Snow machining ticket to fun during winter months

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Sims
  • 354th Maintenance Squadron and NLSC president
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Ready or not, winter is on its way; the leaves have already starting turning brilliant colors and falling to the ground. The air is turning colder. Before you know it, Eielson will be blanketed with snow--that means it's time to park the all-terrain vehicles in the garage and replace your outdoor recreation mode of transport with snow machines.

You'll soon see them everywhere: Ski-Doo, Polaris, Yamaha and Arctic Cat. But it doesn't really matter what you ride, as long as you have a great time doing so and one way to do that is through the Northern Lights Snowmobile Club.

NLSC has been meeting the snow machine needs of sledders from the Eielson and North Pole area for the past 30 years. It takes new snow machinists, young and old, on familiarization rides, getting them acquainted with the great many trails that can be found throughout the area.

The club, in concert with the 354th Fighter Wing's Safety Office, teaches snow machine safety courses to all wing members, which is a mandatory prerequisite for all riders to ride on and off Eielson.

These courses are scheduled to start soon, with several classes being offered throughout the winter. The club leads member rides to Summit, a mountainous area about three hours away down the Richardson Highway and to Cantwell, another hilly area roughly the same distance down the Parks Highway.

The club is not only tailored for riding; it plays a large part in supporting the local community in other ways.

The NLSC sponsors and leads a local snow machine rally, held annually the weekend of Thanksgiving at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10029 in North Pole, as well as many other events throughout the winter months.

To become a member of NLSC, you can contact Sharri or Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Sims at 377-1871 or 372-3597, Mike Wood at 377-2192, or Danielle and Master Sgt. Kenneth Russell at 377-2727 or 488-8145. The NLSC email address is nlsnowmobileclub@yahoo.com and you can visit our website: www.nlsc.net, for more details.