DATED MATERIAL

February 2012 • Vol 37 No. 5

FeaturesTrack Talks ..........................................7Product Review .......................................10Club Reports ................................12-14

DepartmentsSND Board Messages ........................3-4Region Reports ...........................................6

1600 E Century Avenue, Suite 3Bismarck, ND 58503-0649

(701) 328-5377 • FAX: (701) 328-5363www.snowmobilend.org

President: Marty Malachowski V. President: Laura Forbes

Program Manager: Keri Wanner

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR/EDITORKeri Wanner

1600 E Century Avenue, Suite 3Bismarck, ND 58503-0649

(701) 328-5377 • FAX: (701) 328-5363E-mail: info@snowmobilend.org

STAFFPublisher: Brian Gidley Advertising Director/ Editor: Keri WannerGraphic Designer: Denise Sanzo Chelsey ThronsonProduction Engineers: Sandy Durisin Clark Scheurman Josh Siferd Keith Moore Contributing Writers: Keri Wanner

CONTRIBUTORS: We welcome unsolicited materials and letters for possible publication. The Sno-Dak News accepts no responsibility for returns, losses or damage of unsolicited materials. The Sno-Dak News is the official publication of Snowmobile North Dakota. CF41, 9.SNO-DAK NEWS USPS 393-110) is published six times each year in the months of October, November, December, January, February and March at Bismarck, ND 58501. Periodicals postage paid at SUBSCRIPTION: Subscriptions available through membership to Snowmobile North Dakota for $20 per year. Enclose payment and mail to above mailing address.

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Bismarck, ND 58503-0649

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DISCLAIMER: The contents of advertisements which appear in the Sno-Dak NEWS are solely the respon-sibility of advertisers. Advertiser Index page 14

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SNDCALENDAR OF EVENTSFebruary 1st: Gasmann Coulee Cruisers Monthly Meeting at 7:30 pm at the Stromberg’s. February 3rd: Dakota Trailblazers Club Weekend at Lake Metigoshe. February 4th: Ghost Rider’s Fun Run in Velva 11am – 5pm.February 11th: Dakota Trailblazers Club Ride.February 11th-16th: Gasmann Coulee Cruisers Club Snowmobile Trip to Island Park, ID.February 14th: Sno-Trails Monthly Meeting at 7:30 pm at Driftbusters Clubhouse.February 17th 18th: Dakota Trailblazers Men’s Ride.February 17th: Beaver Valley Sno-Goers Meeting at 8 pm at Webo’s Restaurant.February 25th: Sno-Trails Fun Run.

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February 2012President

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Greetings SND Family and all sledheads!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Can you believe the weather we are getting in January? Seems like spring is early, but I hope by the time you read this will have 2 feet of snow and our trails are groomed. Groomed trails are our goal and ensure your signage is up to par. As Todd Thronson SND trail inspector has been working ensuring the trails are signed properly, I have noticed just about every trail

in the state needs more blazers and chevrons. Please contact the SND office if your trail is in need of any signs.

SND and NDPR were to try out new groomers at Bottineau this week (Jan 7, 2012) but the area has not received enough snow. The Equipment Committee has been really busy and has adjusted the schedule for February 4th, we will run the equipment in the morning and anyone interested can be involved in the afternoon. We will make a sound judgment on the new groomers and decide which one to purchase thru the North Dakota State procurement procedures. This will take time and hopefully next year there will be a few new groomers in North Dakota.

With the State Ride finishing up I would like to thank the Southern

Valley Trail Riders Association for sponsoring the event. Hope everyone had a good time.

I would like to remind everyone to start thinking about people, families, business associations and dealers that you would like to nominate for SND’s yearly awards. Check out the web site for nomination procedures and get them turned in before April 1st, 2012. If you have turned in nominations from the past and the person has not received the award, please resubmit their name and information. There are so many snowmobilers in the state that deserve the awards and the SND award committee loves to have lots of applications to choose from.

Ride safe, Happy Snowy Trails!

Program Manager By my calculations it’s safe to say we

apparently are not doing enough snow dances in the state. I’ve seen lots of different snow dances over the

years and no matter how you do it, it’s time to up the

ante. Snowmobile registrations amazingly are still increasing which is excellent for the state snowmobile trail program. However, memberships are circling the drain. We realize snow is a factor to keep people interested, so “Shake Your Booty” and “Drop it Low” so the snowflakes start falling and riders can be reminded what this great state offers.It’s crazy; a person would think no snow would mean less work for SND’s staff. It’s just the opposite. Our staff, although crazy and goofy at times, runs like “One Slick Combine”!!! Your guess is as good as mine on what that truly means, but I’d like to think it means really good!! Years like this throw wrenches like crazy and leave us feeling like a one legged man in a butt kicking contest. And even though some days we leave the office feeling like we’ve been run over by the groomer and drag, then backed over and drove over again, I’m proud to say all of us kick the attitude to the curb and start the next day with a WTF attitude. Eh, get your heads out of the gutter, it means “Winning the Fight”!! We have a great team of staff, board members and volunteers that help us knock each curveball out of the park!!! Keep up the great work

everyone; SND really appreciates all of your hard work and efforts!!!!So just what have we been working on? This morning I was reviewing trail inspection updates, in a team meeting with ND Parks and Recreation, returning phone calls, hiring an auditor, scheduling an interview on the snowmobile program for the ND Living magazine, working on Sno-Dak News material and launching the January 2012 E-magazine, conducting backup plans for events due to lack of snow and public releases on this information, um, where was I? To say the least, the office still runs like crazy trying to handle these projects and all of the daily work that comes up. The daily work includes entering memberships, establishing news releases, financials and paying bills, trail inspections and of course answering calls and emails. Now add the “Everything That Comes Up” list to this, and we stay pretty busy!!! But hey, we are the lucky ones; we get to do what we love for a living!!! I thought I lived and breathed snowmobiling before this job! After 10 years of amazing experience with SND, I realized I didn’t have a clue!!! So I did what I know best!!! Dove into the job and proceeded to learn everything I could about the industry. So what have I learned the most?!?! No matter how much we learn, the industry constantly changes and provides new challenges!!! How do we handle this?!?! Easy, always be ready to learn more, dig a little deeper, don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and oh ya, “Don’t Sweat It”. This industry started in the 50’s and has grown into “One Slick Combine”. It’s seen ups and downs and went right back to more ups and more downs. So strap on your helmets, because we are all along for the ride!!! And much like it has been for me, I hope it’s the ride of your life!!!!

Marty Malachowski

Keri Wanner

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs 3

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SND Assistant

As I am sitting here typing my

article, there is absolutely no snow on the ground here in Bismarck!! What the heck is up with the weather here in North Dakota this season! By this time last year we had most

of our trails open in the state. Also, at this time last season SND had about double the membership that we have this season. With the lack of snow here memberships have been lacking this year, people aren’t thinking about snowmobiling. Clubs need to keep meeting so they can get memberships into the SND Office then the membership can receive their copy of the Sno-Dak News. Clubs can send their memberships to the SND Office or now clubs can

enter the memberships in themselves by logging in the SND website and paying online through Paypal. I hope to start seeing membership numbers rising soon! Can’t wait to see everyone out on the trails (once it snows)!!!!

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WHERE IS THE SNOW!!!!!

It feels like Spring. By the time you read this the majority of the fun

runs will be over with or postponed hoping for snow and the Pink Ribbon ride will be over with. I know we will have a great time at the Pink Ribbon Ride like we did last year, even if we don’t have snow. Even though the Pink Ribbon Ride is over with a person can still donate funds to the program. Remember it helps

people that are going through breast cancer now and the money stays in North Dakota.

We only have a couple of months left of riding, once we get snow and are able to ride, please be safe

Laura Forbes

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs

www.snowmobilend.orgFebruary 2012

POSTER CONTEST

4

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs 5

www.snowmobilend.org February 2012

POSTER CONTEST

In cooperation with Keep North Dakota Clean Inc., Snowmobile North Dakota is launching a “Packit In… Pack it Out” poster contest. Posters are to be submitted to Snowmobile North Dakota wherethe posters will be judged by the Promotion and Membership Committee.Awards for the poster winners will be given out at the annual ND Snowmobile Convention.Poster Focus: Snowmobiling theme promoting “Pack it In… Pack it Out”.

Prizes Awarded: First, second and third place posters are awarded cash prizes.

