Yakima SkiBenders

08/31/2026

First meeting of the season TOMORROW night!! Hope to see you there!! 🥳 (Psssst! I heard if you come… we will get a lot of snow this year…)

08/14/2026

Volunteer Party TONIGHT!!

Hope to see you there!! 🥳🥳🥳

Hey Snowmobiling Volunteers!

This Friday (Aug 14) the Ski-Benders are hosting the 4th annual Volunteer Appreciation Party.

Who's invited? Anyone who has volunteered time for a snowmobile club event or to the sport of snowmobiling in general. This includes club fundraisers and on-the-snow events. Also snowmobile club, WSSA or grooming council board members. And of course those who have helped clear and maintain snowmobile trails and stocked or repaired warming huts. You all know who you are! (Chinook Pass and Drift-A-Way, you guys are local and have no excuse...)

When? Friday night starting at 4pm.

Where? The Van Amburg's at Gold Creek. Drive West past Gold Creek Station, turn left on Old River Rd., and left again on Jefferson Rd. Follow it out to the end.

Details? You'll want to bring your beverage of choice. Bring a chair to sit in. Swimsuit if you want to get in the river. Taco truck on site and the Ski-Benders are picking up the tab!

Come on out and hang with us! See ya Friday!

08/10/2026

Hey Snowmobiling Volunteers!

This Friday (Aug 14) the Ski-Benders are hosting the 4th annual Volunteer Appreciation Party.

Who's invited? Anyone who has volunteered time for a snowmobile club event or to the sport of snowmobiling in general. This includes club fundraisers and on-the-snow events. Also snowmobile club, WSSA or grooming council board members. And of course those who have helped clear and maintain snowmobile trails and stocked or repaired warming huts. You all know who you are! (Chinook Pass and Drift-A-Way, you guys are local and have no excuse...)

When? Friday night starting at 4pm.

Where? The Van Amburg's at Gold Creek. Drive West past Gold Creek Station, turn left on Old River Rd., and left again on Jefferson Rd. Follow it out to the end.

Details? You'll want to bring your beverage of choice. Bring a chair to sit in. Swimsuit if you want to get in the river. Taco truck on site and the Ski-Benders are picking up the tab!

Come on out and hang with us! See ya Friday!

08/08/2026

Thanks to Franny for this great coverage of the SMAC meeting. I was on the Zoom and her notes are accurate. (She saved me from having to write it up too! 😅)

Matt Mead, Ski-Bender Prez

08/06/2026

WSSA SUMMER MEETING CANCELED!

Unfortunately, due to dangerous smoke levels and local wildfires, WSSA made the decision to cancel the meeting this weekend.

A zoom meeting will be scheduled soon to take care of the business that would have been covered at the meeting.

08/05/2026

WSSA SUMMER MEETING CANCELED!

Unfortunately, due to dangerous smoke levels and local wildfires, WSSA made the decision to cancel the meeting this weekend.

A zoom meeting will be scheduled soon to take care of the business that would have been covered at the meeting.

07/31/2026

Hey Ski-Benders!

The Snowmobile Advisory Committee (SMAC) is holding their summer meeting on Friday evening (July 31st) and Saturday (August 1st). This is your chance to learn how the Snowmobile Program REALLY works. There is also opportunity to comment on the program if you'd like. The budget for this winter's grooming and plowing will be set on Saturday. With registrations down last season it is likely to be gruesome! Join the fun in person or online. Meeting starts at 5:30 pm on Friday and 8:30 am on Saturday.

Location: Wenatchee Valley Fire Department- Station 11, 206 Easy Street, Wenatchee, WA 98801

Online:
Friday, July 31st, 5:30-7:30pm
Join:
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/2267830147685?p=vF4VSQQB0UsdfDW6ea
Meeting ID: 226 783 014 768 5
Passcode: xg7uR2sB

Saturday, August 1st, 8:30am-1:00pm
Join:
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/279535539135583?p=FfubFZBrXzVaxRBHkJ
Meeting ID: 279 535 539 135 583
Passcode: CG2NQ97u

See you there!

07/12/2026

Deadline is today (12th). Tell them you oppose their proposed 'closed unless posted open' policy change that would make it illegal to ride off trail unless an area was marked as open for off-trail play on their map. This new policy is directly opposite of the adjacent USFS-managed lands, not to mention DNR-managed, that is 'open unless posted closed'.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is creating a Travel Management Plan for the Wenas and L.T. Murray wildlife areas in Kittitas and Yakima counties. WDFW seeks input from the public to better understand the route network and how those routes are used to inform future route design...

06/09/2026

Selah Civic Center This Friday - WDFW Travel Management Public Meeting!

Greetings Ski-Benders!

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is still pushing forward with their travel management planning and they are kicking it off in our area (Wenas & L.T. Murray). Two local meetings are scheduled with the closest being in Selah on June 12th. (The other is June 11th in E-Burg.) Snowmobilers are strongly encouraged to attend and give input on this process. You'll recall the goal has been to get over-snow vehicles excluded from this travel management planning and their proposed 'closed unless posted open' policy. Barring that, we want to make sure we don't lose any riding areas and want all of the local areas we ride to be designated open to over-snow vehicles. While I'm looking at this from a snowmobiler's perspective, this will also impact 4x4, UTV, motorcycle and e-bike access as well and most of us recreate in these areas year round. The meeting runs 4pm to 7pm and is at the Selah Civic Center. I hope to see you there! (Details from WDFW can be found here: https://publicinput.com/wenasandltmurraytravelplans )

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is creating a Travel Management Plan for the Wenas and L.T. Murray wildlife areas in Kittitas and Yakima counties. WDFW seeks input from the public to better understand the route network and how those routes are used to inform future route design...

06/07/2026

Well deserved!! ❤️