savage on sleds looking back
Amsnow
Twenty-five years seems a pretty fair benchmark. It’s roughly half a lifetime ago for some of us, and for the young pups it’s the good ol’ days when they were first straddling a sled.
Simply put, this issue marks American Snowmobiler’s 25th season. So this year we’ll share a few blasts from the past, to mark our milestone and stir some memories (hopefuly fond).
It’s funny as I’ve been reading back over old issues, that certain themes carry through the years. The main ones? Lack of snow, warm winters, poor economies and sledmakers constantly upping the technology and speed bars.
But it’s fun to see where we were in September 1986 as we set out on the road that drives us directly into the heart of the 2010-’11 season.
The cover and back page you see at right are from our first issue. Even the less observant of us will note that we started neither as AmSnow, nor a magazine. AmSnow’s life began as a 20-page tabloid (now yellowing newsprint) titled Lake Country Snowmobile Tracks. It was the brainchild of Jerry Bassett, who began riding a Ski-Doo Olympique out East in 1965 and wrote and edited for various AmSnow competitors through the years.
Tracks, which was renamed American Snowmobiler with the September 1989 issue, was created to be an independent voice in the industry, often where other news sources were too tightly bound with those they covered. It’s an occupational hazard!
But in that first issue Jerry set out themes that continue, in addition to our goal of honest, straightforward reporting of the facts and our opinions, done with our own writing style, personal voice and simply being excited about the sport we love.
That first issue, with a then new Arctic Cat Jag on the cover, includes spec charts for all that year’s sleds and a review of the new 1987 models (a pre-curser to the Buyers Guide), comparison tests, a story of Tony Lenzini’s then world record run of 7,211 miles (he’d have gone further but it was a “warm winter” and he ran out of snow in Montana), industry news, reports on new apparel, an early version of the Industry Directory and short travel stories. All that continues to this day, plus tons of other goodies, like our 3 unique Shootout reports, Ask the Experts, BackTracks (vintage), Olav Aaen’s tech stories, West Reports, your pictures and letters and more!
What did Jerry like that first issue? Well, he touted then No. 1 Yamaha’s new Exciter and its 569cc engine; Polaris and its “must have” Indys; Ski-Doo’s new “red” Formula Plus, saying it was trying to “break the yellow peril”; and Cat’s continued climb from bank-
ruptcy with its Jag 340, Super Jag and El Tigre 500. For Cat he singled out its simple lightweight reverse and the addition of a red low oil warning light.
Hey, times were simpler, even just 25 years ago.
Jerry was dead on in one other observation in that first issue too. THESE are the good ol’ days, so enjoy them!