1st Place: $1002nd Place: $753rd Place: $50

Rules1. Contest is open to all students in grades 6 – 8.2. Entries MUST be postmarked no later than April 1st.3. Posters MUST be on white paper that is 8.5”x 11” and in landscape format. The postersare scanned to fit on a trail sign.4. Posters must be reproducible and will be judged on readability at ten feet, originality,and neatness.5. Each student may enter only one poster and must print their first and last name in thelower right‐hand corner on the front of the poster.6. All entries must be original artwork created by the student. No computer‐generated artor printing, commercial glue‐on letters, or copyright items will be accepted. Stencilsmay be used for lettering only, but are not encouraged.7. A completed “Entry Form” must be attached to the back of each poster and submittedby the deadline.8. All posters must be flat. They should not be folded, matted, mounted, laminated orframed. They may be rolled and put into a tube and mailed.All posters that are submitted become property of Snowmobile North Dakota and may be used topromote the “Pack it In… Pack it Out” campaign.

...........

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Marty Malachowski, PresidentKeri Wanner, Program Manager

1600 East Century Avenue, Suite 3Bismarck, ND 58503-0649

Phone 701-328-5377Fax 701-328-5363

E-mail info@snowmobilend.orgwww.snowmobilend.org

Explore ND’s 2,800 miles of snowmobile trails!

Poster Contest 

In cooperation with Keep North Dakota Clean Inc., Snowmobile North Dakota is launching a “Pack it In… Pack it Out” poster contest. Posters are to be submitted to Snowmobile North Dakota where the posters will be judged by the Promotion and Membership Committee.    

Awards for the poster winners will be given out at the annual ND Snowmobile Convention. 

Poster Focus: Snowmobiling theme promoting “Pack it In… Pack it Out”.  Prizes Awarded:  First, second and third place posters are awarded cash prizes.   

1st Place:  $100  2nd Place:  $75  3rd Place: $50  

Rules 

1. Contest is open to all students in grades 6 – 8. 2. Entries MUST be postmarked no later than April 1st. 3. Posters MUST be on white paper that is 8.5”x 11” and in landscape format.  The posters 

are scanned to fit on a trail sign. 4. Posters must be reproducible and will be judged on readability at ten feet, originality, 

and neatness. 5. Each student may enter only one poster and must print their first and last name in the 

lower right‐hand corner on the front of the poster.    6. All entries must be original artwork created by the student.  No computer‐generated art 

or printing, commercial glue‐on letters, or copyright items will be accepted.  Stencils may be used for lettering only, but are not encouraged. 

7. A completed “Entry Form” must be attached to the back of each poster and submitted by the deadline. 

8. All posters must be flat.  They should not be folded, matted, mounted, laminated or framed.  They may be rolled and put into a tube and mailed. 

All posters that are submitted become property of Snowmobile North Dakota and may be used to promote the “Pack it In… Pack it Out” campaign.  Please complete the following and submit with poster:  Name_____________________________   Grade__________ Telephone__________________        Address_______________________________________________________________________  City, State, Zip__________________________________________________________________  

Perry BrintnellRegion 3Hello, Well we are still doing our snow dances and praying to the snow gods in this region.We did get four inches last week and I thought that maybe if we would get one more like the last we could try and groom. Now with 40 degrees forecast for the next two days I don’t think that will happen. I see that some clubs in the area are hanging posters for their annual rides. I know our club is going to proceed as normal if we have to cancel, oh well.Even our race groups in the area are crossing their fingers and toes that snow arrives soon. They have put so much effort into the full year already. The only good thing about this is it has allowed the farmers to catch up on a lot of projects that they normally wouldn’t have got done. In talking to dealers they had a good start to the year but now they haven’t been able to sell parts where they make a lot of their money.I guess before I close I would like to advise everybody to still license their sleds because it has a huge factor in funding for SND. Well I guess we will get back to the snow dancing or try to figure a new wiggle that works better or I guess we’ll just have to go fishing.Think snow.

1 23

4 5

Dale DeibertRegion 1 Dale Deibert reporting from Region 1 of Snowmobile North Dakota. I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.Well this sure has been a mild and dry winter thus far, with very little snow and warm temperatures up to the first of the year.The Minot area snowmobile clubs have had a couple of Fun Runs so far this year. The Dakota Trailblazers of Minot had a Fun Run on December 10th with 281 cards sold. The Mouse River Sled Runners of Towner had a Fun Run on December 31st, with over 200 cards sold. It is great to see many people participating in the runs with not a lot of snow.I would like to remind everybody to join their local snowmobile club and join Snowmobile North Dakota and get involved with their trail systems.There has been some riding in the Lake Metigoshe are. They have had 6-8 inches of new snow the 1st of the year. The lakes are freezing over good.I hope everybody keeps the interest up in snowmobiling and there is lots of snow by the time you read this article. Thank you and Bye for now.

Tonia DoschRegion 2Well, what can I say. It is Jan. 3rd and WHERE is all the snow? This season is being unbelievably too nice. For the snow enthusiasts and readers of this magazine, this is NOT how we picture our winters to be. The trails are signed. I know we’ve been begging for snow, but I guess all we can do is wait. Events are planned…fun runs, warming house gatherings, landowner appreciation days, family outings. Some will go on without the snow, and others will just have to wait with anticipation of ‘the Big One’ (snowstorm, that is)!The folks from Region 2 are hoping that you are making the best out of this mild year. I guess there is no reason why your sled shouldn’t be well-tuned, there are been plenty of time to prepare. And hopefully by the time you are reading this, it is because you are taking a quick break from riding!

NLTB (of Rugby) is hosting the SnowBunny Run (Ladies Ride) Feb. 25th and Family Day Feb. 26th – all are welcome!

Greg StrommenRegion 5Final greetings from Region 5. One part of writing these articles is that we write this a month ahead of time! So I do truly hope that the snow came through for the State Ride based out of Mooreton. I do appreciate the efforts of the Southern Valley Trail Riders on hosting this event this year! I also hope those of you that attended SnowJam had a good time. If there was no snow, look for the possibility of another event later in the year. Stay posted to the SnowJam website and Facebook page for more info on that. The Snoriders out of Fargo are having their Radar Run on Feb 11. Check out their website at www.snoriders.com for more info on that. Also the Davenport Lions will be hosting a charity ride Feb 18 starting in Davenport, ND. I write this article with sad emotion. #1 is that we do not have any measurable snow yet! #2 is that this will be my final column that I write in the Sno-Dak News. I started this venture by getting a drink of water. When I came back I was told I was the new Region 5 board member.... I admit I was not quite ready to take that jump. I envisioned performing this task in a few years after I got to know how things were done in ND. I have a passion for this sport and I was glad to do this. I wish that I would have been able to continue to help out but I have to be closer to my kids. This opportunity has given me more appreciation for all that we do. Granted some things were harder to accept than others. Coming from Minnesota and now signing trails in North Dakota was the first MAJOR shock! But at the end of the day I do not believe any of us while riding the trails, have ever complained of too many signs! Typically we are often frustrated by trails not having enough signs. So, please remember that when you are out there signing! It is worth it believe it or not. And if you have ever stuffed a ski in a culvert then you do appreciate more that they are marked accordingly!! I continue to wish SND continued success. I do want to thank Parks and Recreation for working with SND the way they do. That is a very good partnership and I hope that continues in the future. I also want to thank the SND Program Manager. The one thing I do appreciate is all the “babysitting” (for lack of a better name) that goes along with that job. The office staff is always reminding us of deadlines and trying to get our paperwork in on time. So a big thank you to them! I wish you all the best!

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs6

February 2012 www.snowmobilend.org

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs 7

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My aunt had a neighbor. He was a friendly and “helpful” man. Every week he would come over to her house and “fix” something that wasn’t broken. The problem was that once he finished, the items no longer worked. This would result in a phone call to my father, who would secretly come over and repair everything the neighbor had “fixed”.

My father was happy to repair while he visited with his sister, and my aunt was always careful to control the costs of what the neighbor fixed. So the elderly neighbor stayed active and felt useful for as long as he was able, and my father was always happy to see him smile and wave.

Some Tucker’s come into Track Inc. looking like this neighbor has been working on them. They are full of good intentions.

