Jason Sharp writes in, "I share my passion of snowmobiling. Although I am only 28, I have only owned two newer sleds in my life, a 1993 and 1994 Polaris. I have owned over 60 sleds 1980 and older. Right now I am working on a 1972 Arctic Cat Panther with a 303 wankel. My kids are 4, 5, 7 and my five year old son will talk sleds with you all day and probably even show some people up. He currently rides a 1973 Rupp sport with a 295 and is currently restoring a 1974 Suzuki Nomad with a 292. But, he absolutly loves working on the Arctic Cat with me. I would have to say the funniest thing I have seen with him is one day not realizing he was in the bathroom I walked in and saw him sitting on the john crunched over reading a snowmobile magazine that he had on the floor in front of the toilet. I must say I laughed my rear end off and thought that was a dedicated snowmobile enthusiast! I don't think the hobby of collecting old sleds will ever die and I think my kids are living proof. I share anything I know with my kids about the history and production of snowmobiles through the early years. I must say I need to get newer reading material, considering he was reading a 1996 Snow Goer....LOL! I find it hard to part with the magazines, since they contain so much info. I'm sure others in our hobby involve there children as well, so I'm sure in years to come the sport will be even stronger than it is today." Jason, I think lots of fathers can relate to your joy, I know my dad and I have shared many great moments while leaning over a snowmobile project. Someday, I think we all hope to share that passion with our own children.

Ever wonder what 20 years of time will do to our hobby? Will people still be searching for that sled they had when they were younger? Will they be looking back to what we rode in our time, or to what they rode? Greg Byrd and myself talk about this on occassion, and we think that some of the newer sleds of today will be in the line-light in the years to come. We both agree that the 1992 Yamaha Vmax-4 will probably be a pretty cool collectible in a few years. Mine is pictured below. What about a sno pro sled of today? The first 4-strokes of the new age? Will they garner the respect we give to the sleds of the 1960's and 1970's? Email us your thoughts.

Jeff Hendricks writes in "WE HAD SOME SNOW ONE NIGHT, SO I TOOK MY 1971 SKI ZOOM FOR A RIDE. WELL I RODE IT RIGHT IN THE FRONT DOOR OF OUR LOCAL COUNTRY BAR IN PALENVILLE NY. EVERY BODY WAS CRACKING UP,EVEN THE OWNER. THE BEST BAR BY FAR (CANDLELIGHT TAVERN).. PS LOOK UNDER THE SKI ,I HIT HIM IN THE FIELD ON THE WAY THERE. JUST KIDDING!!!" I don't suggest hunting in this fashion in the future Jeff!!! That Ski Zoom is WAY TOO COOL AND RARE!

Is the wonderful world of "NEW" sleds looking to the past to inspire memories of days gone by? What do you think? Who has done the best job, of bringing back these memories of days gone by? I have purchased a 2007 Yamaha Phazer FX in hopes of displaying it 25 years from now, with each chassis model of the Phazer. Who else is thinking ahead to the next collectibles? Email us your thoughts.
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Richard Roy from Quebec says, "I remember testing this 606 Wankel for Alouette way back in 1968 or 1969 with Bill Holtzman, the President of Featherweight Aluminum (Owned Alouette at that time). The motor was vibration free and quite a performer, but the cooling system was not adequate. The motor heated up so much, it was turning white before seizing!!"Thanks for the great info Richard. Good to know someone out there has seen one of these things.

Imagine the selling price on ebay for this undocumented piece of history.......if it existed. Andrew Taylor wrote in to let us know, he saw this machine in the factory!!!! Andrew "Northway" Taylor says "I cannot really elaborate on that sled (Alouette). I was only 16 at the time. All i know is it was built as a concept sled, much like the BIG-AL Alouette that is currently on display at the Bombardier Museum in Valcourt, Quebec. My dad had taken a picture of it when we visited Alouette in Montreal. My dad had a garage and one of the guys who helped design these sleds was a former employee of my fathers and that is how we got to see it. Where is it now? Good question. Probably was destroyed like so many other prototypes or concept sleds. When Northway closed we were working on a tubular front frame. Aluminum tunnel, forward engine mounting for the 1975 models. I wish i had gotten my hands on that. It surely ended up in the trash. It would have been a nice piece for my Northway Collection. I am currently building a 1 Of 21 produced Northway Factory Racer. A real beauty and a rare piece. It will be done in about 4 weeks. I will be happy with it as the crown jewel of my Northway Collection." Andrew, I sure hope you send in a picture of that Northway when it is completed!!! Richard Roy writes in to let us know he saw this machine too, "I saw this funny rear engine Alouette too. I saw it for real at that time and the guy who created it was Bob Holloway as I remember."

Jon Burnett owns this COOL race sled, complete with the entire factory race team's autographs!!! This sled has less than 3 hours on it and Jon says he let the race team fire it up and run it for the first time since it was NEW at a reunion in PA!!!

This is one of the coolest things I have had emailed to me in the recent months. Roger Charest says check out his Rupp Nitro making a run on Kevin Bailey’s old track dyno. He says this thing fits on a trailer and works 100% perfect. He leaves it on low load and just runs for high MPH's.

NEW ITEMS AVAILABLE: Coffee Mugs, Hats, EVENT T-Shirts, EVENT Dash Plaques!!! We have collectible books, DVD's and more. Keep checking back for new items. We accept Pay-Pal for all of our items. Check out the Web Store for more info.

Make sure to visit our sponsors. They have made an effort to support our hobby with their financial support. It is their generous contributions that make our events and website a possibility.

Have a sled you are super proud of? Want to show it off? Want to tell someone besides your wife about it? YES!!! Well OK, email us a picture and some info, and we will get it up on out FEATURED SLED PAGE.

Want to try your hand at writing antique and vintage articles? Have an interesting restoration project you want the vintage community to hear about? Or do you have a yearning to research a snowmobile brand and share your knowledge with other snowmobile fanatics? Maybe share an event experience you had. If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on. Check out Making The Tracks We Follow Today where we can feature articles written by our very own hobbiests. Certain authors will be selected for inclusion in the NH Snow Traveler, a monthly publication of the NH Snowmobile Association. Send your articles and pictures to Stephen Burdick.

As we head into the new member year, it is important for you to renew or join the museum. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the rich and diverse history of the sport of snowmobiling, and WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! We pride ourselves on organizing a large winter event and two swap meets per year. With your help, we can continue to supply the antique and vintage world with these events and continue to run an active web classifieds for our nationwide members. Help do your part, join the museum.

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