Snowmobile Inventors Conquer Frozen Tundra of Alaska
22 March 2000
Snowmobile Inventors Conquer Frozen Tundra of Alaska
FAIRBANKS, Alaska--March 22, 2000--that launched snowmobiling
After eight days and more than 900 miles, modern-day snowmobile inventors and Polaris co-founders Edgar Hetteen, 79, and David Johnson, 77, and their team of 10 adventurers, completed a journey across Alaska today. The group, which includes current Polaris CEO Tom Tiller, 38, started on the Bering Sea Coast on March 15, and finished in Fairbanks. Hetteen and Johnson then took a quick side trip to the North Pole to present Santa Claus with a special pair of long johns.
The dangerous journey was taken to commemorate a trans-Alaska trip Hetteen took in 1960 as a last ditch effort to save their little Roseau, Minn. company that had sold only a handful of Polaris "Sno-Travelers" since the first one was built in 1956. Hetteen risked his life on the belief that their clumsy, untested contraptions could withstand the most severe blizzards, windstorms and bone-chilling temperatures to travel 1,200 miles over 21 days. Onlookers called him crazy back then, and they're calling him crazy today.
"This trip was everything I hoped it would be," said Hetteen. "I had the chance to thank some local people who helped make the 1960 trip possible, see how Alaska has changed and prove to myself I can still ride with the best."
This time Hetteen rode with David Johnson, his brother-in-law and Polaris co-founder; Mitchell Johnson, his nephew; and Tom Tiller, the new 38-year-old CEO of Polaris Industries Inc. The group is raising funds for ALS research. Wes Blakeslee, a young Polaris engineer and avid snowmobiler, was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in October, 1998. Blakeslee plays a major role in designing the company's snowmobiles, including the sleds the group will ride across Alaska. Polaris will match pledges from the company's 3,500 employees and dealers. The team's goal is to raise $100,000. If you'd like to help Polaris and the Breaking Trail 2000 team raise money to find a cure for this terrible disease, call 1-888-672-0484 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST.
The team followed Hetteen's first journey, traveling from Bethel, Alaska, on the Bering Sea Coast, through the Alaskan bush and finished in Fairbanks. With today's advanced snowmobiles, the trip only took eight days. Internet users followed the trip by logging onto www.polarisindustries.com/alaska. The site features an interactive map of the route, twice-daily updates from the team along with photos and video from both the 1960 and 2000 trips.
This time around, the travelers made a new stop at the end of their journey at the North Pole. The team wanted to drop by and visit with jolly old St. Nick since they were in the neighborhood. Santa Claus received a special personalized pair of long johns from the travelers (the message "Don't Open Till X-Mas" was printed on the rear end). Santa promised to remember their generosity next Christmas.
Hetteen's first trip showcasing the invention of the snowmobile forever changed the way of life for Alaskans, who had previously relied exclusively on dogs and sleds to travel long distances. But the popularity explosion of snowmobiles wasn't limited to Alaska. Today, there are more than four million snowmobilers around the world and more miles of groomed snowmobile trails than miles of interstate highway in North America. Polaris, still the world's largest snowmobile manufacturer, is now a $1.3 billion company that used its heritage of innovation to become a leading manufacturer of other recreational and utility vehicles, selling products in 60 countries.
Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, Victory motorcycles, personal watercraft, and the Polaris RANGER for recreational and utility use. Polaris is the largest snowmobile manufacturer in the world, and one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of ATVs and personal watercraft. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII," and the company is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 stock price index.