So what do you do when your volunteer mechanics lack the skills they need? • Remember that volunteers take pride in what they do and they want to feel appreciated by the other club

members. Try to redirect their efforts and assign specific tasks that they can succeed at. • Call Track Inc and schedule an on-site inspection and service. Our technicians can review the maintenance

and service schedules with your volunteers and show them how and what needs to get done. • Send club members to our service school to have them “trained”. • Consider making “trained” a requirement for working on the vehicle.• Make sure our phone number (952.888.7372) is convenient and let the volunteers know they can call us whenever

they need help or disagree on how something should be done.

Club member’s who long ago quit rolling under their cars are still working on Tuckers. The easy access of the engine and components makes this possible. Many of the elderly mechanics are very good at what they do, while others are fixing the 2005 Tucker-Terra vehicle the same way they serviced the 1985 Tucker Sno-Cat your club once owned and teaching this to the new members.

Proper maintenance saves time and money, so invest in a little training this year. Track Inc. service school is free – your only cost is your time, hotel, and meals. Dates will be set in the spring and classes will be scheduled in the fall.

Lorene Hanson, President, Track Inc.

TRACK TALKS Are your volunteers

trained?

Congratulations to the 3rd North Dakota Snow Run held at the Twin Oaks Resort In Bottineau on January 13th & 14th raising $40,000 and still counting.

The Snow Run event is a combination of two days of fun with a silent and live auction and the even is open to both men and women to attend. The Snow Run event incorporates a Friday night welcome party and a Saturday awards banquet. The main activity on Saturday is an organized snowmobile ride that provides trail leaders and groups are based on a person’s riding ability.The Snow Run event is the main fundraiser for the state of North Dakota’s Patient Assistance Program within the Pink Ribbon Riders® (PRR) organization. Funds that are raised at the event are distributed to residents of North Dakota that are diagnosed with breast

cancer. A man or woman can apply for the assistance and receive the gift of $500.00 two times in a life time. The Pink Ribbon Riders have 7 total Snow Run events on the 2012 Snow Run Tour which fund the Assistance given to patients that reside in 7 states in which the events are held.The North Dakota Snow Run had a challenge this year as the events main activity on Saturday of snowmobiling had to be changed to Tire Golf and Tricycle Racing. The lack of snow, would not stop the event or the cause. “Cancer doesn’t care what the weather is, neither does the PRR.” In attendance this year 60 people came from all over the state of North Dakota and even Montana! The

Congratulations3rd North Dakota Snow Run

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs 9

www.snowmobilend.org February 2012

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Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs 11

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Park’s & Recreation

Hey all you snowmobilers!!

WOW!! We are into February already. We have had a weird winter with no snow and trails not opening until after December! I hope everyone has been enjoying their winter!! The snowfall we have been getting does not always seem to be cooperative but our state always gets our fair share of below zero weather.

In this article I am going to talk about riding on the ice. That’s right, lakes, rivers, creeks and slews. These are places that a lot of snowmobile enthusiasts like to ride on but should also know some of the hazards associated with bodies of water.

First things first, if you don’t see any tracks going out onto the water, don’t try to be the leader and make first tracks because it is probably not being driven on for a reason. NDPRD and SND recommends that the ice be AT LEAST 8 in. thick it to be safe for you to take your snowmobile out on. A good rule to go by is if you see ice houses out on the lake or river, it is probably safe to ride on.

Ice is a funny thing, it could be 20 inches thick on one side of the

lake and on the other side it could be 2 in. thick or have open water! Remember, be very careful when driving on bodies of water and NEVER completely feel safe on the ice! ALWAYS be WATCHFUL of where you are going!!

If you have any questions or any stories you would like to pass on, please feel free to call me at 701-328-5357.

Be safe and enjoy the snowmobile season!!

I’ll see you on the trail,ErikMotorized Recreation Coordinator

North Dakota

(701)

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Crank Shaft Rebuilding

ManagerDarvis Sommer

Untitled-2 1 12/14/07 9:17:50 AM

Erik Dietrich

Club NewsHello and Happy New Year From Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club If you’re like our club, we are all praying to the snow gods to give us a little more snow so we can get some riding in. It’s nice to go on trips but it’s better yet when you can go and ride right off your door step. We are busy planning our rides for the year. Our first ride is our 2nd Annual Youth Ride to be held on Feb. 12. Last year

we had 35 young guys and gals that were very enthusiastic even though it was 15 below zero. It even made me think young again. We hope to con-tinue to make this event grow both in numbers and prizes. You do not need to be a member to go on this ride. Ev-eryone is welcome. Our next event is our 3rd Annual Adult Ride on Feb. 18th. Come one come all to this fun event. Both rides are held starting in Fordville. We use the Red River

South Trails for both of these events. On April 14th our club is bringing back our Steak Fry and Dance You will get the best ribeye and baked po-tato around plus you can dance to the music of Dirty Phoenix. Watch for posters on all of our events for more details. We’d like to wish everybody safe snowmobiling and hope to see you all on the trails.

by Claire Greciar

Howdy Everyone,I had this prepared for the January is-sue, but I forgot to send it off to Keri before we left on vacation the end of November. So here it is!

It was great to see all of you at the convention and we’ll meet again in Rugby next year.Once again I’d like to thank our club (Gasmann Coulee Cruisers) for all their help in making the convention run so smoothly. We are a fairly new club, we/they really had no idea what to expect, but we all worked together and did an awesome job!

The money raised throughout the convention is going to help flooded families that are in need of finan-cial help. We are hoping to pick 10 families and deliver the funds to their door, with our mission being that we’ll delivery a little bit of “HOPE” to their holiday season.

We’d also take our hats off for a well deserved “THANK YOU” to all the local businesses that support us each and every year. These events wouldn’t be as successful or entic-ing to the attendees without all of the door prizes we collect!

With that little dusting of snow we received the beginning of November, it reminds us that it’s time to dust off those sleds, pull that rope, then get parts ordered, so we’re ready to ride!

The new snow sure gets us geared up for the upcoming events, wheth-er it’s a fun run, club ride, club trip, state event or maybe that trip to the mountains, so always travel and ride safely. Keep in mind when riding the mountains those beacons, probes, and metal shovels are a very cheap insurance policy!

When we gathered in December, the members were to bring a name of a family/(ies) that they thought were in need of help, due to the flooding this summer. Well needless to say we had many families we could help. After much discussion we decided on 16 families and gave them each $500! WOW! We couldn’t have done this without everyone’s support at the convention. Yes, all of you helped raise the funds that we hand delivered before Christmas. When we meet in January we are planning to help a few more families. Hope-fully this will help them believe that there are “AN-GELS” out there watching over them.

We’ve received numer-ous “Thank You” cards from the families express-ing their gratefulness of “our” generosity and feel blessed for “our” thought-fulness. We (GCC) would

like to send out a “THANK YOU” to all ofthe SND members for your support, hopefully this sends a warm fuzzy feeling in your hearts also!

As 2011 comes to an end, we are still waiting for the snow to show up! The trails are marked and ready to be ridden on. With January around the corner it means a fun run almost every Saturday. We are no exception to this as our fun run is January 21st, ending at the Hunters Den in Fox-holm. We hope all the clubs have good attendance for your fun run! Ride smart and be safe! Oh Mr. Snowy, where are you!

Best Wishes this snowmobile season from the GCC club.

Gasmann Coulee Cruisers by Kelly Stromberg

Ridge runners

www.snowmobilend.org December 2011Club NewsRough riders snowmobile association clubHello fellow snowmobilers from the Roughriders! Well didn’t get my wish from Santa! I only wished for a mountain range in North Dakota, starting at 6,000 ft. to 10,950 ft. Including large open meadows, nice valleys etc. Is that asking for too much! After supporting the snowmobile ,truck, trailer, tire, fuel, clothing etc. industry for many years. It sure would be nice to have mountains at home . I guess it’s the pay to play type sport we have but man I wanna play and not pay!!! BAMMM, door slams on evil Al, now back to the other voices inside my little head. Hee hee Oh well , maybe next year !I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. X-mas was good to me .Having great family and friends makes the holidays the best. Would’ve been even nicer if we had some usable snow on the ground (rant), ooops evil Al trying to come out again . The

garage riding is starting to get old! This is what makes the mountain trips so precious, smell of fresh air at high elevation, even the pine trees smell good. Not like the dry dirty trees at home, plus after a while my garage fills with blue smoke and I have to open the doors to see anything. Well a few of our lucky club members have already made a trip to Cooke city over Thanksgiving weekend. Made a little junk and some tried to become helicopter pilots. Sometimes sh@t happens, but everyone was ok and that’s the best thing. Back to great camaraderie ( brand vs brand) wars are on !!! But my dog is still better than your dog ( white maltese/7 lbs) .Teeth as big as a polar bear and faster than a speeding Jaguar !!! Ok, not, burst my bubble, I am old/slow and nimble, not sure why I get asked to go along to the mountains! The trips out and back from the mountains are like a

bad soap opera tv show. Ok club stuff, We are trying to get our local retailers that us snowmobilers support to support us and our events. Which we drafted a letter and hand delivered(asking for more money and involvement). Working on the club snow scramble and trying to make this event really special. Taking Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training classes from instructors Tom/Jim. Setting up fun runs and trying to get our website up to par. This keeps the club members fairly busy. Reminder to club members: license and have insurance on your snowmobile , also have major health care as you never know when something may happen. Our sport is physical and sometime things happen. Be safe all and see you on the snow soon!!!

