In 1994 Ski-Doo released the first Summit 583. The green one. It had HAC (high altitude compensation), which was a diaphragm that reacted to air pressure from elevation change and altered the air flow to the carbs. But tip it on its side or roll it over and you would be cranking on the pull rope for an hour to get it started again. However, it was truly the first sled built specifically for the mountains. It was also the first sled to use composite skis and it featured a track that had the deepest lug pattern in the industry.
Some may argue the 1984 Yamaha Phazer was the first mountain sled. It was. However, it wasn’t built specifically for the mountains. It just happened to work the best in the mountains.
In late season 2004, Ski-Doo released the first REV platform mountain sled—the Summit REV. It introduced a more upright rider position and centered the weight for better balance. It literally changed the riding style from on-your-butt to on-your-feet.
There have been other great sleds built for the western market. Cat engineers claimed its Powder Special was designed after studying
SnoWest articles and combining our best ideas into new technology.
Polaris incorporated power-to-weight into its design equation when it developed its XLT (extra-light triple). It designed the SKS specifically for mountain climbing (Snow King Special after the Jackson Hillclimb).
Yamaha built the first four-stroke mountain sled—going as far as committing its entire line to four-stroke technology.
During the past 50 years the transition of the snowmobile has been remarkable. And somewhere early on in the transition, it became an industry truth that if a snowmobile is competitive in the mountains it will compete anywhere in the world.