March 16, 2023 • 38 mins
Jeff Toolson was born and raised right here in Jackson Hole. He is the owner of Toolson Telephone and a board member of The Jackson Hole Snow Devils.
This week's episode of The Jackson Hole Connection is all about the Jackson Hole Snow Devils and their impact on the community. Jeff Toolson, whose family has been part of the Snow Devils for decades, discusses the history of the Snow Devil's, their fundraising efforts, and the 46th Annual World Championship Jackson Hole Snowmobile Hill Climb happening March 23 – 26. Get an inside look into the history of this extreme sport and learn about the challenges riders face during the ascent up Snow King Mountain.
Find out more about the Snow Devils and Hill Climb at SnowDevils.org
This week's episode is supported in part by First Republic Bank. At First Republic, everyone gets a personal banker who will sit down and learn about you and your financial goals. Isn’t it time you align yourself with a bank that believes in you and your future success? Learn more at FirstRepublic.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender.
Support also comes from Teton County Solid Waste and Recycling, reminding residents and commercial businesses of Teton County’s food waste programs; the next frontier material in the quest to achieve the County’s goal to reduce, aiming for zero waste. More at TetonCountyWY.gov or at @RoadToZeroWaste.JH on Instagram.
Want to be a guest on The Jackson Hole Connection? Email us at connect@thejacksonholeconnection.com. Marketing and editing support by Michael Moeri (michaelmoeri.com)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You are tuned into the Jackson hole,connection, sharing, fascinating stories
of people connected to Jackson Hole.
I am truly grateful for each ofyou for tuning in today and support
for this podcast comes from:
I'm gonna begin today's episodewith a quote The man who believes
he can do something is probably.
(00:22):
And so is the man whobelieves he cannot not.
That one is marked anonymous.
If you know who, createdthat quote, send me a note.
Love to know.
Welcome to episode number 233 folks,and my guest today is sharing the
history of the Jackson Hole Snow Devils.
(00:42):
I have the great privilege tospeak with my friend Jeff Tosen,
whose family has been a part ofthe Snow Devil's and the World
Championship He'll climb for decades.
all of the folks who volunteer their timeto organize and execute a world-class
event be, are to be commended.
(01:03):
These are the folks who carry on thetradition of gathering as a community in
lifting up a community by helping others.
The Snow devils have been giving back1.2 million to this community, and it
is still climbing the Jackson Hole.
Snow devils are to becommended for the generosity.
(01:25):
Which they contribute rightback to our community.
And trust me, when you hear aboutwhat's been going on over there at Sno
King over the past 46, 40 seventh Hillclimb, you will be absolutely amazed.
it.
Jeff, thanks for joining me heretoday at the Jackson Hole Connection.
It's delightful to talk to you,even though I don't get to see you.
(01:49):
Yeah.
Well, we do get to see each other
Yeah.
So before we get into this, I thinkit's, important for me to share how
we're talking to each other and why weare in the situation that we're We're
separated by a wall and the reasonwe are not in the same room is because
every time I have done an in-personinterview, I've messed up the audio.
(02:10):
So this is the best way toensure that we have actually good
audio for your interview today.
For the Jackson Hole Snows
I like it.
You gotta love technology.
I can figure some of it out.
Well, That's, that's moreimportant than, not being able to
figure any of it out, that's for
That's true.
That's true.
And so we are here talking about JeffToolen cuz you drew the shortest straw
(02:36):
in the stack of where they didn't provideany straws to talk about the snow.
Devils
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I didn't even have thechance to pull a straw.
I just kind of got handed this
you were voluntold.
ball and told yes.
Yes.
And you've been a snowdevil for a few years.
Just a few.
(02:56):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm 41, so uh, 41 years.
I've been a snow devil for 41 years.
So you've got your membership to theSnow Devils before you got your V
I P membership at the liquor store.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Yeah.
I think I got the v i Pmembership when I was 16.
Oh,
no, I mean, I mean 21.
21, right when I turned 21.
(03:18):
well it could have been16 drinking age back then.
Nah, I was, nah, it was
yeah.
No, people will start doing the mathon that and we'll both be in trouble.
Oh, we don't wanna get in trouble Andyou got teenage kids, so we don't need
to lead them in the wrong direction.
Teenagers, you can'tdrink alcohol right now.
no
No, buy it.
Don't buy it.
(03:38):
Teenagers, anybody under 21 don't do it.
so you were born here in Jackson?
I was born and raised in Jackson.
No kidding.
yes,
All right.
One of the few left.
there used to be a bunch of us, butnow there's fewer and fewer of us.
you say us, does that mean the tosen.
(03:59):
I think, no.
Well, yeah, yeah.
No, we can do that.
We could do that.
Um, yeah.
My, my, my sister doesn'tlive here anymore.
My mom and dad don't live here anymore.
they all live in Star Valley now.
But, when I say yes, I just, Ithink about, you know, we're.
the kids that I went to school withand, and, uh, and there's, there's a
handful of them that are still here,but a lot of them are, are not anymore.
(04:22):
So,
You married one, didn't you?
I did marry one.
Yes, I did.
That's how you kept one of them
That's how we kept one of 'em around.
Exactly, exactly.
or she kept you around
Yeah.
Well, it depends on who you ask.
And how far back does your familygo to being here in the valley?
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna guessthat it was 1970 when my, well,
(04:50):
no, I'm gonna backtrack there.
My mom was born here.
so, you know, the Tosen namedidn't show up until, uh, 1979.
but you know, my mom was born here.