By Al Hoesel

Red River Snowmobile ClubHello from the Red River Snowmobile Club. This season has gotten off to a slow start. We have cancelled our December ride, and just postponed are January trip for a few weeks. We have not groomed yet (as of January 1st) but we

received just enough snow at the end of December for me to get a little ride in. Hopefully the snow will keep coming and we will still have a great year. The best riding is in February and early March most years anyway so we still have plenty of time. We

hope to see you on the trails.

By Steve Magnuson

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs

www.snowmobilend.org

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Club NewsOn March 12, 2011, Oakes Snobust-ers set out to raise money to help Janel German-Girodat, a native of Oakes, ND and currently living in Kindred, ND. Janel had battled cancer off and on for 10 years and a benefit was de-cided to help the family with medical and personal expenses. The run ran from Oakes, Verona, Englevale and back to Oakes. Along the run many people made cash donations and we had 40 plus sleds along with many people who followed in their vehicles.

We ended the run at Rudys/The Other Side in Oakes with a raffle benefit and free will donation. The out pouring of donations was awesome along with

the cash donations we received. The benefit was wall to wall people and by the night’s end we raised $10,500 and Modern Woodmans matched a donation up to $2,500 for a grand to-tal of $13,000!! On March 26, Oakes Snobusters was going to present Janel and her family with the $13,000 that was raised, sadly Janel passed away on March 21, from breast cancer. Ja-nel’s family had informed her of the amount raised from the benefit and the awesome turn out we had. She was extremely thankful and we as a club were just as thankful to have had a benefit for such an awesome person. If anybody knew Janel, she never

once let cancer get her down. She always had a smile on her face and thought of others first. We are hop-ing to make this a yearly run, with all donations going to the scholarships Janel had set up before her passing.

oakes snobusters By Judy Hoffman

14

Published by Snowmobile North Dakota - An Organization of North Dakota Snowmobile Clubs 15

www.snowmobilend.org February 2012

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REVOLUTIONS POWER SPORTS, INC.4225 36TH AVENUE SOUTHGRAND FORKS, ND 58201

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This document contains many of Yamaha’s valuable trademarks. It may also contain trademarks belonging to other companies. Any references to other companies or their products are for identification purposes only, and are not intended to be an endorsement. Rider shown operating an RS Vector. Always wear an approved helmet and eye protection. Observe all state and local laws. Respect the rights of others. Ride within your capabilities. Allow extra time and plenty of distance for maneuvering. Do not perform stunts. ©2011 Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Beaver Valley Snow Goers Dan Tveito PO Box 394Linton, ND 58552

Cattail Snoriders Scott Erickson PO Box 174 Hope, ND 58046

Dakota Trailblazers Vickie Brabandt 917 53rd St SE Minot, ND 58701

Flatland TrailblazersJoey Schimelfenig2363 46th Ave NEHarvey, ND 58341

Gasmann Coulee Cruisers Brandon Bock PO Box 14 Burlington, ND 58722

Ghost RidersAlden Hollenbeck4647 14th Ave. N.Velva, ND 58790

Jim River Driftskippers Dennis SandPO Box 1764Jamestown, ND 58402

Lake Region Mark Shipley PO Box 981 Devils Lake, ND 58301

Little Missouri Snowmobile & ATV Club Mike Storley 1491 1st Ave E Dickinson, ND 58601

Magic City Driftbusters Laura ForbesPO Box 1094 Minot, ND 58702

Marion SnoridersKevin Isakson10510 63rd St SELitchville, ND 58461

May-Port Sno Travelers Corey Thykeson Box 221 Portland, ND, 58274

Minto Area Joy Riders Albert Haugen PO Box 84 Minto, ND 58261

Moonlighters Snowmobile & ATV Club Dennis Karsky 9341 103rd Ave NE Langdon, ND 58249

Mouse River Sled Runners Mike Bryn PO Box 523 Towner, ND 58788

Nekoma TrailblazersBob WilhelmiBox 116Nekoma, ND 69355

North Valley Riders Mark Briese 14399 County RdSt. Thomas, ND 58276

Northern Exposure Snowmobile Club Kyle Teubner PO Box 102 Leeds, ND 58346

Northern Lights Trail Blazers Joanie Bruggeman PO Box 191 Rugby, ND 58368

Northwest TrailblazersJason Brenno9451 101st Ave NWColumbus, ND 58727

Pembina Hills Trail Riders Tod Soeby PO Box 825 Walhalla, ND 58282

Ransom County Driftskippers Todd Rasmusson PO Box 365 Lisbon, ND 58054

Red River Sno-Riders Brian Mullenberg PO Box 2295 Fargo, ND 58108

Red River Snowmobile ClubSteve Magnuson 225 Plain Hills Dr Grand Forks , ND 58201

Ridge Runners Perry Printnell PO Box 132 Fordville, ND 58231

Roaring 20’s Loren JohnsonGreen Acres #4 Bottineau, ND 58318

Rough Rider Snowmobile Association LeeRon Plante PO Box 4162 Bismarck, ND 58502

Rural Cass Snowmobile Club Jason McSparronPO Box 58Casselton, ND 58012

Sargent County Snowmobile ClubLori YagowPO Box 166Milnor, ND 58060

Seldom Seen Snowmobile Club Myra MattsonPO Box 1093 Rolla, ND 58367

Sheyenne Sno-Drifters Joel IversonPO Box 342 Valley City, ND 58072

Sno-BustersDirck Nash609 Ivy AveOakes, ND 58474 Southern Valley Trail Riders AssociationJoel Sirek 17290 78th St SE Wahpeton, ND 58075

Tri-County Snow DustersBev Bachmeier 10517 55th St NE Brocket, ND 58321

Tri-County Trailriders Christian LarsonPO Box 55Park River, ND 58270

Turtle River RoughridersBrandon ThorvilsonPO Box 131 Manvel, ND 58256

Valley Snow Drifters Gene Loftsgard125 Manvel Circle Grafton, ND 58237

Walsh Coulee Cruisers CHad Lindell 7101 123rd Ave NE Adams, ND 58210

Williston Trail RidersDustin Johnsrud PO Box 235Williston, ND 58801

Clubs 2011-122011-12

SND Officers:PRESIDENTMarty Malachowski PO Box 172 • Granville, ND 587414701-728-6350 (H) • 701-720-6350 (C)lmmala@srt.com

VICE PRESIDENTLaura Forbes45 Rolling Hills Dr • Minot, ND 58703701-839-1050 (H)701-240-4229 (C)dlforbes@min.midco.net

PROGRAM MANAGERKeri Wanner1600 E. Century Ave., Bismarck, ND701-328-5377 • keri@snowmobilend.org

SECRETARYSheri Hoffmann 4320 Camp Ave. • Larimore, ND 58251 701-397-5260 (H) nwhoff@polarcomm.com

DIRECTOR-AT-LARGEByron NorsbyPO Box 914 • Minot, ND 58702701-728-6688 (H) outbackautobody@srt.com

Board of DirectorsREGION 1Dale DeibertPO Box 99 • Surrey, ND 58785-0099701-852-9378 (H) • 701-857-1617 (W)701-857-1666 (F)vdeibert@srt.com

Dean Forbes45 Rolling Hills Dr.Minot, ND 58703701-839-1050 (H)701-240-0395 (C)dlforbes@min.midco.net

REGION 2Mark ShipleyPO Box 493Devils Lake, ND 58301701-739-8263 (C)701-662-6896 (H)marley493@yahoo.com

