SnowRider Online Magazine

This holiday season has presented us with incredible snowmobile weather–temperatures soared to 20 degrees (-5 Celcius) and the wind was noticeably absent. The snow, on the other hand, was not so great. In fact, snow conditions across the snow belt are far too scanty for comfort.

One of this week’s snowmobile news items revealed some dramatic drops in snowmobile club participation in Wisconsin. (Read the article here) According to the December 30, 2007 edition of the Wausau Daily Herald, the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs has reported a drop of 28% in family memberships over the past few years. Consecutive mild winters is named as one of the causes.

Mild winters, according to most, are the result of climate change, and climate change is blamed in whole or in part, on industrialization. The Fourth Assessment Report from the United Nations predicts that snow and rain will be reduced by 10 to 30% annually in dryer regions at the mid-latitudes.

A paper by Geoff Mcboyle, Daniel Scott, and Brenda Jones, titled “Climate change and the future of snowmobiling in non-mountainous regions of Canada” has made even more specific projections. Their research suggests that Ontario and Québec, which have the densest network of snowmobile trails and largest number of registered snowmobiles in the country, will be hard hit by climate change in the very near future.

Using a snow-depth model, they predict the average snowmobile season in the 2020s (2010 to 2039) will be reduced between 11% and 44% under the low emission climate change scenario and between 39% and 68% under the high emission climate change scenario. By the 2050s (2040 to 2069) they indicate there will be no reliable snowmobile season at all beyond mountainous areas.

If these researchers are correct–and if North America keeps to the high emission climate change scenario–the sport we love will soon be a thing of the not-so-distant past. While we’re all pulled into individual discussions over specific parks or areas, we’re missing the big picture with emissions. It’s the millions of cars (243,023,485 registered passenger vehicles in the United States according to a 2004 DOT study) and RVs and trucks that are impacting our environment and changing it quickly, not the few all-terrain-vehicles and snowmobiles (1,583,822 according to ISMA). While the focus is on the little guys, the big things are rapidly falling apart.

We can make an impact–we can keep our winter sports! For starters, add a few of these tips from the EPA to your goals for 2008.

by Linda Aksomitis,
Managing Editor for SnowRider Online Magazine
and www.guide2travel.ca

Tucker Hibbert vaulted to snocross fame in 2000 by skipping his high school classes to take part in ESPN’s winter X-Games and walking away with the Gold Medal. As the 15-year old wonder boy, he became the X-Games youngest winner, an honor he still holds. That same year, his dad, Kirk Hibbert, was the oldest X-Games athlete at 42.

Hibbert grew up in Thief River Falls, home of Arctic Cat snowmobiles–while his dad, Kirk Hibbert, held various positions with the factory around race sled development. Dad, Kirk, raced cross country back in the 1970s, plus the Pro Men’s (over 35) snocross classes after Tucker started racing in the regular classes.

Starting at the top of the charts can make dropping further down a tough break to take, no matter what sport or industry you’re involved in, so it was no surprise to many that when Tucker lost the 2003 WSA year-end high points in both Pro Open and Pro Stock to Blair Morgan, he announced he was retiring from snocross to pursue motocross full-time.

However, Tucker skirted the snocross fringes, even though he didn’t play full-time with the big boys in the WSA for several years. See this ESPN bio for a full review of what he’s been up to.

Slednews, among others, predicted that Tucker Hibbert was back for the 2006-2007 snocross racing season. He was scheduled for the X-games and four other races through the season, with all the sites carefully selected to fit around the Motocross season that began in early February. Like his dad before him, he was acknowledged one of Arctic Cat’s top drivers, and had factory sled sponsorship.

The 2006-2007 snowmobile season produced two Snocross race day first places for Tucker in Brainerd–one for each round of the Pro Stock event. Hibbert also took the X-Games gold for 2007, his first gold since his record setter seven years earlier–in the interim years he had placed between 2nd and 27th.

On the motocross scene, Tucker continued to be best known for his snocross racing, as evidenced in this interview with AMA Motocross

Tucker’s personal web page gives a review of his placings in both racing arenas.

But the big question–not answered on his web site (at least not today)–is whether Tucker Hibbert is dedicated to the sport of Snocross or not. Given his two first-place finishes at the WPSA National Season opener in Duluth maybe Arctic Cat will sweeten the offer to keep him off wheels and on skis. Then again, maybe his September bride, Mandy, will have something to say on the matter, too.

My guess is that Tucker will go where he’s winning, and right now that’s snocross, not motocross. Will he take the WPSA season year-end rankings again in his two classes: Pro Open and Pro Stock? Maybe yes … maybe no. Only time will tell.

by Linda Aksomitis,
Managing Editor for SnowRider Online Magazine
and www.guide2travel.ca