Come join us in dedicating our newly rebuilt Armstrong warmup cabin to past VSA president Doug Frizzell, and to thank our corporate contributors and hard-working volunteers.
Date: Sunday March 6, 2011
Time: Meet at the Armstrong cabin between 11 and 2. But feel free to ride our trails all day, if you like. Trail fees will be waived for the day. Lunch is on us, so please let us know your head count asap. RSVP to vernonsnowmobileclub@gmail.com.
(click here for the invitation and for more details)
Rebuilding our old Armstrong cabin ... totally destroyed by fire in January 2010 ....
Statement from President Gord....January 2010:
Sometime between Friday Jan 22 and Sunday Jan 24, one of the warm-up shelters maintained by the VSA burned to the ground. Thankfully the snow stopped the blaze from reaching the surrounding forest.
The “Armstrong cabin”, a wood-frame structure, had a great deal of history in the area. We understand that it originally belonged to the Ganzeveldt Lumber Company. At some point it used to be on the Club’s “Skyline” Trail (Armstrong area) and was relocated to its current location, approximately 22 kms from the Club’s main parking lot (on Forest land), sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
Over the years, hundreds of people made use of the cabin to warm up by the wood stove, cook their lunch, and just enjoy the peace, serenity and wildlife of the area. Some have even spent the night – some by choice – others found that the cabin was the shortest walk for shelter when their snowmobiles broke down. I’m sure they were grateful for its proximity. Many, many riders and hikers enjoyed sharing their lunch with the local almost-tame stellar jays. The Club is hopeful that their unofficial mascot, a well-established packrat, escaped the blaze.
A recent work party of volunteers chopped firewood and stocked the cabin’s attached woodshed for the season; this too has been lost.
The Armstrong Cabin was one of two warm-up shelters that the Club maintains, the other being the “Silver Star Chalet” located within Silver Star Mountain Park. The Club provides and maintains these shelters as warm-up facilities for its members and snowmobiling public.
The Club has seen its share of mishaps over the past couple of years, with the Silver Star Chalet maliciously vandalized two years ago, with all its windows broken and some interior damage as well. Recently, an axe was embedded into the chalet ceiling.
The Club , one of the oldest snowmobile clubs in BC, is a not-for-profit organization, run by volunteer help alone, managed jointly with BC Parks and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. The Club’s mandate is to provide maintained and groomed trails and warm-up shelters to users of its Park and Forests areas, which it has been doing since 1967. We offer a wide variety of terrain for all riders, but our trails are mostly geared towards relaxed family outings.
The cabin was uninsured. The Club is now looking for ways to raise funds or building materials in order to rebuild another shelter in the same location, hopefully this spring. If you would like to help, either by donating materials or volunteer construction help, please contact one of the Club directors, listed under Contacts on this website. Thank you so much.
March 2010 newsletter
Sometime between Friday Jan 22 and Sunday Jan 24, one of the warm-up shelters maintained by the VSA burned to the ground. Thankfully the snow stopped the blaze from reaching the surrounding forest.
The “Armstrong cabin”, a wood-frame structure, had a great deal of history in the area. We understand that it originally belonged to the Ganzeveldt Lumber Company. At some point it used to be on the Club’s “Skyline” Trail (Armstrong area) and was relocated to its current location, approximately 22 kms from the Club’s main parking lot (on Forest land), sometime in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
Over the years, hundreds of people made use of the cabin to warm up by the wood stove, cook their lunch, and just enjoy the peace, serenity and wildlife of the area. Some have even spent the night – some by choice – others found that the cabin was the shortest walk for shelter when their snowmobiles broke down. I’m sure they were grateful for its proximity. Many, many riders and hikers enjoyed sharing their lunch with the local almost-tame stellar jays. The Club is hopeful that their unofficial mascot, a well-established packrat, escaped the blaze.
A recent work party of volunteers chopped firewood and stocked the cabin’s attached woodshed for the season; this too has been lost.
