Snowmobiling
A snowmobile is a land vehicle propelled by one or two rubber tracks, with skis for steering. They are designed to be operated on snow and ice, and require no road or trail. Most snowmobiles are powered by two-stroke gasoline/petrol combustion engines.
The earliest snowmobiles were modified Ford Model Ts with the undercarriage replaced with tracks and skis. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minnesota, in the United States Midwest, was a pioneer in the production of purpose-built snowmobiles.
The relatively dry snow conditions of the United States Midwest made the converted model Ts and other like vehicles not suitable for operation in more humid snow areas such as Southern Quebec. This led Joseph-Armand Bombardier of the small town of Valcourt in Canada, to invent a different caterpillar track system suitable for all kinds of snow conditions. He started production of a large, enclosed, seven passenger snowmobile in 1937, and introduced another enclosed twelve passenger model in 1942. It was only in 1959 that he invented what we know as the modern snowmobile in its open-cockpit one or two person form, and started selling it as the "Ski-doo". Competitors sprang up and copied and improved his design. In the 1970s there were hundreds of snowmobile manufacturers. Many were small outfits but the biggest manufacturers were attempts by motorcycle makers and outboard motor makers to branch off in a new market. Most of these companies went bankrupt during succeeding recessions, or were bought up by the larger ones. The first company, Bombardier, still makes snowmobiles but has also branched out in outboard motors, jet boats, all-terrain sports vehicles, business airplanes, regional jets, locomotives and rolling stock.
Snowmobiles are widely used in arctic territories for travel. However, the small population of the Arctic areas makes for a correspondingly small market. Most of the annual snowmobile production is sold for recreative purposes much further South, in those parts of North America where the snow cover is stable during the winter months. The number of snowmobiles in Europe and other parts of the world is relatively low.
Modern snowmobiles can achieve speeds in excess of 110 km/h. Racing snowmobiles reach speeds in excess of 260 km/h (160 mph). People die every year when they crash into other snowmobiles, automobiles, pedestrians, or trees or falling through ice. Around 10 people a year die in such crashes in Minnesota alone with alcohol a contributing factor in many (but not all) cases. In Saskatchewan, 16 out of 21 deaths in snowmobile collisions between 1996 and 2000 were alcohol related.
Industrial type snowmobiles for grooming cross-country ski trails and right of way maintenance are also made. They are large enclosed vehicles which can carry passengers and cargo, and tow sleds. Unlike the recreational snowmobile they are completely tracked and have no skis in the front. They are powered by strong 4 or 6 cylinder diesel or gas engines.
