- BY JENNIFER ARGUE, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
February 11th, 2022
There is a lineup of vehicles on a grid road off the correction line in the RM of Longlaketon. It’s mostly trucks that are waiting their turn to sign a waiver before driving onto a snow-covered stubble field to look for a place to park in the nearly packed makeshift lot. A vintage snowmobile revs its engine, first just a bit, then growing louder and louder until its full throttle, cracking through the winter air.
Mother nature has blessed the Snow Leopard’s vintage snowmobile races today with sunny skies, light wind and a temperature around zero. Nick Giesinger is with the Last Mountain Lake Drifters snowmobile club. The Drifters are responsible for the groomed snowmobile trails between Earl Grey and Bethune and Bulyea to Lumsden. He and several other volunteers are out today to help the Snow Leopards. It’s their second year helping out. “There has been a tremendous number of spectators, way more than last year…today the wind is perfect, and the temperature is right, the snow is still good, it’s not melting too hard.”
The morning had the kids get the track ready with their races. Parents crouch beside them, pointing them in the direction they need to aim as the light turns green. Green means go. A few take off straight away, and a few take their time before they are off on their little snowmobiles that are too cute for words. Parents line the track with cameras cheering them on.
There are so many people here today - the guy flipping burgers, Jason Kallichuk from Cupar, has been going nonstop since 10:30 am. The women working inside the concession trailer wait anxiously for the next round of burgers. I can see why. There is a big line up inside, sledders waiting for the burgers Kallichuk is working hard to supply. He’s standing in the billowing plumes of smoke coming off the barbeque. There isn’t a square inch of grill that’s not being fully utilized. His mom is one of the ladies inside, and she ‘voluntold’ him. It feels a little tense in the trailer -it’s a little too quiet inside, a stark contrast to the revelry outside. I mean, who wouldn’t be tense with a line of hungry sledders watching your every move? Eyes darting between the women and the door, waiting for it to swing open for the next round of burgers. Jason said he was just helping out today, and when I told him that was nice of him, he responded with a grin and a laugh, “yeah, I know.”
The race host, Garry Gibson, is working the starting line lights today. He wishes he could race but can’t because he recently had back surgery. It’s hard to tell what’s more painful for him, that he had surgery or that he can’t race his 440 liquid mod, aptly named “junkyard dog.” He’s hopeful he can get back to it next year. But this year, he has someone else lined up to race the vintage orange sled for him. “The track was awesome before the snow... I had snowbanks right from this end to the far end. I spent five hours trying to level it out… everybody is really happy with the track.”
Standing behind some of the sleds waiting their turn to get to the starting line is Dustin Vipond from Swift Current. His family of 3 has brought four sleds. His teen daughter Haley’s pink sled is sporting what might be the most unique helmet, a green fury Oscar the Grouch. But it’s not Haley’s helmet - it’s her dad’s. Haley is off looking for lunch and is likely in the silent burger lineup. The Vipond family got into racing three years ago. When Dustin was a kid, he and his dad raced, and now it’s a family affair. “We make most of the races,” they are headed to Fort Qu’Appelle and then on to
Nipawin. Today they are in 12 races, and the race times are spread out, “it’s organized chaos,” says Dustin. Race day includes the family dog, Willow, and the noise clearly doesn’t bother her. If a dog could grin, this dog is doing it. “She loves it - nothing she’d rather do. We’ve dragged race in the summer for years so she’s so used to the noise, she just loves it.”
The day concluded with supper and awards at the Earl Grey hall. With all of the smiles, the sunshine, the temperature and the laughter, it was clear - it was a great day for a race.
