Our Mission Statement

The Pacific Northwest Vintage Snowmobile Club (PNWVSC) is a not-for-profit association dedicated to the historical preservation of snowmobiling. The PNWVSC works towards this aim through collections, shows, outdoor events, public outreach, and associations.

Recent News

New Past Event - Whistlin' Jack Lodge Riding Event
Posted on 01/18/24 at 06:49 PM

It wasn't exactly the Whistlin' Jack ride we were expecting but we sure did get a ride! Things were uncertain to say the least given the lack of snow in the weeks leading up to our annual Whistin' Jack trip and then we ended up with plenty of snow and very cold temps to boot! With a smaller party than usual we set off from Manastash Sno-Park, Paul and Stephen riding on their SkiDoo Olympique's and Brennan on his trusty Phazer. Few sleds had been out given the -6F morning temperature and as we gained elevation the snow got deeper and was eventually completely untracked. This was great fun on the old sleds until the handlebar stem on the Phazer cracked, leaving us with an unenviable choice: press on with a sled that had dubious steering or return almost 30 miles the way we came. Given the low temps and waning sun the decision was obvious (for two of us at least) and we turned back. Brennan did a great job of gently steering the Phazer most of the way back but the stem finally parted and Stephen's Oly guided the stricken Phazer back the final 12 miles or so.

We won't talk about what happened to Paul's sled in the last few miles of the ride, other than to say Stephen's Oly hauled out 2 sleds that day.

Also while in the area a couple members who wanted to participate with the Whistlin’ Jack group took the opportunity to visit with Howard and Joanne Briggs at their home between Cle Elum and Ellensburg. It was nice catching up how they are and reminiscing past vintage snowmobile riding and show events.

To see more photos click on the picture:

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New Past Event - Trout Lake Riding Event
Posted on 12/30/23 at 01:27 PM

The club’s early ride to Trout Lake turned out pretty well considering that the original forecast wasn't so great. The day of the ride was actually was pretty nice. The snow was real thin at the Atkisson Sno-Park, but was fine for vintage since just a little elevation made it much better. Before the road closure there are issues with 4X4's rutting out the trail. This year it went all the way to the Berryfields, so the deeper snow meant deeper ruts! They had to ride most of the places the extreme side of the road, to get away from the ruts, but in several places there was no way but to ride thru them.

Basically they had "hero snow" it was about 2-3 inches of new on top of hard snow. They were able to go off trail pretty good! We found the Surprise Lakes Snotel, and got a couple of pictures while there. They had to search for the snow depth gauge since it all looks different with all the small trees showing. Like the Snotel internet info reported, there was about 15" of snow at the gauge. With the small amount of snow at Atkisson, they decided not to take out the modern sleds from there the following day.

The forecast was for rain, so Paul decided he'd go home in the morning. Ed spoke with the lady that checked him in at the motel who showed him a better forecast for the next day, and sure enough, there was no rain in the morning. Ed decided to head to the Flattop Sno-Park to see how it looked. The 88 rd. was gated for logging as expected, but the other road out was open, and the snow was better there than Atkisson was. He put 20+ miles on the Summit just to make sure it was running well for the season.

Click on the photo for more pictures:

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New Upcoming Event - Whistlin' Jack Lodge
Posted on 12/30/23 at 01:21 PM

We have scheduled on Sunday January 14 our annual vintage 140-mile round riding event from the Taneum Sno-Park to Whistlin’ Jack Lodge. We will spend the night at the lodge returning the next day. However this year there is a complication for our route. We learned there is a scheduled logging operation which forces the closure of the Taneum Sno-Park Monday – Friday except for the weekends. As of now the idea to get around the closure is to meet at the Manastash Sno-Park then ride to the lodge. Of course that is subject to snow and grooming conditions. We will update our website and facebook page with changes: www.pnwvsc.org. Please email Stephen Philips if you want to join the fun, and updates: sgpstephen@gmail.com.

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Happy New Year!
Posted on 12/26/23 at 11:49 AM

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Club Update in the SnoFlyer
Posted on 12/18/23 at 07:39 PM

Our group had scheduled its first riding event between the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays December 26-27 at Tout Lake, WA. The plan is to either meet at the Flattop or Atkisson Sno-Parks. Because this is an early year event where we are to meet is will be decided based on snow, and grooming conditions. Most years we get to ride, but it’s been between too much snow, hardly any, or rain with slush. We will post how it went this year in the next SnoFlyer.

We had scheduled on Sunday January 14 our annual vintage 140-mile round riding event from the Taneum Sno-Park to Whistlin’ Jack Lodge. We spend the night at the lodge returning the next day. However this year there is a complication for our route. We learned there is a scheduled logging operation which forces the closure of the Taneum Sno-Park Monday – Friday except for the weekends. We are unsure how we can work around the closure. We will update our website with the changes: www.pnwvsc.org.

Vintage snowmobile licensing falls under a special provision of the Department of Licensing. Several years ago our member Howard Briggs worked with his Washington State legislative representative, and WSSA’s lobbyist to get a $15.00 annual licensing renewal fee for snowmobiles 30-years and older. We are now interested updating this scheme to be more in line with what other states licensing systems has implemented. Our member Loye Turner from East Wenatchee is working with his districts Washington State Senator Brad Hawkins to pre-file a Vintage Snowmobile Permanent Registration Bill, or one time license on vintage snowmobiles. We have a small group of volunteers but seek more members to help. If interested please contact Loye at 509-855-6810 or loye.turner35@gmail.com.

