Shawn Flindall is excited to see the cold and the snow flying in the region.
The media spokesman for the North Bay Snowmobile Club says right now cold is more important than snow.
"Snow is not good right now, cold is good and we need some -20 nights just to get some swamps frozen up and some ponds and waterways frozen up before we can do very much," stated Flindall.
"It is a really busy time for snowmobile clubs in the area for sure as we get some bridges repaired, some trails cleared, and get some trees out of the way. Once the snow is ready to be groomed we can bring the groomers out. It is a really busy time for all the clubs in the region but it is nice to see the cold weather and nice to see the snow."
But what kind of year they will have is still a big question. How will the industry in the North Bay area be impacted by not having American sledders touring the area and could those numbers possibly be offset by snowbirds who are staying home this winter and getting back onto their snowmobile this winter?
"We are not really sure what to expect in terms of traffic," admitted Flindall.
"Obviously all our U.S. touring snowmobilers will not be here and there are going to be some folks from the south coming up depending on their health unit or status of their health unit, whether they are able to leave their health unit or not. So we are not sure what to expect there. Locally, we think there will be a lot more snowmobilers on the trails.
"Obviously, all those people who are typically snowbirds and leave for the winter might be looking for something exciting to do in the wintertime and snowmobiling will be one of them. It is going to be an odd year, we are not certain whether to expect more traffic, less traffic, the same traffic. We are not really sure.
"Obviously, if shutdowns occur in the new year we will be subject to some changes then but at this point, we are business as usual and we are ready to get snowmobiling off the ground."
Flindall hopes shutdowns do not happen and sledders will be able to enjoy what the North Bay area has to offer.
"I would say that North Bay has really become a destination of choice for snowmobilers," he boasted.
"Between the easy accessibility for people from Toronto and Ottawa along with the quality trails in our region. We have great loops, we have two-day loops, three-day loops that can all be initiated from North Bay. We have got consistent snow and terrific amenities along the trails so we have really become a destination of choice and we are grateful to our landowners to allow us to use their land and we are grateful to our volunteers because, without snowmobiling, there are a lot of businesses that really rely on snowmobiling to make their year. It is good that we bring such an economic boost into the region and it is a great winter activity that pumps a lot of money into our communities."