Backcountry beauty

For Bill Koozer there’s no better way to explore the wonders of winter than on the back of a high-powered snowmobile

Karl F. Moffatt | For The New Mexican

1/30/2008 - 1/31/08

Bill Koozer gazed out across the sparkling snow and towering pines and sighed with satisfaction.

"It's so exhilarating," he said. "I feel very fortunate to be here."

Koozer operates Cumbres Adventure Tours out of a roadside cabin off Colorado State Road 17 in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado.

And at age 76, it's something this retired farmer and Marine Corps veteran enjoys immensely.

"I like to see people having fun and enjoying the mountains like I do," he said of his many customers who venture into the backcountry on his snowmobiles. "And most of them seem to come back with a smile on their face, too."

Koozer talks about retiring someday soon to spend more time with his family in the warmer, sunnier climate of southern Arizona. But when you see him gunning a powerful Skidoo up a hill of snow, the flaps of his mad bomber cap splayed out in the breeze, one might question that notion.

Koozer grew up on a farm in western Nebraska near the town of Alliance where his family did well raising wheat and potatoes during World War II. He went on to play football at Chadron College in Nebraska where he majored in physical education. Upon graduation, he discovered coaching jobs didn't pay very well and instead joined the Marine Corps.

"I'm not sure what I was thinking," he said. "I had some friends going in; there was a group of us."

At the height of the Korean War, Koozer shipped off to Officer Candidates School at Quantico, Va.

"It was tough," he said. "We had four guys die during training."

Koozer went on to earn his commission as a second lieutenant, but by that time a truce had been called in the war and he ended up as company commander of a transportation unit at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Koozer served his two-year term and returned to his roots in western Nebraska where he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and tried farming for a living. As his career progressed, Koozer gravitated to the distribution side of the business and eventually opened a packing shed in Hereford, Texas.

Koozer learned his first hard lesson about the agriculture business when a torrential rainstorm wiped out a huge onion crop that he had backed with most of his money.

"It put me in pretty bad shape," he said.

Koozer doggedly stuck with the farming business but kept his eyes open for an opportunity to get out.

While Koozer worked the farms of the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado he also visited the mountains surrounding them, like those above Chama.

"And one day I saw these guys out running around on one of these (snowmobiles) and I decided then I had to have one," Koozer said.

Koozer liked the machines so much he decided to turn others on to them, and his touring business was born.

"Those guys out there with the snowmobiles are the greatest," said Billy Plagens, 53, of Franklin, Texas, a roofing company owner who, along with his family, went riding with Koozer's guides in mid-January. "The best part was seeing all that country. It's really pretty. I mean this is something everybody should do at least once in their life."

Koozer said the recent plight of two Farmington families who got lost in a blizzard while snowmobiling in the mountains above Chama shouldn't scare off potential riders.

"It can happen when you don't know the area and aren't watching the weather," he said. "People get to having a good time, get careless, and the first thing you know a storm comes up behind you."

Those families had to take shelter in the Cumbres and Toltec train station at Osier, Colo., and ride out several nights until the weather broke and help arrived.

"In the end, they did the right thing," Koozer said. "They hunkered down and waited for help."

Koozer said his guides, Dwayne Abeyta, 37; Joe Pacheco, 32; and Jerry Gravley, 61, are experienced and well prepared, and they don't take any chances.

Riders are provided with snowsuits, helmets and other outdoor equipment. Rides can last a couple of hours or a full day. For details, visit www.
cumbresadventure tours.com.

And with up to 6 feet of snow on the ground, and more predicted for the coming week, Koozer said he expects the season to last well into April.

"I haven't seen it like this in the 14 years I've been up here," he said.

Call 719-376-2161 to arrange a tour.

If you go

Take U.S. 84/285 north, and at the first light in Española, cross the river and continue on U.S. 84 to Chama. Pass the railroad station and continue up Colorado State Road 17. Head down the highway until you come to a sweeping curve in the road with a wide valley and several cabins and homes on the right. Look for the Cumbres Adventure Tours sign, and pull in. The drive is about 260 miles, round trip.

For an alternate return trip, continue along State Road 17 down to the Conejos River and the village of Horca, Colo. Continue on State Road 17 past Foxcreek, Colo., to the outskirts of Antonito, Colo. Take U.S. 285 south through Ojo Caliente to Española and back to Santa Fe. This adds about 10 miles to the trip.

Contact Karl Moffatt through his blog at www.outdoorsnewmexico.com.