The Armstrong Cabin was one of two warm-up shelters that the Club maintains, the other being the “Silver Star Chalet” located within Silver Star Mountain Park. The Club provides and maintains these shelters as warm-up facilities for its members and snowmobiling public.
The Club has seen its share of mishaps over the past couple of years, with the Silver Star Chalet maliciously vandalized two years ago, with all its windows broken and some interior damage as well. Recently, an axe was embedded into the chalet ceiling.
The Club , one of the oldest snowmobile clubs in BC, is a not-for-profit organization, run by volunteer help alone, managed jointly with BC Parks and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. The Club’s mandate is to provide maintained and groomed trails and warm-up shelters to users of its Park and Forests areas, which it has been doing since 1967. We offer a wide variety of terrain for all riders, but our trails are mostly geared towards relaxed family outings.
The cabin was uninsured. The Club is now looking for ways to raise funds or building materials in order to rebuild another shelter in the same location, hopefully this spring. If you would like to help, either by donating materials or volunteer construction help, please contact one of the Club directors, listed under Contacts on this website. Thank you so much.
March 2010 newsletter
Article in the Okanagan Advertiser (spring, 2010):
Sledders’ cabin rising from the ashes
by Jackie Pearase
The Vernon Snowmobile Associations’s Armstrong cabin is rising again with help from some friends.
VSA members, sledding enthusiasts, corporate sponsors and local businesses have stepped up to help rebuild the warm-up shelter after it burned to the ground between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 of this year.
Three work parties have accomplished a lot and more work is planned to ensure the cabin is usable this winter.
According to the VSA, the cabin, located about 22 kilometres from the club’s main parking lot outside of Vernon, originally belonged to the Ganzeveldt Lumber Company. It moved to its site on forestry land in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
The cabin has provided sledders and backcountry users with a place to warm up by the wood stove, cook lunch or even stay overnight by choice or need.
The loss of the uninsured Armstrong cabin, one of two shelters maintained by the club, left members trying to find ways to generate funds and materials to rebuild.
VSA members and their families and friends got to work this spring to clean up the site, remove metal and burn the remaining wood before levelling the area and fabricating the concrete footings for the new cabin.
A second work party resulted in the floor being completed and placed on its footings.
Most recently, the group convened at Cedar Solutions in Enderby to frame the walls instead of doing the work at the cabin where the fire danger poses a problem.
“Their chalet burned down and we’re a corporate sponsor of the Vernon Snowmobile Club so we donated a whack of stuff,” noted Dwayne Baumle of Cedar Solutions.
Baumle provided a range of materials including wood for framing, exterior siding, interior panelling and trim boards.
VSA president Gord Evans said help from Baumle and others has made a huge difference.
“Dwayne Baumle of Cedar Solutions came forward immediately to offer up building materials. Shepherd’s Hardware in
Armstrong has been instrumental as well, drafting up the plans and donating materials, or supplying at discount or cost many more materials. Home Depot and Rona in Vernon have also been helpful,” Evans said.
Not too proud to accept secondhand materials, the club is getting roofing from Denis and Eileen Tomlinson of Armstrong and a director’s family member is donating a used wood stove.
The next step is to move the walls, cladding, trusses and roofing to the site and erect everything, work Evans hopes to see completed this weekend.
Evans said more needs to be done to complete the job including windows, doors, insulation, painting, stairs, railing, wood stove and chimney installation and other finishing touches.
“We had hoped to have all of this complete by winter but snow flies early up in the mountains, so we may not have enough time this year to complete it,” he noted. “We hope to at least have it so that visitors can take shelter from the cold. We also need to have a firewood chopping work party.”
The new cabin will be approximately the same size as the old one at 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep, which includes eight feet for a covered front verandah, 22 feet for the one-room cabin and 10 feet for wood storage at the rear of the building.
“One improvement over the old cabin is that there will be a large sliding door in the back outside wall of the wood storage area for ease in stocking it,” Evans added. “Another improvement over the old one is the aforementioned front verandah – the old cabin door opened directly to the snow.”