Several of our members have been working on an electric vintage snowmobile. They modified 1969 Fox Trac Special that just recently came to life. Under our member Stephen Phillips very capable hands he took over the project to complete the technical parts of the build. He created a 72 volt battery from discarded Nissan Leaf batteries, wired it together, did some motor fixes and got it running. There is more finish work to do, but the hardest part is now finished.

We will be posting our upcoming riding and show events on our website and facebook pages as the plans are finalized. Follow up on our websitewwwpnwvsc.com, and facebook page: pacificnorthwestvintagesnowmobileclub.

Ray Bergstresser
President

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New Past Event - Central Washington Agricultural Museum
Posted on 08/27/23 at 07:54 PM

The weekend of August 19 – 20 we had our third annual antique, vintage, and classic snowmobile show at the Central Washington Agricultural Museum in Union Gap, Washington. It was not too hot, but with the forest fires nearby made it a bit smoky. There were 17 antique, vintage, and classic sleds at the show. As has become our custom we asked folks enjoying the display to vote for their favorite sleds. Dick Feil was voted 1st Place People’s Choice for his 1966 Arctic Cat 460D, while 2nd place People’s Choice was awarded for Ed Buckner’s 1968 Shrew motor cycle conversion kit. Congratulations you guys.

We received a letter from the Washington State Snowmobile Association (WSSA) who announced they decided to cancel the 2023 Washington State Snowmobile and Power Sports Expo and Swap Meet scheduled for October 20th and 21st at the fairgrounds in Puyallup.

It was a difficult decision by the board, but they don’t believe we can hold a quality event for our members and local area snowmobilers due to a lack of participation by the snowmobile manufacturers and several of their longtime exhibitors.

WSSA extends a heartfelt thanks to ALL the volunteers who have donated countless hours putting on this event over a 30 year period. WSSA thanks all of our past exhibitors, and of course, all of you, for supporting our show for the last three decades.

We also want to announce one of our newest members Chance Reid from Oregon. He's 15, and has about 40 sleds. He and his dad already are serious vintage snowmobile collectors. Welcome to the club Chance!

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Up Coming Event - Central Washington Agricultural Museum
Posted on 07/19/23 at 09:07 PM

The weekend of August 19 – 20 we have our third annual antique, vintage, and classic snowmobile show at the Central Washington Agricultural Museum in Union Gap, Washington. The museum is known for its displays of antique farm machinery. The weekend is their Pioneer Power Show & Swap Meet weekend which features tractor and draft-horse pulling contests, a couple antique tractor parades, a grain mowing and thrashing display, antique cars and modifications, mixed in with food vendors, and a swap meet. There also were active vintage apple processing and working Black Smith shop displays.

There was a lot going on to see both days. For more information you can visit their website: https://www.centralwaagmuseum.org/agricultural-museum-events.asp or email or call Ray Bergstresser: time4snow@comcast.net; (509) 993-7101.

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New Past Event - Miracle of America Museum Show
Posted on 07/19/23 at 09:03 PM

On July 15, 2023 our members met with a group from the Western Montana Vintage Snowmobile Enthusiasts at the Miracle of America Museum show held at Polson, Montana. The Miracle of America Museum is a year-round, public, educational museum preserving artifacts of American history. There were 15 antique and vintage snowmobiles at the show which fit in well with the museums mission.

Click on the photo for more pictures:

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New Past Event - All Wheels Weekend
Posted on 06/25/23 at 04:34 PM

It was a wonderful day at the Dayton, Washington All Wheels Weekend. This was our second annual antique, vintage, and classic snowmobile show at this great event.

On Saturday we had a good show with 17 snowmobiles in the display. There were a lot of people walking by and talking to us. While they were enjoying the display we asked they vote for their favorite sled. We used the votes to select the winner for a People’s Choice award. We received a great reply with almost 100 votes cast for the award!

The first place winner was Dick Feil for his wonderfully restored and running 1966 Arctic Cat 460D pusher sled, but coming in a close second was Lisa, from Milton-Freewater for her Arctic Cat Kitty-cat. Dick and Lisa had several more of fully restored and running early model antique and vintage snowmobiles. Congratulations Dick and Lisa!

Tim & son Dustin, Lisa & Ron, Dick & Delores, The Ruchert's, Loye, and Ray, were all there. We had fair to good weather, no Rain, some wind. There were over 350 cars this year at the show, which is up from last years.

Our next event is the weekend of August 19, 2023 at the Central Washington Agricultural Museum in Yakima, WA. More information is on our website: http://pnwvsc.org/, or facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pnwvsc/. Hope to see you there!

To see pictures of the event click on the photo:

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New Upcoming Event - WSSA Expo and Swap Meet
Posted on 06/25/23 at 04:22 PM

On October 20 – 21, 2023 we are having our annual show and display at the Washington State Snowmobile Association (WSSA) Snowmobile Expo & Swap Meet at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. This is our 24^th year at the largest at Washington State’s largest snowmobiling event. To learn more you can look at the WSSA website: https://www.cantonfair.net/event/21004-wssa-snowmobile-expo-swap-meet. You can also call or email Ray Bergstresser: time4snow@comcast.net; (509) 993-7107.

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