PSW Scholarship Fun Run a success, marks final club event for season

After a snowmobile season that got off to a slow start in January, followed by a bitterly cold February and that saw the Ponderosa Snow Warriors' groomer out of commission for a month, conditions finally turned favorable for the club's annual scholarship fun run Saturday, March 9.

Clear skies, bright sun and temperatures that finally rose above freezing gave the 40 or so riders who took to the trails a long-awaited nice day. Organizers took advantage of the conditions and the repaired groomer to host a fun run that took riders on a route covering some 45 miles from the clubhouse to Alice Creek Flats and back.

"If we could have had this weather on the last one, we would have had a killer run," Snow Warriors Secretary Bonnie Christian said.

Although last weekend's event didn't draw a particularly noteworthy number of riders, it saw plenty of participation from the community, with a total of 250 fun run hands sold. About 150 of those were sold through establishments in town. Christian appreciated the participation of locals who who helped fund the Ponderosa Snow Warriors scholarship even if they didn't take part in the ride itself.

Christian said with new volunteers stepping forward, things seem like they're starting to turn around for the club, but she hopes to see more people involved next year, in both Snow Warrior events and in monitoring the clubhouse.

"It costs us thousands of dollars to plow, but not enough people to man the clubhouse, so that's what were really trying to do next year, so we can do more things like this," she said. "Bring the family up here and enjoy it and watch the clubhouse."

With this season beginning to wind down, the fun run was the final organized event for the club until next winter and Christian wanted to remind people that the club will no longer be plowing Sucker Creek Road to the club house.