Evans has a long list that continues to grow of people who have helped with the project. A video on the club’s website (www.vernonsnowmobileclub.com) details the project’s progress and mentions people and businesses who have helped.
“The video you see on the website will be added to as we continue building, with additions of names of suppliers and volunteers. The list of volunteer names on the video is by no means all-encompassing,” said Evans, “and we anticipate more names as we have more work parties.”
The club is still in need of doors and hardware and some basic wood furniture.
Anyone wanting more information or wishing to donate money or materials can contact one of the club directors listed under contacts on the website.
by Jackie Pearase
The Vernon Snowmobile Associations’s Armstrong cabin is rising again with help from some friends.
VSA members, sledding enthusiasts, corporate sponsors and local businesses have stepped up to help rebuild the warm-up shelter after it burned to the ground between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 of this year.
Three work parties have accomplished a lot and more work is planned to ensure the cabin is usable this winter.
According to the VSA, the cabin, located about 22 kilometres from the club’s main parking lot outside of Vernon, originally belonged to the Ganzeveldt Lumber Company. It moved to its site on forestry land in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
The cabin has provided sledders and backcountry users with a place to warm up by the wood stove, cook lunch or even stay overnight by choice or need.
The loss of the uninsured Armstrong cabin, one of two shelters maintained by the club, left members trying to find ways to generate funds and materials to rebuild.
VSA members and their families and friends got to work this spring to clean up the site, remove metal and burn the remaining wood before levelling the area and fabricating the concrete footings for the new cabin.
A second work party resulted in the floor being completed and placed on its footings.
Most recently, the group convened at Cedar Solutions in Enderby to frame the walls instead of doing the work at the cabin where the fire danger poses a problem.
“Their chalet burned down and we’re a corporate sponsor of the Vernon Snowmobile Club so we donated a whack of stuff,” noted Dwayne Baumle of Cedar Solutions.
Baumle provided a range of materials including wood for framing, exterior siding, interior panelling and trim boards.
VSA president Gord Evans said help from Baumle and others has made a huge difference.
“Dwayne Baumle of Cedar Solutions came forward immediately to offer up building materials. Shepherd’s Hardware in
Armstrong has been instrumental as well, drafting up the plans and donating materials, or supplying at discount or cost many more materials. Home Depot and Rona in Vernon have also been helpful,” Evans said.
Not too proud to accept secondhand materials, the club is getting roofing from Denis and Eileen Tomlinson of Armstrong and a director’s family member is donating a used wood stove.
The next step is to move the walls, cladding, trusses and roofing to the site and erect everything, work Evans hopes to see completed this weekend.
Evans said more needs to be done to complete the job including windows, doors, insulation, painting, stairs, railing, wood stove and chimney installation and other finishing touches.
“We had hoped to have all of this complete by winter but snow flies early up in the mountains, so we may not have enough time this year to complete it,” he noted. “We hope to at least have it so that visitors can take shelter from the cold. We also need to have a firewood chopping work party.”
The new cabin will be approximately the same size as the old one at 20 feet wide and 40 feet deep, which includes eight feet for a covered front verandah, 22 feet for the one-room cabin and 10 feet for wood storage at the rear of the building.
“One improvement over the old cabin is that there will be a large sliding door in the back outside wall of the wood storage area for ease in stocking it,” Evans added. “Another improvement over the old one is the aforementioned front verandah – the old cabin door opened directly to the snow.”
Evans has a long list that continues to grow of people who have helped with the project. A video on the club’s website (www.vernonsnowmobileclub.com) details the project’s progress and mentions people and businesses who have helped.
“The video you see on the website will be added to as we continue building, with additions of names of suppliers and volunteers. The list of volunteer names on the video is by no means all-encompassing,” said Evans, “and we anticipate more names as we have more work parties.”
The club is still in need of doors and hardware and some basic wood furniture.
Anyone wanting more information or wishing to donate money or materials can contact one of the club directors listed under contacts on the website.
