The first annual Schweitzer Sledfest held at Schweitzer Mountain in Sandpoint, ID, in April 2009, was a huge success. If you missed this one you need to plan now to attend two events in Sandpoint and Ponderay this year.
The excitement of plenty of crashes, position shifting and close finishes will keep the crowd entertained throughout two events. The first event, a Mountain West Racing snocross points race will be held in Ponderay, ID, on Jan. 30-31. The second annual Schweitzer Sledfest will be held April17-18.
With a bird's eye view of both events, the crowd will see all of the action and there promises to be plenty of that.
The race at Ponderay has been added to the MWR racing schedule this year, giving racers one more opportunity to test their skills and earn purse money. With the lack of snow this year, it may have to be re-scheduled later but the plan is to host it one way or the other.
Please check the Sandpoint Winter Riders website for schedule changes. The website is:
www.sandpointwinterriders.com.
From snocross to hillcross to snowbikes, there will be plenty of exciting races over both two-day events. The snowbikes keep everyone in awe of this new technology, which is a dirt motorcycle with both wheels removed and a ski attached up front, with a special patented snowmobile track in back. The riders of the snowbikes range from pro status to local guys. These guys ride these machines just like motocross bikes but in snow, even with the same riding gear. They rock and roll over the jumps, with some riders doubling them.
The hillcross bumps at the bottom of the course at Schweitzer will be slightly modified due to them causing the most carnage. However, they will still be a crowd pleaser because the track is being modified so that there will be better spectator views of all the action. Many riders with mountain sleds had entered this competition last April, not realizing that the long tracks required for mountain riding do not handle large stutter bumps. Thus, the need to modify the hillcross bumps to allow the locals to afford to race without spending so much on repairs. The action will still be there because most of these riders are aggressive by nature and like to please the crowd.
Mel Spraker is donating his property for the January MWR snocross, while Schweitzer Mountain Resort is the site of the April race.
A special thanks to Jeff York for organizing these events.