Most everyone knows that the VSCA Nationals were held last weekend in Springfield, MA. From all accounts, it seems like it was a great show with tons of great sleds and people. Some local NH guys took honors in their classes. Although I am not totally certain what classes they won, I wanted to show them and their trophy winning sleds. I hope they will publish the complete show results, or maybe they already have. George Burdick with his 1974 Alouette Super Brute 440, George Burdick with his 1961 Bombardier Ski-Doo K61, Allan Houle with his Polar Bear, and Craig Mayo with his very cool Kawasaki display. Who does that kawasaki model's hair?

Once again the NH Snowmobile Museum put on a fine show at the NHSA Grass Drags and Water Crossing Event. Thanks to all those that participated, and we hope others will become interested in helping with this event next year.

If anyone is interested in displaying a sled at the NHSA Grass Drags and Water Crossing Event October 5-7 in Fremont, NH PLEASE get in touch with George Burdick ASAP at 603-648-2304. Space is still available, and you will recieve a free pass to get in for the weekend of events. ALWAYS A FUN TIME!

Well, I dropped the ball on this one....... Long ago I should have posted this picture of Adam Houle and George Burdick recieving honors from the NH Snowmobile Association. Adam was awarded the "Jr. Snowmobiler of the Year" for NH and George was awarded a "Lifetime Achievement Award" and "Groomer of the Year". Both recipients hail from the Andover Snowmobile Club and are dedicated snowmobiliers and VINTAGE SLED NUTS!!! George has been President of the NH Snowmobile Museum for as long as I can remember (not as long as my wife can remember) and Adam has been helping out with vintage events around the state for as long as I can remember also. I know that when I was organizing the NH Snowmobile Museum Winter events, I could always count on Adam to lend a helping hand and my dad George to be there for anything we needed. Congrats to you both!

Well, on a recent trip back to NH, I was able to take a sneak peak at the Model T project. WOW!!! A lot has happened since the last update. The vehicle has been stripped, cleaned, engine and trany are in good working order, and parts have been ordered to put this historic "snowmobile" back on the snow. Notice the words written on the side of the door "Wilson For President". We figure the T was used in a parade to mock the Wilson Campaign, but not sure. We are in need of a few more funds to continue the work. We would like to thank those that have contributed and urge others to lend a helping hand in anyway possible. If you can help financialy please visit our Model T Restoration Page.

The long awaited Model "T" White Snowmobile Restoration has begun. While we know it will take more than the current donations to complete the project, we have begun to bring this old girl back to life. It is currently running, and ready for some major cosmetic surgery! Thanks to those that have made donation to help get this project headed in the right direction. Keep checking back for updated photos!!!

The classifieds are back, better and more secure than ever! Dennis Hall put a very cool security image on the posting page. This will hopefully mark the end of (uncontrollable) spam. Thanks Dennis for all your Hard Work!!!

The stress of Home Ownership has occupied the last few months of my life. I think I have almost caught up with all the home projects and can start focussing on more fun things like watersking and sled stuff. I have a 2007 Yamaha Phazer FX to long track this summer for my wife and can't wait for my 2008 Yamaha FXNytro MTX to get here!! When is it going to snow again? Along with the new stuff, I plan on putting the finishing touches on a restoration my dad and I just completed, a 1976 Yamaha SRX 340. Also planninga trip cross country to pick up a few of the vintage sleds I have stored in NH and bring them out to the west with me. Anyways, as school (work) winds down for me, I should be able to devote more time to the museum website and get some of the cool photos sent to me this winter up for everyone to enjoy. OH ALMOST FORGOT..... the museum has a project in the works, and the 2008 SHOW AND BANQUET are already in the making thanks to some of the Directors and Tom White. It is great to see this event grow!!! Look forward to posting lots in the near future.

A prelude to the 40th Anniversary of The Snowmobile Book

The sport of snowmobiling in the late 1960's was exploding in North America and Yamaha was not content to watch this market from the sidelines. Yamaha had extensive manufacturing capabilities with its motorcycle line and snowmobiles seemed like a likely candidate to fill production in the off-season while capitalizing on their current motorsport knowledge.

Yamaha entered the snowmobile marketplace in 1968 after several years of research and prototyping in the Japan deserts. Through this research came the first Yamaha snowmobile, the SL350, of which only 300 were produced. Yamaha quickly made improvements to this model in 1969 and by 1973 they were fully entrenched in the battle for market share. By 1978 Yamaha was in the fore-front of technological advances and was aiming to be the number one selling snowmobile in the United States.