Tonia Dosch626 6th St SERugby, ND 58368701-776-5230 (W)701-208-0439 (C)toniab@gondtc.com

REGION 3Perry Brintnell12668 57th St NEFordville, ND 58231701-229-3267 (H)701-229-3683 (W)xcr600pb@polarcomm.com

Brian Sauer1405 9TH Ave. ELangdon, ND 58249701-256-2824 (H)701-256-5499 (W)701-370-9019 (C)701-256-5488 (F)bnc@utma.com

REGION 4Dan TveitoPO Box 747Linton, ND 58552701-254-4433 (H)

Brad Rodin408 2nd AveMarion, ND 58466701-669-2308 (H)701-669-2386 (W)bvrodin@drtel.net

REGION 5Troy Klevgard601 Cottonwood DrCasselton, ND 58012701-347-9867tklevgard@gmail.com

Greg Strommen903 9th Ave SE Barnesville, MN 56514(701) 212-7002 gstromm@i29.net

Associate Members 2011-122011-12

Balta Bar & Grill 202 N Main StBalta, ND 58313

Berube Crop InsurancePO Box 255Rugby, ND 58368

Big Dog Saloon 117 Pleasant Ave Surrey, ND 58785

Corrigador Bar202 Hwy 17 E Wolford, ND 58385

Dan Poland Machine8056 36th ST SE Jamestown, ND 58401

Dizzy’s Bar107 3rd Ave W Bisbee, ND 58317

Durum HouseBox 625 Cando, ND 58324

Dusty Roads123 Main St E Brocket, ND 58321

Dutchs BarBox 248 Bisbee, ND 58317

Eagles Hwy 2 E Rugby, ND 58368

Farmers Insurance Group1005 S Washigton StGrand Forks, ND 58201

Guthmiller Earthmoving305 2nd Ave SCleveland, ND 58424

Hanson Ranch1390 Hanson LaneLinton, ND 58552

Harper Oil120 S MainRugby, ND 58368

Haugland TruckingPO Box 13 Lakota, ND 58344

Hoffman & Son Rentals1820 Hwy 32 Walhalla, ND 58282

Jamestown Implement600 20th St SWJamestown, ND 58401

Jeff’s Sport Shop11 54th Ave SEMinot, ND 58701

Outback Auto Body307 18th Ave SW Minot, ND 58701

Planet Powersports Inc.3930 Memorial HwyMandan, ND 58554

Revolutions Power Sports4225 36th Ave SGrand Forks, ND 58201

Rugby Eagles2809 Hwy 2 WRugby, ND 58368

Scherbenske & Sons2511 17th ST SEJamestown, ND 58401

The BarBox 7 Lawton, ND 58345

Ward Trucking3917 Hwy 1 Lakota, ND 58344

Weber TruckingBox 116 Lawton, ND 58345

Webo’s Restaurant217 S Broadway St Linton, ND 58552

Wheels, Inc.432 36th St SFargo, ND 58103

White Buffalo Lounge110 Main St SGranville, ND 58741

Benefits include:

- A monthly subscription to the Sno-Dak News

- Recognition on the Snowmobile North Dakota Website

- Free business listing in each of the six issues of the Sno-Dak News in both the printed version

and the E-magazine

Become an associate member for only $31 a season!

The Pink Ribbon Riders is a grass roots non profit organization that toured to Grand Rapids Min-neosta this past weekend at the Sugar Lake Lodge hosting the 6th Annual Minnesota Snow Run. The Snow Run is a two day event open to both men and women that in-corporates a Friday night welcome party, silent and live auctions, live mu-sic food and on Saturday an optional snowmobile ride. The Minnesota Snow Run event raises funds that are distributed to men and women residents of Minnesota that are diag-nosed with breast cancer in $500.00 increments to help off set medical bills, gas costs to treatment and any other expenses while they battle the disease. The Minnesota Snow Run raised $49,000 + and still counting. The top fund-

Pink Ribbon Riders organization kicks off the 2012 Snow Run seven state tour

raiser was Jack Schuster from Mound, Minnesota raising $4,525. 170 par-ticipants and supporters came out for the great food, auctions and more to support the Pink Rib-bon Riders mission. Fun activities such as tire golf, broom ball and tri-cycle racing were done in replace of snowmobiling this year. The event never cancels even if the activi-ty part of the event which is snowmobiling can not be done as the Pink Rib-bon Riders commented, “ Cancer does not care what the weather is, nei-ther should we.”

The Snow Run event is the organization’s main fundraiser for each states financial assistance pro-gram and in many states like North Dakota this coming weekend, it’s the only event that funds the year of patients that will apply.

The Pink Ribbon Rid-ers 2012 Snow Run Tour takes off this coming weekend to the 3rd North Dakota Snow Run and will make stops in Michi-gan, New York, Wiscon-sin, Wyoming and the newest state added of Colorado. All funds are distributed in the states in which the Pink Ribbon Riders orga-nization has a snow run event. This was set up this way so that not only can local financial assistance be given where the event is held, but regionally and statewide the residents of that state are diagnosed are supported. The Snow Run event is unique as patient(s) from the local area are invited to attend the event and are presented with the $500.00 PRR Assistance Program gift. This year Jolene Oviatt from the town of Bovey was cho-

sen to receive the $500.00 gift along with 3 other patients from the area of Minnesota. Founded in 2006, the Pink Ribbon Riders has helped more than 800 people diagnosed with breast cancer in states throughout the country.

The organization pro-vides direct financial sup-port to patients and fami-lies struggling to pay for medical bills, groceries, and gas money. Inspired by breast cancer survi-vors, the Pink Ribbon Riders attend sporting events and organize rides in honor and in memory

of loved ones who have battled breast cancer. Participants of the Snow Run events come from all over the USA and the state in which the Snow Run is held.

ARCTIC CAT DOMINATES 2012 USCC CROSS-COUNTRY OPENER

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Jan. 20, 2012) – If there were any questions about which brand would start the 2012 USCC cross-country race season on top, Team Arctic answered by winning 13 of 17 classes (while sweeping the podium of six) and going 1-2 in the vaulted Pro 600 final. The dominant performances by the team aboard the new 2012 Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 and Sno Pro 500 race sleds on Pine Lake in Gonvick, Minn., proved beyond doubt that when it comes to speed, cornering and handling, Arctic Cat is the one to beat.

Leading the charge in the Pro 600 final was defending I-500 champion Brian Dick, who found the fast balance of speed, intensity and smooth line choice on the 10-mile lake course to move into the lead halfway through the first of 10 laps and never look back on his way to the win. His two Team Arctic/Christian Bros. Racing team-mates would keep him honest, as D.J. Ekre finished a strong second while defending USCC Pro Champion Ryan Simons took fifth in his first-ever ice cross-country race.

Jordan Torgerson served notice that he’s gunning for the Semi Pro title this year by taking both the Semi Pro 600 and 600 Improved classes. Joining him in double-victory category were Boris Mahlich (who won Sport 600 and Sport 600 Improved) and Bryce Buchanan in the Expert 85-hp classes (where Arctic Cat swept the top-9 places in both).

The indomitable Jolene Bute returned to her familiar place atop the Women’s class; Dustin Isaak led an Arctic Cat sweep of the Sport 85 class; and it was all green atop the Junior classes with wins by Matt Feil, Cole Lian and Kelsey Pladson.

“With low snow cover, USCC was forced to go lake racing, which is a form of cross-country that we hadn’t focused on for more than a decade,” said Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager. “Our racers and crews re-sponded with a winning performance that matched the ZR period of lake-race success. And the new Sno Pro 600 in the ProCross chassis proved it has the speed and handling needed to win in all forms of cross-country.”

Brian Dick Wins Pro 600 While Team Arctic Takes 13 of 17 Class Titles

ARCTIC CAT PROCROSS ON TOP OF THE CANTERBUY PODIUM

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Jan. 10, 2012) – For the second time in the still-young 2012 ISOC National snocross sea-son, Tucker Hibbert proved the power of the Arctic Cat Pro-Cross chassis with a spectacular win in Pro Open final in Shako-pee, Minn. The Arctic Cat/Monster Energy phenom delivered a jaw-dropping, come-from-behind perfor-mance that brought 12,000 screaming fans to their feet and high-lighted his insatiable desire to win.

“That was one of the all-time great displays of power, determina-tion and talent,” said Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager. “Tucker proved once again that he’s an incredible champion, and that the 2012 Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 is destined for greatness.”

