ABOVE: Blizzard Snowmobile Club President Brent Oberdieck stands with the new snow groomer, which is getting its first workout this year after two winters of minimal snow.

FAIRMONT – Some may not be happy with the snow coming back in force this winter, but the Blizzard Snowmobile Club of Fairmont is embracing the change with open arms.

The club has 40 families currently involved. Club President Brent Oberdieck said they groom 140 miles of trails in Martin County.

“We go from the Iowa line all the way up to the Watonwan county line, where we connect with their trail system,” he said. “You go over to the Faribault county line and connect up with the Faribault county trail system.”

Regardless of the snow, the snowmobile club must work on the trails and place markers by Dec. 1 so they can continue to receive grant money from the state. For the last two years, the club had not groomed the trails at all due to the lack of snow to do so. This year, they started grooming on Dec. 2, which Oberdieck said is one of the earliest times they’ve been able to do so since he joined in 1996.

“It’s been unusual,” he said. “Usually it seems like it’s after Christmas when we get enough snow, but it’s been nice this year.”

This is the first year they have been able to use their new John Deere groomer, a 2015 model purchased from a club in Nova Scotia, Canada. Oberdieck said there have been a few kinks, but the new groomer has run very well for them so far.

Due to the lack of snow the past few years, Oberdieck said they were impacted financially and physically.

“Because of the lack of people registering their snowmobiles, the fund that we get our grant from has gone way down. We usually get four different payments from the state. This year, they came out and said we’ll get the first and second, but the third and fourth will depend on if people register their snowmobiles. There were about 10 of us who put trails in, and six of them were over the age of 60. We need younger people to volunteer to help, or eventually the trail system will go away.”

With the snow returning in droves this year, Oberdieck said it has brought a spark to the club.

“People are more interested,” he said. “It’s nice to see snow go out on the trails this early. I know one member was selling some helmets; he put them online, and he sold them the next day because the guy was buying a snowmobile, but needed helmets. I’m sure it’s a real impact on the snowmobile industry.”

With the snowfall, the snowmobile club should also be able to hold their snowmobile safety course as normal on Jan. 3, 2026. Last year, they had wheel kits for the skis so the snowmobiles could go on the riding course with or without snow.

As the snow draws more interest and hope, Oberdieck said they are hoping they can bring some events back, if they can find enough volunteers.

“We’ve always talked about having a weenie roast someplace along the trail system, but we’ve never had snow, so we’re probably going to look into doing that if we continue to get snow,” he said. We used to have races, but with the lack of volunteers, it became hard to put the races on. That hinders some of the fun parts. We probably will try to have a ride or two if we keep up with the snow.”

While it doesn’t hurt, Oberdieck said if people want to volunteer to help set up and operate these types of fun events, they do not need to be snowmobilers themselves.

“We welcome everybody as a member,” he said. “You like to have more members, you like to have more volunteerism. I think if we had more volunteerism, we can try to do a few more fun things. Have people to help set up this fun thing or that fun thing. When you got the same 10 people, they get a little wore out.”

For more information, visit facebook.com/p/Blizzard-Snowmobile-Club-100057696345934/ or call Oberdieck at 507-236-0760. To register for the snowmobile safety course, contact Fairmont Community Education at 507-235-3141.