I’m not much of a hero-worship guy. I don’t have any autographed photos or paraphernalia, and (unlike my star-gazing sister-in-law), I don’t get excited when I see the local TV weatherman grocery shopping.
Bottom line: I’m not easily star-struck. But from a snowmobiling perspective, I must admit to pausing for a moment last February to appreciate the company I was keeping.
At any given moment, I was chatting with legendary Hall of Famers named Decker, Bender, Donahue, Karpik, Goodwin, Hayes, Houle, Hallstrom, Spaulding and many more. High-profile dealers were there, as were famous racers past and present, plus innovators from the manufacturers and the aftermarket. And just when I thought I’d seen it all, the suddenly famous “Three Old Guys” sauntered in – Paul Dick, Rex Hibbert and Ron Hallstrom – flanked by Rex’s Hall of Fame brother, Kirk.
This wasn’t a dream, nor was it an exclusive club that I was able to sneak into with media credentials.
Instead, it was the Ride With The Champs and Induction weekend for the competition-focused Snowmobile Hall of Fame. A jovial, communal and, at times, emotional event, it’s open to anybody who buys a ticket to attend. But it also draws an incredible who’s-who of snowmobiling royalty.
Over about 30 hours, I heard countless astonishing and entertaining stories – some over the P.A. system in induction presentations, others while leaning on the bar at the Whitetail Inn when former competitors relived glorious (and some not-so-glorious!) days.
There was also a festive Northwoods snowmobile trail ride with many of those same heroes – including a group that traveled all the way from Alaska to witness Iron Dog champ Scott Davis’ induction.
Add in a traditional Wisconsin Friday night fish fry, a formal prime rib dinner and induction ceremony, trips to amazing sled museums, scenic trails, fundraising auctions and more, and you’ve got a truly unforgettable winter weekend.
This article originally appeared in the November 2025 issue of Snow Goer magazine. That means you could have enjoyed it long ago if you only subscribed! Go ahead and sign up today to get the print or digital edition of the magazine and feed your love of the greatest winter sport ever created.
An Incredible Opener
Ultimately, the Ride With The Champs/Snowmobile Hall of Fame Induction weekend is mostly about seeing a new class of legendary racers or race supporters be honored for their careers. The class of 2025 didn’t disappoint. It included:
• Seven-time Iron Dog cross-country champ Scott Davis from Alaska;
• Ski-Doo race sled designer and tuner Gaetan “Chester” Duval from Quebec;
• Legendary hillclimb racer and innovator, the late David Sheperd from Montana; and
• Oval racing world championship brothers Gary & Bruce Vessair from Ontario.
Their formal induction, though, would be saved for last. Before those plaques were awarded, there were multiple days of snowmobile-related fun – celebrating the past while enjoying the present.
Things started Thursday morning with the Legend Laps at the famed Derby Track in Eagle River, Wisconsin, where storied racers and other insiders took to the high-banked ice surface one more time on their classic iron. Last year’s highlights included folks like Wayne Nicholsen, Mark Mondus, Gary Moyle, Brad Huling, John Wicht III and others ripping around the paperclip oval at varying speeds.
We missed those festivities but rolled into nearby St. Germain Friday afternoon. The charming small town, tucked in a particularly scenic and wooded part of north-central Wisconsin, was made even more beautiful by dancing and falling snowflakes when we arrived.
After ditching our trailer at a nearby hotel, we beelined to the Snowmobile Hall of Fame (SHOF) Museum for an afternoon filled with socializing, site seeing and sled talk.
If you have any appreciation for our sport’s competitive history, a visit to the SHOF Museum is a must. More than 100 truly historic sleds are on display. Other museums might have a 1971 Yamaha; this place has the exact machine on which Mikle Trapp won the 1971 World Championship. From X Games winning sleds from modern stars to radical drag racing mods, multiple generations of Soo I-500-winning enduro sleds to unique twin-trackers and well beyond, these are the actual sleds that made history and often pioneered innovations that later improved consumer models.