Joining Hibbert on the top step of the podium at the Canterbury snocross were

Tucker Hibbert Leads the Team Arctic Charge at ISOC National Snocross

Team Arctic pilots Tyler Ad-ams, Trent Wittwer, Reid Runkel and Evan Christian. Adams continued his season-long quest to rule the Junior classes by taking the win in Jr. 14-15 and finishing second in Jr. 16-17. Wittwer’s vic-tory in Jr. Novice 10-13 was

his second of the sea-son, further confirm-ing his immense talent and drive. Runkel led a Team Arctic-sweep of the Transition Lim-ited final, while Chris-tian dominated the 120 Champ class.

Canterbury Park in Shakopee marked the third stop of the eight-race ISOC National Tour. With nearly a month until the next event, Feb. 3-4 in Farmington, NY, Team Arctic racers and crews will continue to test and improve the new race sled.

“We’ve seen significant progress with the new Sno Pro,” said Kloety. “Much of the improve-ment is simply getting more seat time with

the new chassis. But we’re also learning improvements in calibration for specific conditions, which is a neces-sary process every time we introduce a new chassis.”

What an Adventure! Israelis, Floridians and the U.S. Air Force trek into Yellowstone Park by snowmobile

On Sunday the January 15th I had the opportunity to join a guided group on the trek from West Yellowstone, Montana to Old Faithful.

Our guide was Gaylon Tibwell from Yellowstone Arctic and Yamaha Tours, one of the commercial trip providers from West Yellowstone, Montana. On my trek,I saw first hand how international visitors, fellow citizens and member of the U.S. Air Force from Utah enjoyed the snowmobile as a form of transportation to Old Faithful. The Israelis really enjoyed the adventure and took lots of pictures! In addi-tion, the couple from Orlando, Florida stated at lunch “Snowmobiling to Old Faith-ful was something we will long remember!”

Here is a summary of our trek.

We started our day by meeting at the Yellowstone Holiday Inn and to meet our guide and were assigned our Arctic Cat snowmobiles for the trek. We signed the rental forms and got suited up for the adventure. Next we had a short safety talk by Gaylon, our guide, who covered the operation of the Arctic Cat four stroke snowmobiles and the hand signals we would use as we toured the Park.

Next, we set out for our first stop, the Yellowstone Park West Gate. This is a very popular stop because of the large Yellowstone entrance sign, a great place for group pictures. With only a few miles under their belts, the group really looked forward to riding the Arctic Cat four strokes, and the guide and I wanted to make sure they had a great experience on the trek. I also wanted to explain the history of the\ winter ac-cess issue and snowmobiling in the Park.

After Gaylon, our guide, checked us in at the West Gate and we were off to our desti-nation for the day, the Old Faithful area. At Old Faithful we planned on having lunch and seeing the geyser. In addition we would have time to view the new Old Faithful Visitor Center and its many exhibits.

The weather was cool and crisp with gusts of wind to 40 mph. The trail was, of

Jack Welch, BlueRibbon - Special Projects Consultant

course, the groomed summer highway and it was smooth. As we headed for our next stop, the Madison River over-look, the riders got their first taste of the beauti-ful scenic vistas of the Park as we traveled along the edge of the Madison River.

They also saw evidence of an eagle’s nest and many elk, bison and a group of swans on the river. At the Madison River overlook the Israe-lis commented that so far the snowmobile was a great way to experi-ence the Park and looked forward to the rest of the day. In addition, one of the riders asked why the snowmobiles had restric-tors on the throttles.

I explained the Park’s speed limit is only 45 mph and these Arctic Cats without restrictors would go much faster.

I also pointed out to the group that the snow-mobile is just one of the

forms of transport in Yellowstone for winter access.

The group commented that this trip in the Park would be the major highlight of their holiday weekend in West Yellow-stone!

We continued on to the Old Faithful area with a short rest stop at Madi-son Junction Warming Hut.

During our stop at Madi-son Junction my group got to see several snow-coaches and asked about how the coach fit into the

Yellowstone transporta-tion system. I explained that it was another form of access to the Park. The group commented they liked the snowmobile better!

Our next stop was a tour of the Fire Hole River side road. We stopped on the road to check out the Fire Hole River Falls. We also had a chance to view the only authorized river swimming area in the Park.

This side trip allowed the group to take a lot of great pictures of this

special river!

We next reached Old Faithful just as the geyser went off. In other words, we missed it and had to wait another ninety min-utes for the next eruption. With time to spend before the eruption our guide suggested we eat lunch in the Geyser Grill.

During the lunch I was asked why anti-groups want to eliminate access by snowmobile to Yellow-stone.

I explained the issues and how the snowmobile com-munity had solved the many issues presented. The entire group com-mented that they thought that many of their friends would enjoy an outing to

Yellowstone by snowmo-bile and that it was wrong to limit the choices on access to the Park in the winter.

After lunch we saw Old Faithful Geyser and spent some time viewing the new Old Faithful Visitor Center which just opened last summer. We next headed toward the ther-mal areas on the road back to Madison Junction.

The group had their first opportunity to experi-ence a bison herd on the groomed road. The folks from Florida really liked the experience of being up close and personal with those “Big Animals”!

Time was growing late and

we started back to West Yellowstone. We arrived at Holiday Inn at 4:30 p.m. After filling the Arctic Cats with fuel we thanked our guide and the group agreed that “closing snow-mobile access to Yellow-stone would just not be right because they felt that the snowmobile provided the best form of transpor-tation to see the natural wonders of Yellowstone Park!”

As we said our goodbyes they stated they would re-turn some day for another Yellowstone winter snow-mobile adventure!

Nestled high above Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the mountains of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Togwotee Mountain Lodge offers some of the best snow conditions and riding in the country. With huge snowfall totals and some of the best mountain scenery the world has to offer, Togwotee is considered by many to be the ultimate snowmobile riding experience. This season it gets even better because Bunke Racing is partnering with Togwotee Mountain Lodge to offer the Bunke Racing Snowmobile Adventure Package. The package offers guided tours, meals, social hour, lodging, discounts on snowmobile rentals, airport pickup, and more. It is a “come when you can, leave when you need to” opportunity for snowmobile riders of every experience level. Riders can take it easy on the 600 miles of groomed trails that lead right out of the Lodge or go extreme in the 2.5 million acres of varied backcountry terrain.

“Togwotee has some of the best snowmobile riding in the country, we are so excited to share this experience with our fans this year.” ~ Gabe Bunke

The special Bunke Racing Adventure rates are available from March 19-25. Your trip includes these extras from the Bunke Racing Team: Friday, March 23rd - Bunke Racing Guided Snowmobile RideBunke Racing Meet and Greet and Social at Togwotee Saturday, March 24th - Bunke Racing VIP Social at Sidewinders Tavern in Jackson Hole In addition, the legendary Jackson Hole World Championship HillClimb will take place March 22-25. Book your trip in conjunction with the HillClimb and experience the ultimate race to the summit of Jackson Hole’s Snow King Mountain.

Book A Snowmobile Adventure Package At Togwotee Mountain

Lodge And Ride With Bunke Racing

Plan for the week or the weekend, it’s your option. The Bunke crew just hopes to see you sometime. We thank you for your support through the racing season and we’re looking forward to getting out there to rip it up with some of our fans. Space is limited, so book your Bunke Racing Adventure Package today! Call 866-278-4245 to book your trip or visit www.togwoteelodge.com/bunkeracing or www.bunkeracing.com for more information.Bunke Racing Adventure Package• Lodging(lodgeroomsorcabinsavailable)• Dinner(offthemenuintheGrizzlyGrillorRedFoxSaloon)• HotBuffetBreakfast• SnowmobileGuide• TransportationtoandfromtheJacksonHoleairport(3nightsminimumstay required)• SocialHour(OpenBar/HotAppetizers)

DetailsoftheBunkeRacingAdventurePackage:SocialHour:ThePackagebeginswithSocialHouraftercheckin,from5-6:30PMofallyoucandrinkdomesticdraftbeer,basicwelldrinks,wineandappetizers.Socialhour is included each night of your package.

Lodging: After drinks and dinner, relax in our hot tubs then retire to your cabin, lodge room or suite for the evening.

