World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb Begins
One of the year’s most exciting weekends in Jackson Hole kicked off Thursday.
Organizers at Snow King Resort in Jackson are calling World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb the wildest show on snow, and they say they could not have asked for better weather to enjoy the weekend’s festivities.
Whether you have a newfound need for speed, or it’s steeped in tradition, the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb has been getting snow sports junkies revved up for 37 years.
The object of the climb is to ride the snowmobile as far up a hill as possible and down again. This often results in competitors tumbling hundreds of feet downhill after wiping out.
“I like the people that are involved,” said John Dorsey, a former racer who now volunteers at the Hill Climb every year. “The people change over the years. Guys get too old to run, and then the new guys come up and it’s an ongoing thing.”
Perhaps Dorsey has bowed out of the race, but there are hundreds of competitors of all skill levels there to take his place.
“(I want to) win a race! Win every race!” said semi-pro racer Brent Schaap.
“I’m just in it for fun,” said Jim McLellan, a non-pro master.
Each of them had their own strategy.
“I never wear a new jersey,” Schaap said. “[You] always wreck when you’re wearing a new jersey.”
McLellan joked that he just wanted to be alive at the end of the race.
Still, all eyes were on the spectacle. Even Wyoming’s governor got involved.
In what The Associated Press called a public display of “mildly dangerous machismo,” Matt Mead did a quick run wearing a helmet and camel hair sports coat. The governor said he didn’t go as far uphill as he wanted because he didn’t want to wreck the sled he’d borrowed to ride.
The races continue through Mar. 25, so there is still plenty of time to come and watch. Tickets are $15 for one day or $30 for the entire weekend. They are available at the gate.
