BOISSEVAIN, Man. – Bill Hammond remembers well the first long-distance snowmobile rally in Manitoba. It took place in February 1970 and lasted five sometimes-painful days, from the International Peace Garden at the United States border to The Pas in northwestern Manitoba.
Hammond remembers the sore butt, the big supper steaks and the great fun with 19 other riders who braved the 730 kilometre endurance test on sleds now considered primitive.
“I don’t know how the heck we ever had kids after riding those machines,” he said, recalling the poor suspensions and hard foam seats. “We rode all day and repaired machines all night.”
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The 64-year-old resident of Wawanesa, Man. – a founding member of the Brandon Sno-Goers Club and Canadian Snowmobiler of the Year in 1982 – organized that event and was one of 60 snowmobilers who met at a 30-year reunion here Jan. 27.
Seven of the men who rode that grueling rally attended the reunion, a Manitoba centennial project to promote safety in what was then a new sport.
In The Pas Feb. 11, they handed over a U.S. flag and letter given them at the Peace Garden by riders from Minot. They kicked off that year’s Trappers Festival in The Pas, Hammond said.
“A lot of people said it couldn’t be done, but it was,” the retired paint store owner told a packed conference centre at Duek’s Cedar Chalet. “If I had the energy I’d do it again.”
The men slept in motels and were assisted by five support vehicles.
Don Gamble of Brandon also made the trip.
“Going over Riding Mountain, quite a few machines broke down and we had to tow them out. It turned warm, remember?” he said to Doug Weir, at 84 the oldest of the former riders.
“It was a heck of an experience,” said Weir. “We were all greenhorns.” One rider started the trip with a one engine and finished with another.
For Ken Dixon, now president of the Turtle Mountain Trail Riders in Boissevain, it was the ride of a lifetime.
“You saw provincial parks and federal parks from a point of view that you don’t ordinarily see, because we were following the hydro lines.”
The riders came from Brandon, Kemnay, Killarney, Deloraine and Boissevain. In addition to Hammond, Dixon, Gamble and Weir they included Bill Evans, Keith Scott, Bill Antoniuk, Bill Hansen, Archie Ogg, Harry Malchuk, Don Wood, Jim Wray, John McConechy, Bill Kyle, Norm Smith, Bill Haggerty, Bill English, Murray Taylor, Roger VanDoorne and George Dyck.
Hammond said snowmobilers have done a lot of good since that first rally as goodwill ambassadors and by raising thousands of dollars for charities and community projects.
Snowmobile clubs also encourage tourism and are good for the economy, Hammond said, noting the number of people who head for the 10,000 kilometres of groomed trails in Manitoba.
In 1970, there were no trails. It was illegal to ride in ditches. Special permits were issued to allow the snowmobilers to do so during the rally to The Pas.
Top speed on many machines was about 70 km-h. Today standard machines can reach 120 km-h. There were no hand warmers, no front shock absorbers, no sliders – few even owned a snowmobile suit, making do with parkas and coveralls.
“It was a real challenge, almost like an endurance test,” said Dyck. He smiles brightly in remembrance. “It was fun.”
