Page 10 - TheJanuarySnomad

SnomadS

Brief History Continues

By Chuck Comstock

During the first installment you read about our founding members. The
first to call themselves Snomads; how our club got its name; the club's posi-
tion on charity support, and more. Much of what you are about to read was
compiled from the clubs historical accounts, 'Trip Participation Records',
"Memories" from the trail, and from Jim Duke, our founder. Let's continue
and talk about the sleds used by those brave men.
Jim Duke writes that when the original members of the SnomadS first began
riding together, the year was 1977 and his sled of choice was a 1972 Rupp
Nitro 400 that he purchased second hand. "...it was a real screamer — when
it ran", Jim reports. Ralph had a 1973 Suzuki, Greg owned a 1972 Polaris TXL,
and Gerld rode a "state of the art" 1974 Coleman Skiroule. Tommy didn't
have a snowmobile yet, but was impressed with Gerlds' "Pickle" so he also
became a Skiroule owner. Ralph soon turned his Suzuki over to his son, Dan,
and became a Rupp Nut as well. He bought a 1974 Rupp Nitro 340, then a
Nitro 440, and for the next few years of riding together, the original founders
of the Snomads had accumulated five Rupps! Jim Duke's last Rupp was a
1978 Nitro 440 L/C, which he nicknamed "Rojo Grande" and he kept it using
it as a training tool for his children until 1991.
"Several members of Snomads became "long riders" and began traveling to
Quebec for about two weeks each year. To do so, we needed reliable sleds".
They first purchased Yamaha SRV's, and later, when the word reached them
that Yamaha was about to introduce the new, revolutionary Phazer and Excit-
er models, "...we almost ran to Jan's Sport Shop in Goodrich to get our names
on the list. Ralph and I opted for the Exciters while Greg liked the Phazer.
Gerld continued to prefer the SRV and Tommy opted not to buy a new sled at
all".
"Harry Small had become active in the SnomadS by this time and became the
driving force behind many of our snofari trips. He was the first SnomadS Ski-
Doo rider, and was always quick to sing praises of that brand. On the last trip
we made as a group to Quebec, we happened upon a Bombardier Research
Team testing the new 1991 models and were invited to "check them out".
Immediately upon our return to Michigan, I went to Harp's in Oxford and
ordered up a pearl white MX

Continue pg 22

January 2020 The Snomad Page 10