Skiing with Gas

In Colorado's White River National Forest, the 20-man "safari" struck out up a narrow, wooded trail for three miles, then broke out on top at 10,000 ft. onto untouched snow fields. Under blue skies and a dazzling sun, sportsmen zigged and zagged lazily back down the mountain, through pine trees and leafless aspen, pausing only for a lunch of coffeecake and hot chocolate in an alpine meadow. Meanwhile, at Lancaster, N.H., the emphasis was on all-out action: 121 competitors, vying for 56 trophies and cash prizes, slammed through bone-jarring, cross-country or downhill obstacle races.

Skiers in action? Not at all. The men and women on the slopes were not moving on skis. Their equipment consisted of 8-ft.-long, two-passenger snowmobiles, and their forward thrust came from putt-putting, 7-15-h.p. lawnmower-type engines. The name of the sport is snowmobiling, or snowcatting, and it has become an even faster growing winter sport than skiing itself. Three years ago, there were 15,000 snowmobiles in the U.S.; today there are nearly 200,000. There is even a U.S. Snowmobile Association in Eagle River, Wis., which helps local clubs organize weekend rallies (more than 250 this winter). It has 1,800 dues-paying members and up to 200 new applications weekly.

Standing Chariot-Style. The attractions of snowmobiling are high mobility (up to 50 m.p.h. on the flat), low cost (from $695 to $1,975), and ease of operation. The vehicles start like an outboard motor, are tractioned by rear tanklike belt treads, and steered by handle bars attached to two front-running skis. On steep downhill runs, they give the driver all the thrills he can handle; yet, piloted sensibly, they are relatively safe. In a spill, the driver is usually thrown clear into soft snow, and the snowmobile stops as soon as his hands release the throttle.

Even finer points, such as learning to stand chariot-style to cushion the bumps, come quickly, although taking off from a 6-ft.-high ski jump at full speed is strictly for the experts (last week at Lancaster, Bob Fortin set an unofficial world's jumping record of 67 ft. 7 in.). Says Maine Resort Owner Alan Ordway, who compares the thrills of snowmobiling to riding a good thermal in a glider: "They've set everybody's age back 20 years; a guy of 60 figures that he's got 20 good years left if he can ride one of these things."

Cutting Up the Slopes. The vast majority of snowmobilers use their sleds for recreation, find that one five-gallon tank of gas lasts all day and opens up untracked terrain that would otherwise be inaccessible. One 8-man group of diehards is even planning to embark next month from northern Canada on a three-week, 800-mile snowmobile trip to the North Pole, pulling equipment and supplies along on sleds behind them. There is a practical side to snowmobiles too. In the Western states and New England they are replacing snowshoes for telephone linemen, country doctors, trappers, game wardens, farmers and oilmen. But for all their sudden popularity, snowmobiles have their foes. Police are worried because teen-agers ride them out to vandalize remote, untenanted cottages. On the highways, their low profile makes them hard to see, easy to hit. Flights from three Maine airports have been disrupted in the last month by snowmobilers who found the snow-clad tarmac irresistible.

Skiers regard them with the same sort of scorn that dedicated sailing enthusiasts have for stinkpots. Among schussboomers there is the idea that snowmobiling is for sissies. Says a Canadian doctor: "When I go out in the winter I exercise myself, not a machine." Many resorts now ban them from the regular ski runs because hot-rodders lacerate the slopes, menace skiers, and make too much noise. Says Tom Corcoran, 33, who owns New Hampshire's new Waterville Valley resort: "People go skiing to get away from cities and enjoy the quiet; the last thing they want is a lot of motors going." But complaints will not make them go away. There are just too many people who like to go skiing while sitting down. Sales are doubling each year, and some enthusiasts are even predicting that some day when prices get lower, snowmobiles will outnumber small outboard motorboats. "That may be optimistic," says one manufacturer, "but look at it this way: there are a lot more square miles of snow than there are of beatable water."

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