The Rocky Mountain States Hill Climb Association’s (RMSHA) World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb is canceled this year, due to insufficient snow and current snow conditions.
It’s just the third year in the event’s history that the hill climb has been canceled due to weather. The event began as a friendly contest between local riders in Jackson Hole in 1975 and has since grown into a worldwide competition that draws thousands of people each year.
“Mother Nature can be a great business partner, or she can be a relentless partner,” said Brian Hasenack, a board member of the Jackson Hole Snow Devils, the snowmobile club that helps to coordinate the event each year.
The event was scheduled for March 19-22 at Snow King Mountain, in the heart of Jackson Hole. Another hill climb on the RMSHA circuit scheduled for March 26 in Afton has also been canceled due to snow conditions.
It’s the latest blow in what has been an unseasonably warm winter in Wyoming. Lander recorded its lowest seasonal snowfall in 135 years, and towns across Wyoming recorded the warmest Christmas Day on record.
But Rick Howe, President and CEO of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce, said that’s not the whole story.
While snow conditions are not good for a world championship hill climb on Jackson’s Snow King Mountain, the city is gearing up for a prestigious champion ski race on Snow King the weekend following what would have been the hill climb weekend.
“We have the best snow conditions in the western United States right now for skiing,” Howe told Cowboy State Daily, adding that the area has received 300 inches of snow this year.
Third Cancelation In Event’s History Due to Weather
A statement issued by the Jackson Hole Snow Devils said the decision to cancel this year’s hill climb was incredibly difficult.
“Despite our best efforts, the snow conditions simply do not allow us to host a safe and high-quality race this year,” the statement reads.
This year marks the third year in the event’s history that the hill climb has been canceled due to snow conditions, according to Hasenack.
Unstable snow conditions in 2015 triggered an avalanche high on Snow King Mountain, causing the hill climb to be canceled that year. The event was also canceled in 1981 due to a warming trend.
“It’s been long periods between cancellations,” Hasenack said.
Over the years, the event has evolved into a combined snowmobile expo/show as well as a world championship race.
“That was part of (our decision to) adapt or die,” Hasenack told Cowboy State Daily. “Our hill climb has evolved so much.”
Hasenack said the snowmobile racers are very understanding and supportive of this year’s decision.
“We’ve always had great support from our racers,” he said.
Other Options Considered
According to the Snow Devils’ statement, organizers considered other options for hosting this year’s world championship races, including other routes on Snow King Mountain.
Snowmobile racers have trained on Snow King, running routes that have been open to snowmobiles.
Hasenack said the racers would run an alternate route on the mountain if organizers could accommodate it.
“It’s the World Championships,” he said, and Snow King is “the toughest mountain on the circuit. Everybody wants a shot at that.”
One possible alternate route is scheduled to host a nationally sanctioned ski race the following weekend.
“Maintaining integrity of the snowpack for that event made the route unavailable for snowmobile use,” the Snow Devils’ statement reads.
Skiers’ Paradise?
Hasenack called the nationally sanctioned ski race a “very prestigious” national event.
The mountain is prepped for ski racing, he said. Because of the warmer temperatures, it would be difficult for conditions to be restored for a championship ski race so quickly after a championship hill climb on the same mountain, he said.
Rick Howe of the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce said that, while the conditions are not good for snowmobiling at Snow King, skiing conditions in and around Jackson have been impressive.
“We’ve got some great snow conditions,” he said. “It’s not a record year, but look at the mountain west overall, and Jackson is where people want to be.”
Because of the area’s snow conditions, a number of ski races were transferred from other areas of the mountain west to Jackson this year, Howe said.
Meanwhile, In Idaho …
The RMSHA kicked off its 2026 racing season at Soldier Mountain Ski Area in Fairfield, Idaho, Feb. 26-28. Racers returned to Soldier Mountain last weekend, competing in what Hasenack called “very marginal conditions.”
“They were unloading in mud,” he said.
The mountain could still support a hill climb competition in part because skiing there is closed for the season.
“The conditions are less than favorable,” Hasenack said. “They were just running up one area that snowcats were able to start compacting several months ago.”
But poor conditions or not, the racers will take it, he said.
“The racers want to race,” he said.
Ski-Worthy Snow Vs. Snowmobile-Worthy Snow
At Snow King Mountain in Jackson, what makes the snow less than ideal for a snowmobile hill climb and fine for skiing is both a matter of volume of people and the heaviness of the machines, Howe said.
“Snowmobiles are a lot heavier than people,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “The impact of running the heats with an incredible volume of people is hard on the snow.”
Conditions are typically warmer lower on the mountain, he added, where snowmobile racers would begin their climb.
Economic Impact?
The World Championship Hill Climb draws more than 300 racers from across the U.S. and Canada as well as more than 10,000 spectators, according to the Jackson Hole Snow Devils website.
According to Hasenack, it’s not uncommon to see 5,000 people a day at Snow King during the hill climb.
He said the cancellation will be a “very hard hit” for the event’s sponsors who were eager to debut next year’s products, as well as local partners. Proceeds from the four-day event fund scholarships, avalanche training and local nonprofits – proceeds that those groups won’t see this year.
This year’s cancellation will affect some of the late March Jackson Hole crowd, Howe said, but he was optimistic that many people would still come to town.
“Hoteliers are offering great rates for the rest of winter season to draw people in,” he said.
Ski resorts will be open through that weekend, and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is offering a steep discount of $60 a day for the last three days of its ski season, in honor of its 60th anniversary.
“We are hoping with all the community members that are partnering and offering incentives that we’ll still see a great season,” Howe said. “At the end of the day, the Snow Devils and Snow King did all they could to try to make it work.”
Added Hasenack, “We’re dealing with mother nature here.”
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
