Snowmobile season is winding down in Northern Manitoba as warmer temperatures arrive but there’s something new on the scene in the form of the Lynx snowmobile from Europe.
Established in Finland in 1967 and obtained by a partnership including BRP, which manufactures Ski-Doos and is now the sole owner of the European company, Lynx hasn’t been available in North America until now and Nickel City Motors was one of a select group of dealers in Canada to obtain one of the sleds – a Rave RE model powered by an 850 E-TeC motor – as a demonstration model.
“The guys that are closer to the mountains they go the Boondocker, we got the trail sled,” said Dennis Foley of Nickel City Motors, who took the Lynx out for a test on the first weekend of March.
“They’ve introduced a new ski, said Foley. “This new ski has got a couple of different heels on it that will actually help you maneuver through various snow conditions. It is prepared to handle deeper snow. I felt very in control with very little work.”
The snowmobile also features independent rear shocks.
“One of the advantages of having that design is when you’re on the rougher trails … you’re going over the rough terrain with little body impact because of the suspension,” Foley said. “It handled me, an inexperienced rider, better than I thought it would so I’m very happy with that."
It was a different type of snowmobiling season this winter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kelly Martens of the Thompson Trailbreakers snowmobile club
“We had to close the shelters,” he said. “We weren’t allowed to have anybody use them so that’s a big difference. That’s a big part of snowmobiling is just going to a shelter and making a fire, warming up.”
There were also some portions of trails that the snowmobile club wasn’t able to get open, including the one to Ponton and the one to Kelsey.
“There’s been lots of exploration in the area and also Hydro’s been doing lots of work,” Martens said. “There’s been a lot of challenges with poor ice on the beaver ponds and swamps and lakes. There was so much snow early and things didn’t freeze very well. It’s been a little difficult that way.”
Martens hopes that things will be closer to normal next year, both for snowmobilers and the club itself.
“We haven’t been able to meet most of the winter because of COVID so we’ll be looking to gear up for next year,” he said.