We lingered, took pictures and chatted as long as possible, then scrambled to the Friday Night Fish Fry event.
Aside from serving an iconic Wisconsin meal, the Fish Fry included a fascinating presentation about Yamaha’s glory days. A panel that included Tim Bender, Steve Houle, Bobby Donahue and Jim Kedinger swapped hilarious and informative stories, needled each other and shared insights on their partnership and rivalry. We could’ve listened all night, but it was getting late and Saturday’s high-profile events were looming.
Riding With Champs
Despite the previous night’s festivities, we were up before dawn. When we pulled into the Whitetail Inn’s massive lot, trucks and trailers were everywhere and machines of various eras were being unloaded for the day’s Ride With The Champs trail ride.
The ride actually predates the Hall of Fame itself by four years. Created in 1984 by Mike Trapp and Loren Anderson as a fundraiser to create the Hall, it remains a key cog to this day. It blends racers, insiders, grassroots leaders and fans for a day-long spin through the awesome trails of the Wisconsin Northwoods and sometimes into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Riders could sign up to be in any one of six groups, though we’d all reunite for lunch. We joined a group led by Bob Anderson, son of the late Loren Anderson who pioneered, led and evangelized the SHOF for decades. After being outfitted in colored souvenir bibs and grouped for a photo, we set out in waves.
From the Whitetail Inn parking lot, Anderson led us across Highway 70 south for awhile into the Northern Highland American Legion State Forest. The weaving trails had an overnight dusting of fresh snow covering a particularly icy base, so we eased into the throttle as we eased into the day.
After several miles of light twists and turns, the trail spit us out onto the 581-acre Pickerel Lake – known for its pike, bass and panfish, with a few muskies and walleye mixed it. Soon we crossed County Road J and started working our way west and then south on a joyously tighter section of tree-lined trails.
Our ride group had a peculiar look because it included a bunch of people on rental sleds wearing odd-looking snowmobile gear. At the first stop, we learned they were friends and family members of Iron Dog legend Scott Davis, who would be inducted that night. Davis himself was also on the ride – spinning the track on a custom-modified race sled he had shipped from his native Alaska.
The group, Davis told us, included many veteran snowmobilers – none of whom had ever experienced a groomed trail network before. Yes, the riding really is different up there.
Speaking of different, Davis’ unique sled was encircled at our second stop. From the copious amounts of accessory lighting to the oversized auxiliary fuel tank, multiple chassis and suspension reinforcements and pre-set locations to carry things like chain saws and survival equipment, it was a snowmobile setup unlike anything usually seen in the lower 48. It was of particular curiosity to famed racer Doug Hayes and his brother, Gene Hayes, who ran second and third in our trail ride group throughout the day. It was fun watching the interaction between the legends from different generations.
Several trails in this area carry Trail 70 signs – which made having a local person lead us particularly nice. We took Trail 70A to 70B to (you guessed it!) 70C as we crisscrossed more abundant forestland. There were occasional road crossings, but not enough to seriously blunt our momentum. There also wasn’t much ag land in this part of the state. It felt truly remote.
Near the shores of the larger Clear Lake, we merged onto Trail 170 and then Corridor 17 as we traveled primarily south, eventually into the small town of Lake Tomahawk (the self-proclaimed “World Capital of Snowshoe Softball”). After crossing busy Highway 47, we plunged into more forestland on Trail 12, passing occasional gravel pits & swamps.
We waited at one intersection a bit longer than normal. Eventually one of the Alaskans showed up with his windshield flapping and cattails stuffed into suspension components – evidence of a blown corner. After some good-natured ribbing (which, of course, is how bonds are built on snowmobiling adventures), duct tape was deployed to hold the windshield in place.
Our guided route took us through more intersections as we followed Anderson on Trail AA, then Trail 7, and then Trail 8 in short order toward our lunch stop, about 45 miles into the day.