Dinner:FollowingSocialHourguestscanjoinusineithertheGrizzlyGrillorRedFoxSaloonfordinner.TheGrizzlyGrillMenuincludes,pastadishes,salads,soupsandappetizerstomentionafew.Packageguestscanchoosefromanyentréeonthesaloon or restaurant menu. Fountain sodas are also included. The bar menu is a typi-calpub-stylemenuofburgers, sandwiches,chickenfingersandvariousappetizers.Dinnerisincludedeverynightonthepackage.

Breakfast:Inthemorning,joinusforbreakfastintheGrizzlyGrillforahotbreakfastbuffet. We serve eggs, pancakes, biscuits & gravy, bacon, sausage, fruits and yogurts, cereals and pastries. Breakfast is included every morning after the first night.

Snowmobile Guide: Once you have finished breakfast, join a guide for backcountry riding or a scenic trail ride. Full day guided groups depart at 9 AM every day. We form cohesive groups to match our guests’ experience, riding style and desired riding. We try to limit our groups size to no more than 10 guests per guide. The guide service is included everyday between your arrival and departure day. Guide service must be reserved 30 days prior to arrival. Bookings within 30 days are subject to availability.

Transportation: To and from Jackson Hole Airport ( 3 nights minimum stay required)HillClimb Option: From Friday, March 23rd to Sunday March 25th.

Guests may use their shuttle trip to/from the airport or to the town square (walking distance to the Hill Climb). Guests receive one round trip on the package with 3+ night stays.

Also, a daily shuttle will be offered to and from the town of Jackson, departing Tog-wotee at 9:30am and departing Jackson at 6:30pm. Cost: $25/person (minimum 4 people).

For more information on Bunke Racing please visit www.bunkeracing.com. Follow Bunke Racing on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BunkeRacing

Yamaha Factory Rac-ing’s Ross Erdman scored a landmark Pro Open class win aboard his four-stroke FX Nytro in the USCC Pine Lake 100 in Gonvick, Minnesota, on Sunday, Jan. 15.

Not only was Erdman’s victory against a field of rival two-strokes, but it will also go down in his-tory as the FX Nytro’s first-ever USCC pro race win.

Also aboard an FX Ny-tro, teammate Ben Lin-dom fought to an unof-ficial second place in the Semi Pro 600 class, while Erdman likewise ran a strong second in Pro 600 before retiring with a mi-nor mechanical issue just two laps from the finish. Other FX Nytro racers flying the Yamaha flag were Nathan Titus in Pro 600 and Pro Vet, and Jake

Ross Erdman scores historic USCC Pro Open win at Pine Lake 100

Jorgensen in Semi Pro Improved. Unfortunately at press time, official tim-ing and scoring challeng-es prevented a complete tally of these results.

With little snowfall in the Midwest so far this win-ter, the USCC postponed its first two cross-country races of the season, and instead quickly created the Pine Lake 100.

Instead of the typical cross-country course, the Pine Lake 100 featured a lengthy 10.2-mile track laid out entirely on the frozen lake.

With numerous sweeping turns and long straight-aways marked with small orange and black signs, racers needed keen eye-sight in the sometimes-blinding snow dust to even follow the course

– especially at speeds av-eraging nearly 80 mph. Adding to the drama was that officials didn’t even receive final permission to hold the event until the previous Monday night.

Fortunately, it all came together on a beauti-ful Sunday morning that proved historic for the FX Nytro.

The Pro Open race that Erdman and his FX Ny-tro dominated utilized a time-trial format, with sleds flagged off at half-minute intervals and then running flat out for two laps each.

With such a format, it’s impossible to know how you’re doing against other drivers, and so the win-ning strategy was simply to run hard and fast for the entire race distance of 20.4 miles. Starting about

two-thirds of the way down the 17-rider field, Erdman did just that.

A previous winner of the grueling three-day USCC Red Lake 500, Erdman owned not only the ag-gressiveness and focus needed on Pine Lake, but with the FX Nytro’s stupendous four-stroke power, he also had the performance.

Racer after racer accel-erated onto the course, wringing everything pos-sible from both muscles and sleds, and when the final run had been made,

Erdman commanded the race and the podium.

“The whole team worked really hard to get this win,” Erdman said afterwards. “All of the machine prep, the fitness regimen and testing showed not just in my results but the rest of the team’s results as well. I’m really happy and looking forward to more wins this season.”

Yamaha’s Eric Josephsen added, “I am really im-pressed with this team be-cause the race got thrown together at the last sec-ond. With little testing

time on the ice, the guys still did really well, and to come away with a first and hopefully a second – I’m just over the moon!”

Yamaha racers are spon-sored by: DynoJet, Fly Racing, Camoplast, Woody’s, SpeedCell, Fox Racing Shox, Trail Tank, FXR, Yamalube, Ulmer Racing, Evolved Nutri-tion, and EVS!

Stay up to date with the Yamaha Race team on the Yamaha Snowmobiles, USA Facebook page.

Gabe Bunke

I wanted to personally check-in with all of you and give you an update on the racing season. First of all, we actual-ly haven’t started racing yet. Our first race has finally been scheduled for this weekend and it will not be the typical USCC Cross Country race we are used to. Many of you know we have had the weird-est weather this year, and we have yet to get any mea-surable snow in the region where we race. Our first three races, including the legend-ary I-500 have all been post-

poned. This weekend’s race will be a ice race on the lake, our team has been practicing and adjusting for these dif-ferent conditions and we are hopeful we will have quite a few Bunke Racing racers on the podium this weekend.

I wanted to check in with all of you and let you know that the lack of snow has not stopped us from promoting our team and the sponsors that support us. Our website continues to be busy with new visitors going to the site everyday and our facebook page has also gained some momentum. A couple of things we have been working on this year, off the track.......

-We partnered with Tharald-son Ethanol and the NDSU Clean Snowmobile Chal-lenge team. We have been meeting and offering advice to these engineering students and it’s been really fun. Their national competition hap-

pens in March, so keep in touch with our website and facebook for more updates. The original announcement for the partnership can be found on the Bunke Racing website.

-We are officially, I think, unofficially, now a dealer for NashCar Trailers. We had the opportunity to meet the leadership team from Nash-car at HayDays this year and we were wowed by their awe-some trailers, so much so, we have one now that will be showing up on the track Plus, if you know of any one in the market for a snowmobile, car or toy hauling trailer, let us know, we would love to show you what we can do. Their website is www.nashcartrail-ers.com

- As many of you know, we added Jennifer Fuller to our team this year. Our first woman racer. Jennifer was an “elite” member of the deans

Hello Bunke Racing Sponsors and Supporters

Gabe Bunke

list last semester at Michigan Technological University stu-ding Civil Engineering. She is one smart cookie on and off the race track. We are excited to see what she will do on the track and are thrilled that Di-vas Snowgear was willing to sponsor Jen this year as well. Look for an announcement about that soon.

- We continue to get coverage and stories written about us highlighting our Bunke Rac-ing team and we haven’t even started racing yet! We have been covered in Wheels of Thunder magazine, just this week on SledRacer.com and more. Imagine when we start racing?

-We have also partnered with Snowmobile North Dakota this year and they have asked me to be a contributing writ-er. It’s been fun to get feed-back from people who read the column. http://www.snowmobilend.org/?id=38&ncid=1&nid=18

- We are really excited also that the SOO-I-500 is right around the corner. This year we have a new sponsor on board; Autolite spark plugs! We are glad to have them and we will have Jordan Yan-kee www.ArcticFXgraphics.com make us a tricked out wrap again this year featur-

ing Autolite. Thank you Jor-dan- he always has us look-ing good! The SOO is one of the premier races in the country and we want the top spot bad. Our facebook page will be a great place to check out the live coverage on the day of the Soo, Feb. 4th.

-Finally, we are thrilled to announce that we have part-nered with Togwotee Moun-tain Lodge and will be of-fering an end of the season Bunke Racing Snowmobile Adventure Vacation Package with them. More informa-tion can be found at http://www.togwoteelodge.com/plan/specials--packages/bunke-racing-adventure-package.aspx We would love it if you would want to join us out there! It will be the end of our race season and a great way to reconnect with all of you. Not to mention, it is the

weekend of the World cham-pionship hillclimb in Jackson Hole, we will definitely have a great time, we hope we can see you out there.

Again, thank you for your support of Bunke Racing, we really do appreciate it and our goal is to offer our spon-sors the opportunity to use Bunke Racing as a vehicle to promote their brand or com-pany’s story. Have an idea? Run it past us, you never know. We love the sport of snowmobiling and we appre-ciate organizations like you that make this happen.

