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Vintage winter travel is reminiscent of snow globe days of glory

 


Riding a 49-year-old snowmobile requires patience and some mechanical skills.

On a recent test ride, the drowning crashed into Roger Krams’s old snowmobile, John Deere.

“I came over the snow bank here and lost control. It’s good that we do not have a hole in the side of our building. Besides, it is working very well,” Kram said as he changed drowning.

67-year-old Kram and his 35-year-old son Wyatt are riding identical 1973 John Deere from Winnipeg, Canada, to Elk River, Min., To draw attention to an early snowmobile endurance race, International 500 from Winnipeg to St. Paul.

Wyatt expects they may need to make some repairs on the 500 mile journey, a week.

two men repair a snowmobile in a store

Roger Kram and his son Wyatt repair drowning in a 1973 John Deere snowmobile on Jan. 8 at the Wyatt store near Fargo, ND

Dan Gunderson | MPR News

“We would have a heated trailer and all the parts we would ever need, so we could make our repairs as needed,” he said.

The trip is a fundraiser for the Fargo Memorial Honor Guard. Roger is a Navy veteran. The Krams rebuilt an old sleigh that will be awarded as part of a lottery that they hope will bring up to $ 30,000 to the veterans organization.

The International 500 snowmobile race ran from 1966 to the early 1980s at a time when snowmobiles were exploding in popularity.

Roger said rerouting the itinerary became an item on the bucket list a few years ago. First, he made sure his wife supported the idea.

“After I talked to him, I then mentioned it to my son,” Roger said. And with his dependence on snow machines you can tell he was all for it. ”

“I thought he was joking,” Wyatt said. And then, I [realized] he was serious and I said, We have to do this. “

Exits to a snowmobile

Roger and Wyatt Kram are crossing 500 miles in old snowmobiles. These sleds are 49 years old.

Dan Gunderson | MPR News

The trip was delayed last year due to the pandemic.

Wyatt said getting approval to start the trip to Winnipeg means jumping through a lot of hoops, but they have permission to cross the border.

Roger and Wyatt hope to complete the trip by the end of the week and will be joined along the way by friends and local snowmobile clubs.

Krams are quick to point out that this is not a race, and the 1973 sleds they ride will run much slower than they would have when run by a runner in 1973.

But both men say they are inspired by the stories of what was an iconic race of endurance.

“Some of their stories are absolutely incredible for what they had to go through,” Roger said.

“There were videos of the boys riding a ski,” Wyatt added. “They did everything they could to get it. A boy pushed a snowmobile across the finish line.”

It was not uncommon for more than half of the snowmobiles that started the race to abandon due to mechanical failure or injury to the riders.

a snowmobile passes through the snow

Wyatt Kram rides his old sled along a road near Fargo.

Dan Gunderson | MPR News

The riders had to make some repairs themselves along the race track and the mechanics were allowed a short time to make repairs at the end of each race day.

Today, there are four major manufacturers of snowmobiles, two based in Minnesota. In the 1970s there were more than 100 companies competing for a share of a growing market.

“They were worth millions in advertising and PR to win that race,” recalls Brian Nelson, one of Minnesota’s Spicer, who competed 11 times in the International 500 and won twice. “John Deere’s budget for our team in 1976 was over $ 1 million.”

Nelson often thinks of those days when horsemen drew crowds as they ran along road canals and ran straight through small towns along the way.

“People lined the streets, they passed our schools, they left the school outside,” he said.

The race usually started in Winnipeg and ended in St. Louis. Paul when the Winter Carnival started. The path changed over the years between the first race in 1966 and the last race in 1982.

snowmobiles lined up for a race

Brian Nelson, a native of Minnesota, who participates in the St. Louis International Winter Carnival Competition. Paul 500 with snowmobile.

Courtesy Brian Nelson

Collisions and broken bones were common. Early snow machines had few shock absorbers to soften bumps. Nelson said he has never had a bad crash, but recalls an impending call when he hit a large snowball at high speed, was thrown into the air and then crashed back into the snowmobile.

“I had to stand for about 30 miles because it hurt so much, I could not sit down,” he said. My whole right foot the next morning was purple from my hips to my toes, but you know, you enter the area and you will not give up on that thing. You will stay in it. ”

Nelson said the incident happened on the last day of the 1976 race as he was trying to overtake the race leader. Nelson won the race that year.

a man rides a snowmobile under a flag

Brian Nelson from Minnesota crossing the finish line in the 500 international snowmobile race.

Courtesy Brian Nelson

If the technology of snowmobiles was rudimentary compared to today, so was the equipment of cold weather.

“We would only wear a one-piece union suit and our skins, and the skins were not insulated,” Nelson said.

It could have been 30 below, but when you crossed the finish line, you took off your helmet, your head was steaming, you took off your gloves, your hands were wet with sweat. “If you were to catch a cold, you were not walking fast enough.”

There are still snowmobile endurance races, but Nelson says those early races were an experience that cannot be recreated today.

“You can ride the streets, you can ride the canals. I mean, you can ride almost anywhere. We ended up on Lake Phalen, right in downtown St. Paul, you know,” Nelson said.

Roger and Wyatt Kram will ride snow-covered snowmobile trails and plan to wrap up their 40-mile journey off Lake Phalen, on the Elk River at a vintage snowmobile show that typically attracts thousands of riders and fans of old-fashioned cars.

two snowmobiles opposite a table

Roger and Wyatt Kram are riding vintage snowmobiles across Minnesota to raise money to support an honorary guard of local veterans.

Dan Gunderson | MPR News

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