Unbelievable Journeys

by Linda Aksomitis

Edgar Hetteen's book, Breaking Trail, contains forty-five pages that narrate the first snowmobile trip across Alaska. It's a story of courage and stamina, and marks the beginning of the era of the snowmobile as a form of winter transportation.

The 1960 overland journey covered 1200 miles in 21 days, 19 of which were actually spent snowmobiling. It was the brainchild of Rudy Billberg, a bush pilot from Alaska - but bought into by Edgar Hetteen, part-owner of Polaris Industries. The challenge was to prove, to the Polaris Board of Directors, as well as the World, that snowmobiles were not just motorized toys for dreamers.

Four people made the trip: Rudy and his wife, Bessie, Edgar, and Earling Falk, one of the top production men at the Polaris factory. The snowmobiles included two of the sky-blue Ranger model Sno-Travellers, powered by Kohler 10-horsepower gas engines, and a red Trailblazer model with a 7-horsepower Kohler K-161 engine.

Of course they also towed a toboggan with food, tents, tarps, tools and parts, which Bessie usually stood on. Gas cans were tied onto the sleds wherever possible. Their Alaskan journey would only take them past a couple of spots where they could replenish supplies. They left from Bethel, on the Bering Sea Coast March 5, 1960.

The challenges on the trail were many, as you can imagine! First of all, with the March weather, they faced open water at various times. They dealt with this by having one person walk ahead with an ax checking the ice depth. "If the ax went through in one blow, it wasn't safe. If it took two chops we considered it good enough. We would hop on the sleds and race across at top speed, hearts beating wildly." [from Breaking Trail, p. 19]

The howling wind was an almost-constant companion, including one occasion where the snowmobiles were buffeted with a continuous cloud of snow, sand and silt in a 60 mph gale. Often, they slowed to 8 mph or slower, sometimes even losing their way. Luckily, their teamwork skills brought them safely through.

Often finding up to six feet of soft powder, they also had to dig themselves and the machines out of many difficult situations. In one area the soft snow actually lay over a large area of standing and broken-down trees. Crawling over the ugly terrain Edgar wondered if the machines could survive the beating - but they did!

Following along the river banks, the snowmobilers were forced to cling to steep banks or risk the ice. In that era of sled control, it must have been a huge challenge to navigate at the angle required. As Edgar says, "I wondered if we wouldn't tumble down, crash through the ice and drown." [Breaking Trail, p. 19] They also encountered glare ice on some rivers, so shiny and slick the wind pushed the snowmobiles like children's toys down its surface. They'd met a trapper with his dog team, who told them, "The dogs laid on their bellies and slid and slid. I thought they'd slide forever." [Breaking Trail, p. 30]

If you rode snowmobiles in the early sixties and seventies, you're likely asking the inevitable: how did they manage to keep three snow machines running for that long and over that many miles? With determination appears to be the answer! Coping with repairs from small problems, to large ones that required innovative resourcefulness, the sleds all made the full ride.

While the snowmobilers were stiff and sore at the journey's end, worn down by the elements, the snow machines were running fine. The community of Eskimo hunters and trappers stared in amazement at "the sleds like cavemen around a wheel." [Breaking Trail, p. 45]. Indeed, Edgar Hetteen's trip changed the way we look at winter in the snow zone forever.

Hetteen's reasons for his daring ride revolved around his business interests, which were likely shared by his friends the Billbergs, and employee, Faulk. Ralph Plaisted, however, was an insurance salesman from Whitebear Lake, Minnesota, who, along with Walt Pederson, Jean Luc Bombardier and Jerry Pitzl, reached the North Pole by snowmobile on April 20th, 1968. Theirs was, no doubt, a snowmobiler's dream…

The group set out from Ward Hunt Island on March 7, for their second attempt at reaching the pole. The previous year they'd had to turn around 370 nautical miles short of their destination, halted as the result of a seven-day blizzard. Plaisted had received permission from the Canadian government the previous year to make the attempt, and sponsorship for the equipment.

Plaisted's group encountered obstacles very much like those described by Hetteen some eight years earlier. However, his team were riding 16 horsepower Ski-Doo Olympiques, much stronger and faster snowmobiles. They also carried the best in ham radio equipment to keep in touch with the outside world.

The blowing snow, while a problem, wasn't as bad as the open water the snowmobilers encountered. 474 miles of cold, choppy open ice-water made them detour 830 miles around the ice peaks. Without any experience at exploring the arctic, the team of amateurs proved that persistence, and a good snowmobile, can accomplish almost anything.

The US airforce verfified that the Plaisted party had indeed, reached the North Pole. They flew over the group, using a gyro-compasses to establish that 4-man team were at 90° North.

So far these courageous snowmobilers have been motivated by personal desire - but what of those seeking fame and fortune? As you'd expect, there are some of those recorded in snowmobile history too!

1990 saw the first of three snowmobile rallies that conquered the Quebec frontier like a rally in the desert - the Harricana race. Much to the pleasure of snowmobile enthusiasts, the Harricana returned in 2001, with over 18 teams already entered for the 2002 event. The 1990 was organized by Rene Metge and Thierry Reverchon, patterned after the infamous Paris-Dakar rally for cars, motorcycles and trucks, in which both had previously competed.

An 11-day ordeal that cost participants a whooping $18,000 per racer, plus equipment, the first Harricana was the largest, most daring event of this nature ever staged. The participants consisted of 87 riders, with many of them never having ridden a snowmobile! Most of the riders were from Quebec and France, with just one US team.

Many of the drivers were racers of either cars or motorcycles, and the dare of such a grueling race on snowmobiles intrigued them. Organized in teams of three, with one sled pulling a toboggan of supplies, they faced challenges from -50° temperatures, to rough terrain and bad weather. Overnights were usually in a tent, with some in camp buildings.

Early leaders in the race were a team of three Cree men from the Misstissini First Nation, sponsored by Ski-Doo. Points were accrued by scoring the slowest of the team's riders between stops. Several other teams also pulled to the front early: three experienced US racers, Stan Hayes, Dan Kingsley and Craig Hansen, also sponsored by Ski-Doo; and two privately sponsored Yamaha entries from the Lac St-Jean area.

The event even had one all-women's team led by Inuit rider, Rhoda Cookie. Their team was eliminated midway through the race when their sleds were demolished by a train. As the race progressed the lead changed several times, usually due to break-downs like those experienced by the Misstissini team that took them out of the running.

Journalist, Chris Knowles's description of the Harricana in the 1991 March issue of Snow Goer says: "Getting stuck was an hourly ritual, and parts were beginning to fatigue. Suspensions blew apart, exhaust pipes split, rear tunnels buckled from the constant pounding and were reinforced with makeshift slabs of iron or, for the enterprising teams, aluminum, and windshields were sheered off in often-spectacular crashes." [p. 71]

The ending of the race was just as spectacular as many of the incidents on the trail, with the first and second place teams separated by just 27 seconds! The team of US Ski-Doo riders, and one team of Yamahas, spent the last 90 kilometer sprint playing leap-frog as they passed one another. In the end, the $100,000 was won by Bernard Dufour, Paul Perron and Claude Marceau with their VK540 Yamaha sleds.

The final time for the endurance run was 37 hours, 38 minutes and 6 seconds for the 2500 kilometer course. How snowmobiles had changed in 30 years! The last finishers, nicknamed Team Speed, finished 37 hours behind the winners. Remarkably, 20 of the 29 starting teams made it over the finish line. Another 60 snowmobile drivers had made unbelievable journeys!

Visit the Harricana web site for 2002 and 2003 information and video-clips from 1990 and 2001! http://www.harricana.com/