By the start of the 1980's Yamaha had become the market share leader and throughout the entire decade the competition could only watch as Yamaha knocked out one market category after another.

From the Lake Rocket SRX's, Vmaxes, and Exciters, to the most indestructible Enticer line-up, and the industries number one selling snowmobile the Phazer, quality, performance and excitement kept Yamaha in the fore-front of the snowmobile industry. The 1990's brought innovation to snowmobiling through the Vmax-4, the industries first four cylinder performance snowmobile. Class leading rear suspension of the 1996 Vmax XT, and the incredibly light 1997 Vmax 700 SX, added industry leading features to the snowmobile industry. In addition, the decade would be finished out with the new SRX700 Triple Triple Triple with power exhaust valves which made the competition have to continue to rethink their snowmobiles.

The last decade of this book, 2000-2008, highlights the advances of key snowmobiles such as the SRX and Viper and ultimately the birth of the 2003 RX-1 Four Stroke Yamaha snowmobile - The future of snowmobiling and culminating with the 40th Anniversary issued Apex's and class leading FX Nytro triple cylinder Four Stroke.

If you are are fan of Yamaha snowmobiles the 40th Anniversary of The Snowmobile - A Collectors Edition Book is a must for your library. The book is Hard Cover with 96 pages of color photographs and text. Included are many great racing pictures from the 70's through the 2000's along with vintage advertisements, vintage collectibles and more......

Jon D. Bertolino

PURCHASE DIRECTLY FROM THE AUTHOR - CLICK HERE.

One of the vintage sled community's greatest enthusiast has been featured in Arctic Cat's "Cat Pride". If you don't get the Cats Pride newsletter or even know what this club is all about, you can still see Andy Avelis's great collection and hear the story of how his passion started. I personnally think Andy is one of the greatest guys I have had the chance to meet in this hobby and a person I am proud to call a friend. Check out the story/video at ARCTIC PASSION.

I took a trip to Seattle, WA this weekend to take in the all new 2008 Yamahas. I plan to purchase a way cool new sled in the 40th Annivesary Paint Scheme (Still deciding on the FX Nytro RTX or the FX Nytro MTX). As Yamaha celebrates it's 40th year of producing snowmobiles, I was very happily surprised to see Yamaha take a look back at it's past. Not only do they reference past historic models in the 2008 brochure, they actually flew a 1968 Yamaha SL350 in from Japan to tour with the western snowmobile tour trailer. The district manager said they had flown 5 or 6 sleds in from the Japan facility, but was not sure if they were all 1968 SL350's or if other models were used. It was a fantastic surprise, and even cooler when I was able to say....... "I have one of those, and 2 more in parts and pieces." I think they kinda thought I was "unique" to say the least. Was wondering if anyone else has been to a yamaha show this year, and what if any vintage sled was touring with the 2008 models?

Better late than never.... Here are the winners from the 2007 NHSMA Winter Show. The Scorpion Bull owned by Chip Cowles won People's Choice "Other Brand" and the Little Skipper owned by Bill Clark won People's Choice "Featured Sled".

A wonderful day was had by all at the show and ride yesterday in Andover, NH. Food, Antique & Vintage Sleds, Friends, and LOTS OF SNOW were the highlights. A big thanks to all the Andover Snowmobile CLub Members that make the event possible. Also a big thanks to all the collectors that took the time and energy to collect, restore, polish, and bring those great sled out for everyone to see!!!

Pre-Registration is now closed. If you missd out on the pre-reg process, you can still register on the day of the event. Please arrive and register prior to 10 am. Also, don't forget to bring an item to donate to the museum raffle. All proceeds to benefit the museum.

After inspecting the site traffic recently, it has come to my attention that we have broken all previous NHSMA site records. This site recieved OVER 2,000,000 site hits from over 15,000 different people during the month of November 2006. YES, that is over 2 MILLION HITS FROM over 15,000 DIFFERENT PEOPLE!!! Unbelievable, just unbelievable. Sorry for the relatively few site updates recently, but between tracking down vintage sleds, moving into our first home, the Holiday Season, and family events, well, I have just not been focussed on site updates. However, the classifieds have been booming. Have a happy holiday and I hope to putmore effort into the site after this holiday season.

Unfortunately a few updates are needed in regards to the 2007 NH Snowmobile Museum Winter Show. Due to some unforseen circumstances, there are a few event activities that have been cancelled. The following activities have been cancelled: Banquet, Radar Runs, and the Vintage Ride. The Highland Lake Sno-Fest WILL STILL HAPPEN on Saturday February 17th and the NHSMA Winter Show WILL STILL HAPPEN on Sunday February 18th.

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