The Rocky Mountain States Hill Climb Association has had a rough winter with its first three races being canceled or postponed. However, they were able to host their first event at Soldier Mountain this week.
RMSHA was supposed to come to Soldier in early January, but there wasn't enough snow for this snowmobiling event. Thanks to snowmaking efforts, riders from all over the region and beyond are competing in this unique event through Saturday. The mountain is closed for skiing during this event.
Check out the video to see the snowmobiling action
"The snow conditions have been tough, and keeping the mountain open has been tough," said David Alden of Soldier Mountain. "Soldier needs events like this that come and generate revenue and make sure we are sustainable well into the future despite this terrible snow year."
The hill climb works pretty similarly to ski racing, except riders are going uphill instead of downhill. Snowmobilers need to make every gate and the fastest to the top wins.
"There are a bunch of different classes, but basically the fastest sleds and the most action are the 900 mod and open mod," said Sam Peterson, a pro rider out of Montana. "Polaris has built some weapons for us, and they are pretty sweet."
New this year is a kids division that features racers at 120 mod. This is a family sport as generations of competitors travel to compete. A family from Ogden, Utah had a grandfather and a grandson compete, and I talked to the nervous mom about her young son racing.
"It’s a little nerve-racking as his mom, but I think he is going to do great," said Chelsea Clark. "He is really excited, and he has been talking about it all week."
The next event at Kelly Canyon has already been canceled, and David Alden of Soldier Mountain has put this local mom-and-pop resort's name in the hat to host another event. I ran into David on a snowmobile, and I asked him if he tried out the course.
"Are you out of your mind? No," replied Alden. "That is a serious course, there is some off-camber turns, and it is very hard up there. This is truly for expert riders."
If you are interested in checking out the snowmobile hill climb, the races will be happening pretty much all day on Saturday. The lifts are not spinning as there is not enough snow for both skiers and riders, but it should be another nice day on Saturday. There is also an event at Tamarack planned in April.
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