SnoWest News: Between The Gates

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December 5, 2010

Between The Gates

Catching up with one of the fastest drivers in pro hillclimbing

Ryan Harris

Everybody has good days. Keith Curtis just piles them up

seasons at a time.

Check out his stats: On the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile

Hillclimb Circuit, Curtis entered 34 total classes over seven different

events. He had 20 first-place finishes, four seconds and

two thirds. That’s 26 top-three finishes out of 34 tries.

And that was just last season.

Curtis, a full-time student at University of Montana Western,

is entering his fifth season as a RMSHA pro driver—his fourth

as a Polaris-backed rider. His first competitive hillclimb was at a

Maverick Mountain event in 1998 near Polaris, Montana. Curtis

finished well, and whatever happened that weekend had him

hooked.

He hit a full string of Montana State Snowmobile Hillclimb

Association (MSSHA) events the next year. Brian Lovaas and

Benny Finicum let Curtis ride along with them to the races. He

ran in the MSSHA races for a while with those two and Chris

Johnson, Colt Becker, Jesse Besecker & Dustin Rebich. Curtis

says he looked up to guys like Shane Hart for the way he dominated

races. Curtis wanted to dominate events like Hart, but he

was smart enough to realize that those things take time. Hart

was a seasoned veteran racer, and Curtis was an up-and-coming

pro. The one thing Curtis may not have realized at the time is

that his career would take the fast track to dominance.

His last MSSHA race was in ’06 at the Lost Trail Ski Area in

southwestern Montana, near Curtis’ hometown of Dillon. A handful

of RMSHA pros like Beukelman, Markovich and Zollingers

were using the small MSSHA event as a chance to clean house

and show the divide between the two circuits. And everyone

expected nothing short of that. Curtis had raced the World

Championship hillclimb at Jackson Hole that spring on a MSSHA

invite and got smoked. But Curtis had different plans of defending

his home turf at the Lost Trail hillclimb. The big names

showed up and saw Curtis win Mod 600, Mod 700 and Mod 800,

also laying down the fastest time on the mountain of the day.

Corey Markovich beat Curtis out for Mod King for the weekend,

but by then Curtis’ eyes were set on something bigger: the full

RMSHA circuit.

There are a few races that stick out like orange marker tape

in Curtis’ career. Last winter, at the RMSHA Lost Trail hillclimb,

Keith entered five classes and took home five first-place trophies

plus Stock and Mod Kings of the Hill—a double crown.

But the crowning event so far in his career as a pro came at

the one race where the world seems to be watching—Jackson

Hole.

Two years after his first-ever invite to Snow King Mountain,

Curtis showed up at Jackson in 2008 with Polaris factory support

and left the mountain with his name among the Jackson

Hole elites.

Curtis had qualified first in Stock 600, Stock 700 and Stock

800 during Saturday’s runs, putting him last on the hill for each

class during Sunday’s finals. He scoped out the mountain as

each racer in his classes made their runs. He had his line picked

out when he rolled his sled to the starting platform at the bottom

of the hill for his Stock 600 run. He remembers his sled

being a little down on rpm because he didn’t know any better

to re-clutch for Jackson’s elevation. Even so, he managed

a smooth run up the hill, easily winning the class. In fact, he

almost came to a complete stop mid-mountain during that run,

but managed to get going and lay down a lightning-fast run to

the top timing lights.

Curtis says right after he found out he won the class, he

shifted into a focused and determined state for the rest of the

day. He talked to Brett Bateman about the way his sleds were

running. Bateman changed the clutching in his 600, 700 and 800

sleds. Curtis says he owes him still to this day for giving his sleds

a competitive edge that day.

His Stock 700 run went as well as his Stock 600, winning by a

good margin.

As for Stock 800, it’s probably the most competitive class in

the circuit. And with the number of drivers that had been on the

hill from the start of the weekend up until Curtis’ run in the Stock

800 final, the hill was torn up. But he was on a roll and won the

class. His fourth and final class—Stock 1000—was his only falter

of the weekend, finishing fourth after getting hung up in the infamous

Rock Garden near the top of the mountain.

Curtis was focused on his King runs. Each class win gives a

driver a shot at King of the Hill in respectively Stock, Improved

Stock or Modified. Then, the three King of the Hill winners

square off for one final run each to determine King of Kings—the

ultimate trophy to take home from an event as big as Jackson.

Curtis’ three Stock wins gave him three runs at Stock King of

the Hill.

“My first run was on my Stock 600 and I was ready to rally. I

was making a smoking run until I made it across the first cat track

and took a wrong turn because

the course was changed. I still

remember (Tom) Roby telling me

they changed the course but I

wasn’t exactly sure where to go.

