers onto trailers and driving them to trails up there if the conditions are suitable.

The west-side groomer board receives about $40,000 a year from the sales of groomer stickers that sustain operations at Priest Lake.