Preston Pride Hillclimb
January 25, 2010
The Preston Pride Hillclimb was held on Friday and Saturday, January 22nd and 23rd, just outside Preston, Idaho. 
This was the 18thyear of this hillclimb and this year was especially challenging. Organizers Shawn Atkinson and Bret Rasmussen did an outstanding job. The only thing that did not go off like clockwork was the weather. Most of the hillclimb took place in almost white out conditions. The blowing snow tripped the finish line lights so many times that Matt, at the top of the mountain, built a snow shield around them and solved the problem.
The entire RMSHA staff is to be commended on a job very well done.
But the harsh weather did not cool the hot racing action. Over 150 racers took on the mountain.
Past world champion, Amy Zollinger won all three women’s classes and took home a triple crown for Arctic Cat and the Zollinger Race Team. This is the second triple crown she has won and the only lady to ever accomplish this.
Vinnie Clark won the 1000 stock class and the Stock King title. He rides for Ski-Doo. Vinnie is a past world champion and comes from Valemount, BC, Canada.
Last years Stock King from the World Championship from Jackson went on to continue his winning streak. Tom Roby won Improved Stock King here at Preston. He also rides for Ski-Doo and hails from the Jackson, Wyoming area.
Mod King this year was a racer out of the Boise, Idaho area, Erin Beukelman. Erin rides for
Polaris and was the 2007 Jackson World Championship Improved Stock King.
The Preston Pride Hillclimb was filmed by BAM Film Productions for the TV show “Sledding The West”. It will be featured in their upcoming episode on sledding in Southeast Idaho. For airdates visit: www.sleddingthewest.com.
The next race on the RMSHA circuit is Bear Lake on February 5th and 6th. For a complete race schedule and more information on the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb Association, please visit: www.rmsha.com.
Pebble Creek Hillclimb is a Powder Challenge
April 6, 2009
The Pebble Creek Hillclimb held at the Ski Resort just outside Pocatello, Idaho was a powder filled challenge. So much so, the owners of the ski resort extended the skiing during the hillclimb. So, two great winter sports shared the mountain and everyone had a great time. The downhill skiers seemed to enjoy watching the powerful sleds take on the hill and I noticed many of the family member of the racers enjoying a day on skis. The wonderful sunshine was another plus.
David Sharp Jr.
The racing action was hot and Team Arctic turned it up all weekend. Out of the 18 class winners, 13 were from Team Arctic. All three of the Pro Kings of Pebble Creek rode for Arctic Cat.
Semi-Pro King: David Sharp Jr. was the one exception. David is the World Champion Semi-Pro of Jackson and rides for Ski-Doo. At 16, he is dominating this class.
Hard Work Key To Success For Team Tapio
March 31, 2009
Nels, Kyle & Russ Tapio
The Tapio Brothers are the most successful team on the RMSHA circuit. The team consists of: Nels the oldest, then Kyle and the youngest brother is Russ. The Tapio’s came to Jackson for the first time as spectators in 2005. That is when they decided to race. The first year Team Tapio raced at Jackson was 2006, and what a year that was. They seemed to come from nowhere and Kyle took the King Of Kings title. Kyle has gone on to win four King titles at the World Championship in the last four years. Three of those are King Of Kings Titles.
Kyle & Glen Gillis 2006
In 2007, Kyle even won the King of Kings on an improved stock sled. Older brother Nels has had class wins in every year and in 2007 had the fastest time on the hill. Youngest brother Russ had his first class win at Jackson and has taken 2ndplace a couple of times.
Friday Is A Great Day At The World Championship.
March 27, 2009
Mark Thompson
Qualifying was done in the Stock and Improved Stock classes. The racing started with the Pro Masters Stock Class. From the start of the day Mark Thompson was racing well. He was the top qualifier in this class and 600 Stock. Other top qualifiers included: Keith Curtis, Tony Ottobre, Tyler Crockett, Kyle Tapio, Tom Roby and Dolan Phelps. We will see all of them racing in the finals on Sunday. The finals were run today for the Non-Pro Masters, Juniors, Semi-Pros, and Women’s Classes. Norris Brown was the first racer over the top of Snow King today and won the Non-Pro Masters Class. The Juniors Class winner was Jay Mentaberry, from Alpine WY. Arctic Cat Racer Christy Frisby is the Women’s World Champion. The Semi-Pro Stock class winner was Landon Archibald, from Mendon,UT. Semi-Pro Improved winner was Patrick Trujillo and Semi-Pro Mod winner was David Sharp Jr.
David Sharp Jr.
At the end of the day, all three Semi-Pro class winners raced against each other for the Semi-Pro King title. The youngest semi-Pro racer won, David Sharp Jr.who is only 16 years old. David took on Snow King Mountain and went over the top with the fastest time. Our congratulations to David Jr. and his dad, David Sharp. As I heard someone say as David took off from the starting line: “We are watching the future of our sport”. And what a bright future it has…
Racing begins At Jackson!
March 26, 2009
Murray Archibald
Murray Archibald was the first racer up the hill in the Non-Pro Masters class. David Sharp Jr. had a great run and for the youngest racer in the Semi-Pro class he had the fastest qualifying time in Semi-Pro Improved Stock and Semi-Pro Stock (heat 2.)
David Sharp Jr.
David is only 16 years old and had a time of 48.729. Landon Archibald was the top qualifier in Semi-Pro Stock (heat 1) with a time of 49.044. Amy Zollinger was the top qualifier in the Women’s class, with a time of 57.553.
Misao Kikuchi
Jackson has an international flair this year with one of the top racers in Japan competing in 4 classes. Misao Kikuchi will be taking on Snow King Mountain tomorrow. He is sponsored by Starting Line Products. We wish him the best of luck. Check back tomorrow night for more, from Jackson.