I tried pulling the sled back on

the course and about went over

the handle bars,” Curtis explains.

He went back to the staging

area, grabbed his 700 and

made his second run. “This run

was a little rough and not as

smooth as I would have liked. I

was out by a couple seconds so

I knew I needed to step it up on

my 800.”

Curtis remembers coming

down off the mountain

on his 700. He had three

consecutive runs for Stock

King, and the crowd waited

with almost as much anticipation

as the other drivers to see what Curtis would do with his

final shot at the Stock King title.

“I reached the bottom of the hill and my dad had my 800

warmed up and ready to go,” Curtis said. “Rick Ward was on

the starting line and I will never forget the words he told me:

‘You know you can take a minute and get your breathe back if

you need.’”

Curtis took Ward’s advice, and sat at the bottom of the hill

while the anticipation built around his final run. Nobody really

knew who Keith Curtis was, but here on a sunny Sunday afternoon,

he had every set of eyes at the World Championship hillclimb

staring him down. Curtis’ 800 King run topped the times

set by Roby and Vincent Clark, and both of the veteran drivers

congratulated Curtis when he reached the top of the course.

“Those two were standing there when I reached the top, and

I was so stoked I forgot what to talk about when the announcer

interviewed me,” Curtis said. “But I did manage to thank my

sponsors.”

But Curtis’ day wasn’t over. He had to point his sled at

the course one more time—the eighth time he would climb

Exhibition run that day.

He lined up next to Les Keller and Kyle Tapio—the Improved

Mod and Mod King winners of the day. The three would shoot it

out for the coveted King of Kings title. And Curtis was up first.

“I had another nice smooth run, almost as fast as my Stock

King run. I had a good line picked out from my previous runs,

which helped. The rock garden was getting nasty but I managed

to wheelie up and over

it,” Curtis said of making it to

the top timing lights. “I heard

Keller coming up and I was

nervous because both his and

Tapio’s sled had major motor

improvements over my stocker.

I heard his motor die when

he got hung up on the rock

garden. Next was Tapio on his turbo. He

was rallying like he always does and then

I heard his motor die at the rock garden.

Once that happened I knew I had it.”

A relative newcomer in a sport dominated

by a short list of regulars, Curtis

had swept three of his four classes, won

Stock King of the Hill and then beat out

two mod sleds for King of Kings.

“I still get a strange cloud 9 feeling

when I think about that Sunday in

Jackson Hole. I remember pretty much

every detail like it happened yesterday.

The snow was phenomenal and it felt so

great to win those titles and I was proud

to represent Polaris like I did the first year

they picked me up for sponsorship. After

the event was all said and done I asked

myself. Did I really just win five World

Championship Titles? And since that day

I have learned a whole lot about sponsorship.

If it wasn’t for my great sponsor base

I would have never been on top of that

mountain claiming the “King of Kings”

title. All of my Polaris sleds ran great and

felt great. I couldn’t have asked for better

equipment. That is by far the most memorable

event of my career.”

Aside from the RMSHA events, Curtis

does a lot of backcountry riding.

“One area I practice quite often is

around my parents’ cabin near Polaris,

MT. It’s more mellow riding but I have a

blast going fast anywhere I go. I sometimes

set up courses with Les Keller, Mike

and Tyler Crockett, and Casey jump in

Kalispell, Mt. We try to make the course

challenging and once we get sick of

practicing we go free ride. When I am joy

riding I just go have fun but sometimes if

something pops in my head about racing

improvements I pursue it. Something that

comes with free riding is more seat time

which helps me on the race course. I like

a variety of riding, anything from nasty

hillclimbing through trees to meadow riding

and trail riding. I feel that if you limit

yourself to one type of riding it will limit

your ability to ride in diverse areas. I like

creek beds, It is fun cutting a line right

above a creek bed. Makes it a little more

interested when there is a consequence

right below you.”

Always up for a challenge, Curtis will

be competing in five classes again this

season on the RMSHA circuit. He’ll run in

Stock 600, Stock 700, Stock 800, Stock

1000 and Mod 800.

Curtis’ sponsors for the season has

grown to include Polaris Industries,

Boondockers, EZ Ryde Suspension,

Walker Evans, Black Diamond Extreme,

Stud Boy, Starting Line Products,

Adventure Cycle & Sled, Klim, SCS

Vinyl Works, Napa Auto Parts, Western

Power Sports/Fly Racing, Kold Kutter,

CentennialLivestock.com/High Quality

Beef, Carl’s Cycle Sales, V-Force,

V-Notch Racing, Avid Products, ARS FX,

Montaqua, 509 Goggles, Skinz Protective

Gear and Avivest.