Now, I got to get back to the shop. We’re gonna race this weekend! Thanks for everything!

Arctic Cat, Polaris and Yamaha to introduce 2013 models this spring

In a series of 22 locations across the snowbelt, Arctic Cat, Polaris and Ya-maha will give snowmobilers a “Sneak Peek” at their new models for 2013.

Each manufacturer will display 15-18 sleds.

That’s 50+ new snowmobiles for 2013 displayed on one show floor all at the same time.

Snowmobilers can see, touch, sit on and inspect the sleds that will be at their dealer in the fall.

Final decisions and taking advantage of the special incentives offered during the spring buying programs can be made with hands-on inspection of the various models.

Outdoor events may have an admission charge and show times will follow that event’s schedule. Indoor events are from 4-9:00 PM with free admission.

See special times for Minneapolis/Brooklyn Center and Manchester.

The Colebrook, Old Forge, Lake Geneva, West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole shows are outdoor events and will follow the hours of that event.

For more information: 1-800-746-8963

Novi, MI. April 11Suburban Collection Showplace

46100 Grand River Ave.

Duluth, MN. April 19DECC - 350 Harbor Dr.

Western Tour:

Denver, CO. March 13Merchandise Mart - Expo Bldg II - 451 E.

58th Ave

West Yellowstone, MT. March 16-18Holiday Inn

Jackson Hole, WY. March 22-25Snow King Resort

Puyallup, WA. March 28Americraft Showplex - Center & East

110 9th Ave SW

Spokane, WA. April 2Spokane County Fair & Expo

404 N. Hauana

Boise, ID. April 4Expo Idaho - Center Bldg. 5610 Glenwood

Layton, UT. April 6, 2012Davis Conference Center - 165

North 700 West

Fargo, ND. April 9, 2012Fargo Dome - 1800 N. University Dr.

Eastern Tour:

Colebrook, NH. March 2-3, 2012Coleman State Park

Augusta, ME. March 6, 2012Civic Center - 76 Community Drive

Old Forge, NY. March 10-11North street Recreational Center

Syracuse, NY. March 13, 2012NY State Fairgrounds - Horticulture Bldg.

Lake Geneva, WI. March 16-18, 2012Geneva Grand Resort

Stevens Point, WI. March 20Holiday Inn - 1001 Amber Ave.

Green Bay, WI. March 22Shopko Hall - 1901 S. Oneida St.

Minneapolis/Brooklyn Center, MN. March 24-25

Earle Brown Center - 6155 Earle Brown Dr. Brooklyn Center, MN

Saturday from 2-8 PM and Sunday from Noon-5

Grand Rapids, MI. March 28, 2012Delta Plex Arena - 2500 Turner Ave NW

Buffalo/Hamburg, NY. April 2Fairgrounds - 5820 S. Park - Hamburg, NY

Allentown, PA. April 4Fairgrounds - Annex Bldg - 302 N. 17th St.

Manchester, NH. April 7Radisson Hotel - 700 Elm St.

Show hours 2-8 PM

The Bunke Racing team kicked off its season at the USCC National Guard Cross-Country Snow-mobile Championship race held on Pine Lake near Gonvick. Minn., this past Sunday, Janu-ary 15. Not only was the race the first on the Bun-ke Racing team’s sched-ule, it was also the first cross-country lake race in over a decade. It posed a challenge for the team to come up with a com-petitive race setup for the

Bunke Racing Kicks Off USCC Season With Podium Finishes

twisty course set up on the icy surface of Pine Lake, but the team put in over a week of testing and was able to get their Po-laris snowmobiles more than ready for the event.

Gabe Bunke put his sled on podium with a third place finish to start the day in Pro Open. Bob-by Menne had a good day in that class as well with both riders feel-ing more than comfort-able on the 10-mile ice

course that consisted of right- and left-hand turns and featured two, 1-mile straightaways. Pro Wom-en rider Jen Fuller was to-tally new to ice racing but took third place in the Womens class, less than a minute behind the win-ner.

Spencer Kadlec, Jeff Klein and Matt Burkhardt fin-ished 5-6-7 in the five-lap Semi-Pro 600 race. The Top 5 riders in the class were so close that Kadlec

was only 12-seconds out of a podium podium spot in the class. This season is only Kadlec’s second rac-ing snowmobiles and it’s his first season on Polaris.

“This was my first lake race and it was definitely a challenge,” Kadlec said. “I learned a lot though and I’ll be looking for a Top 3 finish at the next event for sure.”

Pro riders ran a 1-lap

qualifier for the 10-lap, 100-mile Pro 600 race. Bunke and Menne both ended up in the second of three rows to start the race. Bunke got a good start and settled into 8th place while Menne was a couple spots back. On the seventh lap Menne’s sled suffered a track problem that put him out of the race. Meanwhile, Bunke had moved up a spot into 7th, where he would ulti-mately finish.

“I think the team had a great weekend,” said Bun-ke. “We got two podium finishes and we were real-ly competitive. Everyone is so fast, but we’re right there so I can’t see why we won’t be able to win some races this season.”

Next up for Bunke Rac-ing is the USCC J&K Marine Beach Bar 100 in Detroit Lakes, Minn., January 28-29. For more

Just two weeks after setting the world record for motorsports distance jumping, Polaris snocross racer and freestyle rider Levi LaVallee (Team LaVallee) sustained injuries in a practice incident that will prevent him from competing in the 2012 Winter X Games and will put his racing season on hold.

His Team LaVallee freestyle teammate, Daniel Bodin of Sweden, was injured in a separate practice incident and will also miss the Winter X Games one year after winning two gold medals at the event.

“We were sad to receive word of Levi’s and Daniel’s injuries, but we’re relieved and excited to know both are expected to make full recoveries,” said Mike Jonikas, Polaris VP Snow-mobiles, Sales & Marketing. “On behalf of everyone associated with Polaris, I pass along our best wishes to Levi and Daniel, their families and their team.”

A Team LaVallee spokesperson reported LaVallee broke his left tibia in a practice accident while Bodin “suffered fractured vertebra but did not sustain any spinal cord damage and has full movement. Both athletes anticipate a full recovery.”

“I’m super bummed about Daniel and I getting hurt,” said LaVallee. “I was riding on a high after my record distance jump on New Year’s Eve and was pumped for Winter X. And Daniel was working hard to defend his gold medals from last year. I love our sport but it can be cruel sometimes. We will both be back as soon as possible and want to thank our sponsors for their support during this time.”

One of the most popular athletes in Winter X games history, LaVallee will miss his second straight X Games. He sustained several serious injuries in December 2010 while practic-ing for an attempt at breaking the snowmobile distance jump record. He recovered from those injuries and on Dec. 31, 2011, successfully completed the record jump in San Diego.

In fact, his jump of 412 feet, 6 inches, on a Polaris IQ® Race Sled is regarded as world record for all motorsports categories, as it surpassed the record jump distances for ATVs, cars and motorcycles. Robbie Maddison jumped on a motocross bike alongside LaVallee at the event and sailed 378’, 9”.

Injuries Sideline Polaris Freestyle ChampsLevi LaVallee & Daniel Bodin;

Both Will Miss 2012 Winter X Games

LaVallee has won four gold medals and seven total medals in eight X Games, and in 2008, when he won two golds, he was named “Athlete of Winter X.” At the 2009 games, he at-tempted a historic double back flip on a snowmobile in the Snowmobile Next Trick com-petition. He completed the revolutions but couldn’t stay on the sled when it landed. It remains the only time any rider has attempted a double back flip in competition. He won gold in Snowmobile Knock Out in 2009, and has also won gold in Snowmobile Speed & Style (2008), Freestyle (2008) and Hillcross (2004).

The 2008-2009 Pro Stock points champion on the ISOC snocross circuit, LaVallee was scheduled to compete in freestyle and in best trick at the 2012 X Games.

Bodin, who is from Malung, Sweden, won gold medals in Snowmobile Best Trick and Snowmobile Freestyle at the 2011 Winter X Games. He has competed in five Winter X Games and also won the silver medal in Snowmobile Best Trick in 2010. In addition to his snowmobile freestyle accomplishments, he is also a leading motorcycle freestyler.

Because of an injury, Levi

LaVallee will not be partici-pating in the

2012 Winter X Games.