Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
no-Cats and groomers lined the base of Big Powderhorn Mountain Saturday for The Midwest Cat Clowder. Vintage machines and brand new groomers were on display for skiers and locals to view and talk with the owners about these old machines. Below at left, is one of Powderhorn's original sno-cats. It was sold many years ago, but it returned for the show on in its restored condition to help celebrate the ski resort's 50th anniversary
KIRK CITURS WAS one of the many Sno-Cat enthusiasts that made the trip up to the U.P. with his vintage Snow-Trac. He calls himself "The Messenger" because he wants to spread awareness about these machines and spark more interest in this small piece of history. His interest in sno-cats originated at age 6 when he had a Matchbox toy of the Snow-Trac, the vintage machine he now owns.
BESSEMER - Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort hosted the Midwest Cat Clowder all day Saturday. Vintage sno-cats and groomers were on display at the base of the hill.
The owners of these machines were available to talk with people about their machines and about their group.
Kirk Citurs of Scranton, Iowa, traveled nearly 500 miles for the event.
Citurs brought along his restored 1962 Snow-Trac he purchased a few years ago in Seattle. Snow-Tracs were manufactured in Sweden and only about 2,500 were made.
And not only did Citurs have his restored '62, but there was also a 1963 un-restored Snow-Trac next to it.
"It's pretty rare to see two right next to each other like this," Citurs said.
He said since the two machines were only a year apart, there model numbers are only about a 100 apart as well.
Citurs is passionate about the vintage machines, particularly his own. When asked about what got him interested in the first place, he said, "I had the Matchbox toy of the Snow-Trac when I was 6. It started my interest and when this Snow-Trac came up for sale in Seattle, I knew I had to get it."
Citurs has a wealth of knowledge about sno-cats and groomers, and not just the vintage ones.
"I call myself 'The Messenger' because I just want to raise awareness about these machines and this great group," he said.
The group met at Big Powderhorn Thursday and took to the backwoods on the logging roads in their machines. They made it to Lake Superior at one point to walk on the ice.
Citurs said many of the machines can reach up to 20 mph, but perform best at around 8-12mph. The Tuckers, however, are a much slower machine only reaching top speeds of about 10-11 mph, and performing best at only 4-6 mph.
Citurs said it isn't much fun when they're out exploring the backwoods and you get stuck behind one of the Tuckers.
One of the Tuckers on display Saturdya was originally owned by Big Powderhorn Mountain. It was sold several times from owner to owner and finally restored.
Big Powderhorn manager Bruce Noren told the Daily Globe Thursday it was special to have that machine there to help celebrate Big Powderhorn Mountain's 50th anniversary.
Another special machine present was the Kristi. One of only 19 made of that model, it was definitely a rare Sno-Cat to have at the Clowder. It was also one of only six amphibious ones built.
For the record, a clowder is a group of cats.
After the ski hill closed on Saturday, the machines went on parade, before the group gathered for a banquet.