All’s Quiet On The Jackson Front
March 25, 2009
The final preparations are being done at The Jackson Hole World Championship Hillclimb. The food tents are up and the banners are being hung at the starting line. Race trailers are rolling into the town. The snow is falling hard and should make the mountain quite challenging.
Racing begins tomorrow. The qualifying begins with the Non Pro Masters, followed by the Amateurs, Semi-Pro’s, Juniors and the ladies. It should be a great day of racing. Check back tomorrow night for qualifying results and photos.
Jackson World Championship Hillclimb
March 12, 2009
At the end of this month, March 26th to the 29th, is the World Championship of hillclimb racing in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Known world wide for being one of the most extreme sports on Earth and the largest snowmobile event in Western North America. The Jackson World Championship Hillclimb is four days of incredible racing and fun.
For everyone lucky enough to attend the event, be sure to check out vendor row for the latest products and technology in the snowmobile world. The town of Jackson Hole has a wonderful old west flair and there is some of the greatest shopping, 
dining and night life available. If you want to attend, there still is some lodging available. Check out www.snowdevils.org, www.jacksonholechamber.com and my favorite place to stay www.worthotel.com.
Racing begins on Thursday, March 26th with the Amateurs Class. Here is your chance to race Jackson! Entries are being accepted right now on a first come first serve basis. Visit www.snowdevils.org for more info. The two most popular days are Mod Sat, when all the qualifying runs are done for the big mod sleds and the finals on Sunday. The greatest racers in the world will be competing both days. Keith Curtis will be back to defend his King of Kings title this year. 
Kyle Tapio will be back to try for his third King of Kings title. He was King of Kings in 2006 and 2007. BAM Film Productions will once again have multiple cameras on the mountain filming for another action packed DVD and a network TV special to air later this Fall.
Plus, BAM will be giving nightly updates during the event on the BAM web site and right here on the Snow Goer Racing web site. Be sure to check in for the latest results.
Afton Hillclimb As Tough As Ever
March 4, 2009
The Hillclimb in Afton, Wyoming is known as the toughest challenge on the RMSHA circuit. This year was no exception. Multiple crashes marked the event. From Shane Hart’s Polaris rolling end over end down the mountain, to 
Vinnie Clark doing a handstand over the handlebars of his Ski-Doo, the mountain was nasty.
In the Junior class, Tavren Rupp was the only racer to make it over the top in the finals and he won the Juniors Division.
In Semi-Pros, Landon Archibald on a Arctic Cat took the King title. He won with a time of 42.37 on a stock sled. He won over Braiden Coleman on a mod Arctic Cat by only 0.44 of a second.
In the Pro classes, many of the racers had a great day. Chance Buckallew from Kalispell Montana won 700 and 800 Stock classes and the 600 Improved Stock class. Carson Ellingford won the 600 Stock class and Dolan
Kyle Tapio
Phelps won 1000 Stock. The hometown racer Tyson Thomas won the 700 mod class. Kyle Tapio had the fastest time in the finals with a blistering 33.575 , winning the 800 mod class.
In the Pro Masters class the Sharp Brothers had a one, two punch. Brad taking Pro Masters mod and David winning Pro Masters Stock. David Sharp had the fastest time of the Pro Masters classes with a time of 37.637. Tom Roby from Jackson, Wyoming won the Pro Masters Improved class. All three of the Pro Masters class winners ride for Ski-Doo.
The ladies had a great day. Christy Frisby won the women’s stock class, Amy Zollinger won Women’s Improved Stock and Jan Ottobre won Women’s Mod. All of these ladies ride for Arctic Cat. 
Dolan Phelps from Montpelier, Idaho won the Stock King Title on his Polaris. Kyle Tapio, from Battle Ground, Washington took the title of Improved Stock King on his Arctic Cat and Jeremy Osler from Bozeman, Montana won Mod King on his Polaris.
For more photos, visit: www.bamfilmproductions.com.
For full race results visit www.rmsha.com.
Next up in hillclimbing is The World Championship Hillclimb in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
First Time Women Take “King Run”
February 13, 2009
It has been a long time in coming, but RMSHA has changed it’s rules and pro women racers now can race against their male counterparts in the King Runs. The first women to ever take a King Run in a hillclimb event is veteran racer Amy Zollinger. After winning the women’s stock class at Preston, she is pictured here taking off for her historic run. Amy has raced for four years and had countless wins on the RMSHA circuit. She is the reining Women’s World Champion.
Christy Frisby
The second is a newcomer to RMSHA, Christy Frisby. This is Christy’s first year on the circuit and she is Russell Frisby’s new bride.
These two women are ripping up the RMSHA circuit both on Arctic Cats. At Bear Lake last week, Amy won both Stock and Improved Stock. On her Mod run, Amy bobbled and Christy was right there to take the win. Once again they shared the King Runs.
The next race on the RMSHA circuit is Afton. This is one of Amy’s
Amy Zollinger
favorite courses. Amy is pictured here after sweeping all three classes two years ago at Afton.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for The Jackson World Championship Hillclimb starting March 26th – 29th. www.snowdevils.org for more info.
Bear Lake Hillclimb
February 9, 2009
Jeremy Osler
Extraordinary, was the word for this two day racing event. The snow level was lower than normal and this added to the challenge the racers faced. By the end of the finals, they were racing on mostly dirt.
This didn’t stop top names like Vinnie Clark, Justin Jacobson and Jeremy Osler.
Vinnie Clark and Keith Curtis battled it out in the final moments of the Stock King runs. Keith had won both the 600 and 700 stock classes, so he had two king runs. But he was underpowered against Vinnie’s 1000 cc SkiDoo. Vinnie Clark won Stock King with an incredible run.