Snowmobiling: More than Riding

For as long as I can remember, winters have been marked by three things: The riding season, The World Snowmobile Expo, and the World Championship Hillclimbs at Jackson Hole.

A season has yet to pass where those three aspects of snowmobiling haven't culminated in what I call winter. You ride--deep snow, crusty snow, deep snow, packed snow, then spring snow. Around that time, you spend a weekend at the Expo, watching races from behind the orange snow fence with snow pants and a t-shirt, walking up the road through slush and puddles of water to the convention center where the sound of electric fans blend in with chatter from thousands of sledders talking about next year's new stuff. Then a couple weeks later, you show up in boots, jeans and a jacket to watch the craziest dudes on sleds climb Snow King at the Jackson hillclimb. Charilift rides to the wooden decks at the top of the mountain, walking down the steep slope in the trees while a drunk spectator tumbles head over heels past you, kicking out a 12-inch-by-12-inch square platform next to the snow fence to watch the Open Mod sleds come screaming by, diving for cover when one of those takes a b-line for the crowd, then sliding down the hill in wet, frozen jeans after the race is over.

It's those types of experiences that make snowmobiling so much more than a riding activity. And it gets underway with the World Snowmobile Expo in West Yellowstone, next weekend (March 16-18). I can't wait...

-RH