Some of Utah's biggest dumps happen after many of the state's 26,000 snowmobilers put their machines away.

Big mistake.

Hard-core riders have been known to pull out their sleds for the Fourth of July - yes, on snow. That's pretty extreme, but snowmobile enthusiasts can usually count on riding at least through the end of April, without much extra work.

"We plan on grooming trails through the first of April. Some years we might go longer if we have the money," said Fred Hayes, off-highway vehicle coordinator for the Utah State Parks and Recreation, which grooms 1,200 miles of snowmobile trails each winter. "We have to stop when we can't get the groomers out of the shed without driving them over dirt, but snowmobilers can chase the snow as long and as high as they want."

The rewards of late season snowmobiling were abundantly clear on a trip to Daniels Summit Lodge last week. One of Utah's few snowstorms of the 2006-07 winter was in the process of dumping roughly four feet of powder on the high elevations of the Uinta National Forest Service.

Busting trail through deep powder can be a time-consuming and exhausting effort on a snowmobile, so the group appreciated that Daniels Summit Lodge had one of its two groomers out early.

The lodge grooms about 50 miles of trail when conditions warrant it, providing access to 500,000 acres of forest. Trails groomed by the lodge include a 16-mile loop, a 50-mile loop and 10-mile out and back ride from one of the loops. The trails, which are also popular with cross-country skiers, also tie into the massive series of trails groomed by state parks.

Thanks to its high elevation - about 8,000 at the summit of Daniels Canyon - the lodge enjoys a snowmobiling season from Thanksgiving to at least mid-April. Some seasons reach into May.

"Nobody believes we can possibly have snow when they are walking the streets of Salt Lake or even Park City and they don't see any around," said Brent Hill, owner of the Daniels Summit Lodge.

Hill, his wife Audrey and their sons - Jeff, Gary and Allen - bought the land at Daniels Summit in 1982, opening a store and restaurant on the property. The Hills eventually built cabins on the property, and in 1998 opened a 48-room lodge and conference center, complete with day spa.

They also rented snowmobiles.

"We had six machines that first year and 120 in the fleet this year," Hill said. "We get a lot of people here from the ski resorts who want to play on the snow in a different way. This is the ideal place for first-time snowmobilers, with a 14-foot wide trail that they can stay on and never [get stuck]."

Of course, riders can leave the trail and hit one of the many play areas along the groomed path. On weekdays the majority of sleds on the trails around Daniels Summit Lodge are rentals, but on weekends and holidays locals use the lodge as a launching point in the winter wonderland.

On this day, riding a snowmobile off the trail was like being on a personal water craft with waves of light powder flowing over the windshield, ripping away from the machine like the curl of a wave on the beaches of Hawaii.

The mountains immediately around Daniels Summit Lodge are not necessarily avalanche-prone, but snowmobilers must be aware of the danger of snow slides any time they are riding.

"Snowmobilers, and all winter enthusiasts for that matter, can't get lulled into a false sense of security thinking that avalanches do not happen in the spring," said Craig Gordon, a forecaster focused on snowmobiling at U.S. Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center. "You have to think back to what kind of winter it has been. This year, it has been unusual and unusual winters make unusual avalanches."

One problem in the spring are the long time frames without snow, when slopes can develop a slippery crust, and then a big storm.

"You have to think about what is underneath the stuff you are riding on," Gordon said. "It is possible to have large avalanches run right to the ground in spring."

Gordon suggests snowmobilers check the Utah Avalanche forecast and report at www.avalanche.org/~uac/ before each trip. Avoid stopping for lunch, pictures or repairs in likely avalanche paths and ride early to avoid the heat of the day, when avalanche activity increases.

"Early starts and early exits are key. That way you can still get home and have an iced tea and do some gardening before the end of the day," he said.

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* BRETT PRETTYMAN can be contacted at brettp@sltrib.com or 801-257-8902.

Get a closer look at late-season snowmobiling with a video and photo gallery at www.sltrib.com/outdoors.

Be prepared

AVALANCHE DANGERS exist throughout Utah winters. For detailed avalanche forecasts, including specific information for snowmobilers, visit the Utah Avalanche Center's web site at www.avalanche.org/~uac/.