Go-Karts, Laughter and Friends: April 27 Hunter Houle Memorial Fundraiser

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 27.

And join me and a few hundred AWESOME people  in Elk River, Minn., for the 3rd Annual Hunter Houle Memorial Fundraiser.

There will be indoor go-kart racing for every age and ability; a fantastic banquet at ERX motorpark, and all KINDS of incredible silent and live auction items.

Most importantly, there will be great joy, laughter, maybe a couple tears, hugs, introductions, old friends, new friends and pure fun.

All in the name of a wonderful young man whose life was cut short during an accident on his snowmobile in January of 2017.

Last year this event raised more than $50,000! Which made it possible for the Hunter Houle Memorial Foundation to donate big money to a children's hospital, the snocross mobile medic team, a homeless shelter for youth, a food program for kids, the Make-A-Wish foundation, and more.

Click for more info.

Gone Exploring: A Brief Story About Me

I've owed everyone who reads this site an explanation. About me and this place.

Do me a kindness and click to read about some changes and some new exploring.

2020: Waddya Want From Arctic Cat?

Soon Arctic Cat will unveil its 2020 model line of snowmobiles. Inevitably, like all model introductions, it will please some and disappoint others.

Two questions:

1. What do you want Arctic Cat to introduce for next year (or the following years)?

2. Why this?

There are no wrong answers here.

Snow Report for Feb. 9, 2019

It's a month later than I'd hoped, but Mother Nature is REALLY delivering the white stuff (and sustainable temps) for most of North America.

I'll be out playing in it this weekend. Hope the same for you.

Righ Here if you're looking for more detailed information at NOAA.

Greatness in Michigan for Team Arctic's Cadarette Racing and Dan Benham

It was magical in Michigan for Team Arctic last weekend, with a series of performances that brought joy and pride to Team Green racers, crews and fans around the world.

At the 51st Annual Soo International 500 enduro in Sault Ste. Marie, the Cadarette Racing team of Troy DeWald, Ryan Spencer and Bill Wilkes proved their greatness once again with an emphatic victory on the famed 1-mile oval. The Cadarette team is legendary among Cat and enduro faithful. This is the fourth win (and second while on Cat). They were also the first team to win the event on an Arctic Cat (in 2010).

On the same day that these guys were winning the Soo, Team Arctic's rookie Pro snocross racer Daniel Benham scored the first ISOC National Pro win of his career!

This is remarkable for a couple of reasons. One, this was just the fifth weekend of Pro class competition for the 20-year-old from Deer River, Minnn. And two, this marks the first Team Arctic racer OTHER than Tucker Hibbert to win a Pro class final since Ryan Simons in 2011 (I think).

Benham was joined on the podium by Team Arctic's Logan Christian, who nailed 3rd. A gaggle of other Team Arctic racers scored wins at the Mt. Pleasant national, including Malene Anderson, Zach Pattyn, Beau Tibbetts, Anson Scheele, Drew Freeland, Kellen Chapuran (two wins!) and Landon Giese.

Congrats to these and ALL the Team Arctic racers who are towing the line each and every weekend! So proud of y'all!

Click to see some pix.

Feb. 15-16: Riding, Inductions and Levi Levallee at SHOF

Next weekend is the 36th Annual Ride With The Champs (RWTC) and Snowmobile Hall of Fame (SHOF) weekend, and it's going to be one of the best.

In addition to the SHOF induction of racing greats Todd Wolff, Jim Kedinger, Goodwin Brothers Racing and Dick Bahr, this year's event has the added entertainment of a special appearance by racing/freestyler/jumper Levi LeVallee during the Friday Night Fish Fry (during which he'll talk about his incredible career, including the still-amazing video above).

Add to the mix the SHOF's great new display building, incredible collection of historic race sleds and 90% likelihood that I will do or say something ridiculous, and you're pretty much guaranteed to experience a weekend you'll never forget.

But to do that, you gotta go.

Click to read the details, then join me and a couple hundred others in the Wisconsin northwoods and St. Germain

Alicia's World: I Love It (Snowmobiling)

Like many of us, Alicia Martin loves snowmobling to her very core.

She's also an Arctic Cat engineer and Team Arctic racer.

And she's willing to share with us her experiences as a passionate snowmobiler, engineer and racer, beginning with with this really cool introduction.

Click to read about how her love of snowmobiling brought her to Thief River Falls and Arctic Cat.

Snow Report for January 29, 2019

For the love of Mother Nature, get out there and go polar plunging, skating, skiing and, of course, snowmobiling.