The Marchbank Collection
Sleds were parked everywhere around a dark but otherwise non-descript huge pole building along a small lake. Inside, though, was a veritable motorheads carnival!
Owned by Snowmobile Hall of Fame President (and legendary retired racer) Craig Marchbank, the building included a massive collection of mainly Ski-Doo snowmobiles and related paraphernalia on the top floor, and part of his classic Pontiac collection on the ground floor. We’re talking about 150-plus expertly displayed sleds, plus literally thousands of accessory items. If Ski-Doo made an odd-looking hat, a particularly interesting brochure, a notable helmet or a tacky sweater over the years, Marchbank has one. The sheer volume of items there was mind boggling.
Meanwhile, Craig’s wife, Helen, and her friends cooked a fabulous roast beef sandwich lunch for the 100+ participants. The Marchbanks’ collections and hospitality could be a story all on its own.
Back To St. Germain
With full bellies, we hopped back on the sleds and began the trail ride back north toward St. Germain. Anderson led us on a different route north that intersected our morning route a couple of times, but didn’t re-trace covered ground until the day’s last five miles.
We followed Trail 8 to Trail 51 as we swooped a little bit south and then east before curving north again. Trailside conversations were becoming more interactive as the group continued to gel from the shared experience. The trails also got more interesting, with more varied terrain than we experienced most of the morning.
Anderson grew up riding in this area and knows the trails extremely well, but even he was stunned when we came across one particular area that had been cleared by logging crews in the past year. “This looked completely different last winter,” he shared.
We cruised at a decent pace north on a converted rail trail to the touristy town of Hazelhurst. Traffic was definitely picking up, as we met several groups along the way, but the well-maintained trails remained in decent shape. After hooking east again, we crossed a wide swath of the massive, 3,462-acre Tomahawk Lake, where some impromptu drag races occurred. There was one particular ice heave, though, that caught some riders’ attention in a hurry.
Our last 15 miles were on more marvelously meandering trails. We never did get a peek at the sun on this overcast day, but the mid-20s temperatures were ideal for a group trail ride. We got back up to the Whitetail Inn by 4:30 p.m. so everybody had enough time for a quick shower before returning for the induction ceremony.
Honoring History
We arrived back at the Whitetail for the banquet to find out that the people we saw earlier with helmet hair and sweaty snowmobile clothing cleaned up pretty well. There was a mix of attire – everything from sport coats and dresses to more casual attire. But we all shared the same passion.
The Snowmobile Hall Of Fame (previously known as the Snowmobile Racing Hall Of Fame) has been inducting legends since 1988, and its experience shows in the event’s polished feel. A social hour was followed by a first-class prime rib dinner. A brief live fundraising auction and a little bit of other business was taken care of, then it was on to the main event.
Compared to some other years, last year’s ceremony some somewhat brief. The late hillclimb legend David Shepherd was honored first, with his son – current hillclimb racer Toby Shepherd – accepting in his father’s honor and sharing stories from the family.
Next up, the light was shined on Scott Davis. “For a little country boy from Soldotna, Alaska, to be inducted with all the people that I looked up to my whole life that nominated me for this prestigious award, I’m very grateful,” Davis said, before thanking dozens of people who supported, partnered with, sponsored, rode with or helped him over the years.
The biographies of brothers Gary and Bruce Vessair were shared next, though they were honored in absentia due to some travel challenges.
The night’s loudest cheers were saved for popular longtime Ski-Doo designer and innovator Gaetan “Chester” Duval. He shared fun stories of working with legendary racers, namechecking several plus the Ski-Doo race department members, “Who, over the wonderful years of racing, shared my passion with real conviction,” Duval said with a broad and proud smile. “You guys rock! Merci beaucoup!”
The formalities gave way to more hours of informal storytelling, reunions and laughter. A few programs were signed, bottles were emptied and the memories kept piling up.
For information, visitsnowmobilehalloffame.com.
