Spring snow is a little too late for Minnesota businesses that rely on snow

CATHY WURZER: If there's any part of Minnesota that depends on winter tourism it's Northeastern Minnesota. White Wilderness Adventures operates dogsledding trips deep in the northwoods, about 30 miles outside of Ely. Our Dan Kraker had talked to this gentleman in January, Peter McClelland, when the season's winter weather was looking kind of bleak.

PETER MCCLELLAND: Running a sled dog business like this is a labor of love. You do it because you want to. It's great to share this with the guests that come up, but you do not make enough money to really be able to weather this kind of disaster.

CATHY WURZER: That was Peter McClelland, who runs White Wilderness. We wanted to check in with him again now that we've gotten a lot more snow. And Peter's on the line. Hey, thanks for taking the time, Peter.

PETER MCCLELLAND: You bet.

CATHY WURZER: OK, so you got up this morning, you saw the snow, and you said to yourself--

PETER MCCLELLAND: Where was it six weeks ago?

CATHY WURZER: Yeah. I know. How much snow have you gotten up there?

PETER MCCLELLAND: We probably got about 6, 7 inches at this point.

CATHY WURZER: Well, is that enough to actually run the dogs at this point?

PETER MCCLELLAND: It would be, yes.

CATHY WURZER: OK.

PETER MCCLELLAND: I'm hoping to get out and pack the trail in later on today.

CATHY WURZER: What does that mean, exactly?

PETER MCCLELLAND: Well, we take out the snowmobile with a weighted sled behind it, and just pack the snow down to make a nice trail.

CATHY WURZER: And have the dogs had a chance to go out yet today?

PETER MCCLELLAND: No, not yet today. We're just letting the snow fall, and then we're going to try to get it packed down. A packed trail will last longer. So hopefully it'll last-- we'll try to maximize how long it would last.

CATHY WURZER: I wonder, because the snow is relatively wet, how does that play with the dogs? I know you got to pack it down, but is that good for them? Is it not so great? Do they care?

PETER MCCLELLAND: It doesn't matter. It packs nicer. That's good. It's definitely better than fluffy snow that'll just blow away.

CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. So I'm wondering-- you talked to our friend Dan Kraker, our colleague, Dan, who talked to you last, and you were busy canceling trips because there wasn't enough snow. I'm assuming this has been just a bad, bad winter for you.

PETER MCCLELLAND: Yeah. We did about 40% of what we normally do for the winter. And we were able to do that just by being really creative, keeping some trails going by shoveling snow in off the side, using some lakes-- whatever we could. We basically started the 5th of January. But then, after President's Day weekend, we had to shut down again.

CATHY WURZER: Ugh, yikes. And I know, of course, taking care of all the dogs is pretty expensive.

PETER MCCLELLAND: It is. You have to feed them no matter what. You have to care for them no matter what. We spend $60,000 a year just on dog food alone, and that's not counting vet bills, and time, and exercise time, and everything else.

CATHY WURZER: There are federal disaster loans that have been made available for small businesses like yours who are affected by the lack of snow this winter. Are you thinking about maybe applying for one of those?

PETER MCCLELLAND: Yeah. I actually have started a application for one of those. But we'll see how long that takes to actually get to fruition.

CATHY WURZER: I'm wondering, with this fresh snow, any chance that you've had some calls here today from folks wanting to book any last minute trips?

PETER MCCLELLAND: We're going to try to run a trip on Friday. But, generally speaking, these late snowfalls aren't that useful, because usually, no matter what the winter is, by the time you're hitting April, people are done with winter. So even if your conditions are great, they don't show up for it.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, OK. So, really, it's a little dicey here. I'm sure you're hoping that the snow lasts for a little while. It's possible that you're going to get-- well, it looks like you're going to get more snow here this afternoon into the evening hours. And it might hang around a little bit. When do you think you're going to have to wrap up for the year?

PETER MCCLELLAND: That's the million dollar question. We basically have been wrapped up for the last three weeks. And so we just play it one day at a time.

CATHY WURZER: OK. Snowing right now, by the way, where you are?

PETER MCCLELLAND: It is. We're supposed to get another 6 to 8 inches yet.

CATHY WURZER: OK. Well, so, hey, there is still some hope for maybe a few trips left yet. I hope, for your sake, that that's what happens.

PETER MCCLELLAND: Thank you.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah, nice to have you with us. Peter McClellan runs White Wilderness Adventures. That's a dog sledding company near Ely.