Oh but where is there snow for the snow things we want to do?

Righ Here if you're looking for more detailed information at NOAA.

King Kats Gather at Wakonia

Amidst the sights, sounds and smells of what will likely be a historic Waconia Vintage Ride-In this weekend, a group of Arctic Cat King Kat owners/fans will gather to share some stories and probably a picture or two.

As of last count there were 23 confirmed owners who planned to gather. Some will be started and running while others will be on display and not running. Add it up and that's a lot of cylinders.

The gathering will take place on Saturday (I'll update this when I get the exact time/location).

There are roughly 26,000 reasons to attend Waconia on any given year. Since this is the LAST year the event will be held in its current location, you might want to fully commit to coming.

(Photo shown is of a gathering of El Tigre owners at Waconia in 2015.)

Arctic Cat-Built TRACKER Wheelers for Retail Giants

Arctic Cat ATVs and side-by-sides are now available as TRACKER-branded machines at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's stores, combining the guts of machines designed and built in Thief River Falls with the skin and retail presence of massive North American retailers.

Click to read the official press release.

There's a lot of game-changing hype in the release as well as some missing details (such as, will these retail locations provide service or not, and which exact models are we talking?), but I see this in a similar light as Arctic Cat building a dedicated version of the Prowler Pro for Caterpillar.

The new partnership with TRACKER will sell more TRF-designed-and-built machines to more customers, which is a good thing. I have hope that it will mean more service/support opportunity to existing Arctic Cat dealers.

Heartland Sweep: Team Arctic Axes USXC Woods Race

Team Arctic racers swung the winning axe at the 2019 USXC Heartland 200, a hardcore cross-country woods race in Park Rapids, Minn., last weekend.

How deep was the cut?

Team Arctic captured 13 wins out of 17 classes, and 28 of 51 podium positions.

Some notable performances include a Team Arctic sweep of the Pro Factory 600, with Zach Herfindahl, Wes Selby and Re Wadena going 1-2-3, a Team Arctic sweep of Masters 50 Plus (Jon Arneson, Mark Nyquist and John Storlie), and Paul Brown winning two classes.

Cold temps, good snow, rough trails and some sections of ditch characterized the popular race.

Congrats to all the teams, racers and USXC crew.

Click to see the Team Arctic podium finishers.

Super Man! Blair Morgan Video

Hard to put into words how happy I am to watch this video of my friend Blair Morgan.

Super. Man.

The Cat Came Back (to UTVs and ATVs)

Today Textron announced news that most Cat fans (and dealers) are happy to hear: the Arctic Cat name is returning to side-by-sides and ATVs.

No more clunky "Textron Off Road," at least in terms of wheelers.

The company is saying that the name change is a response to what enthusiasts have asked for.

I'll call this good news.

What about you?

Eagle River World Championship Weekend Jan. 18-20

It's World Championship Derby weekend in Eagle River, Wisconsin, Jan. 18-20.

Tradition, pagentry, beer and the beauty of oval racing at the sport's most storied venue.

If you've never been, it's an experience to put on your bucket list.

Good luck to the teams, racers and fans who keep the show goiing.

ArcticInsider Exclusive: New Year's Resolutions

It's a New Year, with new beginnings and new resolutions.

For ArcticInsiders and others who live life at full-tilt ridiculousness, there's never been a better time to approach snowmobiling with a new sense of purpose.

And to achieve true Next Level purposeness, I STRONGLY suggest a solid pre-ride routine of stretching, yoga and calisthenics.

Just 45-60 minutes will help get your mind and body into a new kind of fitness.

It’s the new thing for 2019.

Note from Erik in Sweden: May the Snow Be With You

Here's a nice note I received from my friend Erik J. from Sweden, about a nice start to his new Arctic Cats and the winter of 2019. Enjoy.

We are hanging in our winter house for winter holiday and have started to break in the new 2019 mountain cat.

Days are short, with daylight for 3 hours and we are a bit low on snow. Ice skratchers down. River ice and forest roads keep us rolling.

Click to read more...

Snow Report for First Day of 2019

Welcome to 2019! Here's a first-day-of-2019 snow report for a big chunk of North America.

Hoping it's good where you live.

Click HERE for full NOAA analysis and info.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...snowmobile tracks in the snow.

(Read this past Christmas story about such tracks.)

On the Ninth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...a rip with my bud's.

Like here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

And here.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to Me

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...a mighty good feeling that comes with the Cat.