With more than a dozen informative seminars, a large swap meet, an autograph session with many backcountry riding and racing stars PLUS the huge exhibit hall packed with great deals on gear, performance parts, places to ride and much more, there’s something very special about the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Expo in Colorado.
It’s all happening this weekend – October 12-13 at the National Western Complex (NWC) in Denver. It’s hosted by Snow Goer magazine, in coordination with the Colorado Snowmobile Association (CSA).
Vendor Ally
The Rocky Mountain Expo has grown in recent years to become the biggest, most-talked-about show in the West. With more than 70 exhibitors inside the NWC space, it essentially encapsulates the world of snowmobiling into one building for a weekend every October.
In that space are more than a dozen large dealers from throughout Colorado and a couple from neighboring states selling clothing and accessories for sledders looking to gear up for the coming winter. Every major brand of sled riding gear is generally found in multiple booths, so you’ll be able to try on, compare and then buy, often at discounted rates. Some outerwear brands also have their own booths at the event – including HMK, 509 and Tobe. Big dealers include Blown Motor, Front Range Arctic Cat, G-Force Power Sports, Self-Sponsored Snow & Dirt, Kurt’s Polaris, Rocky Mountain Snow MX, Rocky Mountain Xtreme LLC, RockyMountainSnowmobile.com, SnowBigDeal, Steamboat Powersports, Summit Motorsports, Vickery Motorsports and Weekender Sport.
Some of those dealers will also have broad selection of performance parts from top aftermarket companies, but there are many other individual booths truly dedicate to performance enhancements – including Bikeman Performance, 2Cool AirVents, High Performance Sports (HPS), High Altitude Powersports, IceAge Performance, K-Mod, Raptor Performance Shocks, Silber Turbos, Skinz Protective Gear, Stingray Mods, TKI CNC, VOHK Performance and more.
There are also accessories companies like Backcountry Access, Composit Tracks, Curve Industries, Mountain Armor, Ortovox, Spot, Seat Concepts and Up North Technologies; folks that will help you customize your sled’s look at Braap Wraps and Rehab Wraps, two solid Amsoil vendors in Craig Kelly and CL Auto Service, and a lot more.
Looking for new places to ride? There are booths from Albany Lodge, Arrowhead Mountain Lodge, 3C Guiding, Electric Mountain Lodge, Elk Mountain Adventures, Grand Lake, Hahn’s Peak Roadhouse, Mountain Skillz, Rocky Mountain Adventure Rentals and Welk Resorts, plus the Routt Powder Riders, Snowy Range Club and Mile-Hi Snowmobile Club are on hand to talk about their riding areas. The Colorado Snowmobile Association (CSA), Colorado Parks, Blue Ribbon Coalition, Tyler’s Backcountry Awareness and Colorado OHV Coalition (COHVCO) are also there to share information, network and help protect your right to ride – and protect you while you’re riding. Prinroth will be showcasing its grooming equipment.
All of that, and then there’s the huge outdoor swap meet just down the stairs from the main floor! Bring your cash, credit cards and your imagination!
The Seminars
The CSA hosts both the swap meet and the seminars at the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Expo, and this year they’ve outdone themselves with an exciting list of workshop seminars in two classrooms that are better than ever before.
The Saturday seminars includes riding clinics with easy-to-understand riding technique tips with some of the sport’s most storied backcountry riders – including Chris Burandt (12:45 p.m.), Bret Rasmussen (2 p.m.) and Matt Entz (3:15 p.m.).
Learning more about avalanche awareness and backcountry riding safety are always high on the list of interests of attendees, and this show is packed with some of the best speakers on that broad topic area, including Brian Lundstedt from Tyler’s Backcountry Awareness (9:30 a.m.), Greg Mears from Ortovox (12:45 p.m.) and Mike “Mule” Langhenry (4:30 p.m.).
New and extra-special this year, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Winter Warfare instructors will outline cold weather survival (10:45 a.m.) and first responders will share an account of a rescue in the Snowies (2 p.m.).
There’s more: including performance tuning tips with Erik Woog of VOHK Performance (10:45 a.m.), a seminar by the incomparable Brandon “Tudizzle” Cox on the Spring Fling (9:30 a.m.) and an important seminar on snowmobiling access issues led by Scott Jones of the CSA and others (3:45 p.m.).
All of those seminars are free with your price of admission. Sunday morning, renowned trainer Mike Duffy of Avalanche1 will lead a separate seminar on Avalanche Rescue Skills that costs an additional $40 and requires sign up (text 970/390-9433 to sign up or for details), and the CSA will hold its annual meeting.
It’s A Blast
Show hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, October 12, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, October 13. The celebrity autograph session is scheduled for high noon in the main room of the show on Saturday. Tickets are available at the door, or at CoSnowmobileExpo.com.
Editor’s Note: Every Snow Goer issue includes in-depth sled reports and comparisons, aftermarket gear and accessories reviews, riding destination articles, do-it-yourself repair information, snowmobile technology and more. Subscribe to Snow Goer now to receive print and/or digital issues.
