It takes a village: 25 people haul trail groomer out of the ice near Cartwright

It's a tug of war that you wouldn't normally envision — 25 people versus a Bombardier trail groomer.

A make-shift tug-of-war team accomplished just such a heavy feat on Sunday when they managed to twist and pull the partially-submerged groomer from ice near Cartwright.

According to Dwight Lethbridge, chair of the Eagle River Development Association, the groomer broke through ice and got stuck in a marsh on Saturday.

By Sunday, about 25 volunteers responded to a call to help haul the machine out of the bog.

"People showed up in spades, it was awesome," Lethbridge told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

"We put out a call for blocks and tackles and chain hoists and any kind of heavy timber that people could bring along."

Twisting and turning

When the groomer went through the ice on Saturday, Lethbridge said he and the rest of his association — which helps maintain the trail outside of Cartwright — decided quickly to try to get it out.

"We don't have anything here that can really go in, big machinery-wise, to do it," he said.

"With enough men and enough heavy timber and a bit of lifting equipment and pulling equipment … we should be able to get it to move somehow."

On Sunday, with the help of plenty of volunteers, they set up chain hoists and a block and tackle to try to free the groomer.

"Once we got it twisted to the point where it wouldn't slide into the hole any further, we literally got a three-by-three block and tackle and probably about twenty guys and pulled it out," said Lethbridge.

"Literal manpower, yeah. It was pretty cool … arm over arm, tug of war with a groomer."

'It means they value it'

Volunteers started to arrive at about 9 a.m., and by 3 p.m. the machine was removed.

Once the crew realized the machine would come out, Lethbridge said it turned into a pretty fun experience.

He's thankful of the big crowd — commercial fishermen, cabin owners, "hands-on people" — that showed up to help.

"When your organization puts out an appeal to the public for help, and they show up in such a tremendous show of support, it means that they notice the work that gets done. It means that they value it."

It's not yet clear when the groomer will be ready to get back to work on the trail.