I think.
Her mom was born here.
Oh really?
so yeah.
Yeah, it goes back a long way.
(05:10):
So we've got a little bit of, wegot a little bit of Clark, that's
what my, my mother's maiden name is.
And the, and then the Tosome side,you know, they came from, they came
from Casper in the seventies and, andmy dad graduated high school here.
I think he moved here whenhe was a junior, a senior.
and that's where they, you know,mom and dad met, was in high school.
And, my grandfather was actuallymoved here to work for Mountain Bell,
(05:36):
which was, The now Century Link.
Um, so the old , you know, telephoneline, copper infrastructure
that's running around Jackson.
he worked for Mountain Bell and, mydad also worked for Mountain Bell.
they moved, they had himmove to Green River, my mom.
They moved to Green River and, and, heworked for Mountain Bell down there.
And then they, they transferred back.
(05:58):
Him back up here and, uh, uh, 1984, mygrandpa quit or retired from Mountain
Bell, and started Tools and Telephone.
And a few years after thatmy dad quit Mountain Bell and
came to work for, my grandpa.
And, yeah, the rest is kinda history.
it's quite the deal.
(06:18):
So we've been here for a long time.
They probably weren't layingCat five wire in 1984.
Were they
was, there was no suchthing as Cat five wire.
Matter of fact, when I, when I get, Iget to talking to my dad about, about
what we, you know, are doing these days,it's up and over the top of his head.
some some people say, why don'tyou just get your dad to come
(06:39):
down and help you in the summer?
And I say, well, cuz I hadto retrain him all over.
So
would be a funny short
that would be
training your dad
Yes.
I don't know if I wannabe part of that anymore.
they say old dogs can't learn newtricks, that might be one of them.
That is exactly what they'retalking about right there.
Yes.
So you were born into the SnowDevils to be a part of that, cuz
(07:04):
what your parents were a big partof the Jackson Hole Snow Devils.
They were, yeah, so they've, you know,they've been members for, for a long time.
I mean, probably, probably whenthey moved back from Green River,
so around, you know, 1980 or so.
they've been members of the SnowDevils and, know, my, my dad sat
on the board for a while and thenwas president for a while and.
(07:26):
And up until a few years ago, he would,he would make the drive from his winter
home in Solom, Arizona just to standon the starting line, at the hill
climb to, to turn the racers loose.
So
Huh.
he was, he was in it, he's in ita little harder than, than I would
have ever imagined him be in.
But, you know, to make that 14hour drive each direction to.
(07:50):
Come hang out with us.
It was, uh, it was, it was pretty cool.
Pretty cool deal.
He
shows its commitment to thatorganization and what it meant to him.
absolutely, And maybe we can justtake from this, that his golf game's
gotten a little better in the last twoyears and , he doesn't wanna give that
up for a snowy drive into Wyoming.
(08:10):
he can't blame the guy on that one.
No, absolutely not.
No.
And the snow devils existedbefore your parents joined.
do you know the history of the snow devilsas to why it started, how it got together?
You know, I mean, there was, therewas just a group of people and the
Snow Devils is, I, I'm gonna be honestwith you, I don't know what year
(08:32):
the Snow Devils came into existence.
But there was a group of peoplein, 1975 I believe, that, uh, that
decided they wanted to race theirsnowmobiles up Snow King Mountain.
And so that's kind of howhow the hill climb started.
But the snow devils were intact, uh,before that, you know, and, and I don't
think it's anything what it is now.
(08:52):
You know?
And I think we're maybe talking20 or 30 people that got together
and, you know, did a, did aclub ride every once in a while.
Or a chili cookout, cookout, or,you know, did something fun with
the families while it was, whilethere was snow on the ground.
I don't think it was.
You know, whoever put this clubtogether, I'm pretty sure didn't
(09:13):
have aspirations of it being what,what it has turned out to be.
And.
What has it turned out to be?
Well, it turned out to be, A couple yearsago we had, we had over 400 club members.
Woo.
That's a big club.
yeah, it is, it is a big club.
It is a big club.
And it was, it's a, it's a cool deal.
You don't, you know, we're primarilya snowmobile club, but, but you
(09:35):
don't have to, don't have to have asnowmobile to be part of our club.
the, the amount of moneythat, that we give away, Is
what kind of draws people in.
You know, you get, you get those typesof people that wanna be part of groups
that, that give back to the communityand give back to people in need.
and they'll, they'll crawl, crawlright in there and, and give you a hand
at, at your events or, or help, youknow, sell raffle tickets or whatever.
(09:59):
And, and, kind of a pretty cool deal.
It's a pretty cool deal.
Do you have an idea of, say, over the pastnumber of years, how much money the Snow
Devils has provided back to the community?
I do.
So, you know,
Heidi prompted you.
She gave you a sheet of paper
Heidi's, Heidi's in Miami right now.
So she has no idea thatthis is even happening.
(10:22):
She'll soon.
She will soon.
She will soon.
So, We're up over 1.2 million rightnow, on donations back to the community.
and that is, that's probably since 2000.
Around, probably around the year 2000,I would think, is when, when that we
started giving enough money away tokind of keep track of who we were giving
(10:43):
it to and how much we were given away.
and I, I'm pretty sure that this allstarted out with, uh, a donation to St.
John's Hospital where they, they kindof set a goal for, you for the next
five years, we're gonna donate a hundredthousand dollars, over those five years.
and that kind of spiraled notout of control, I should say.
(11:05):
It snowballed.
It just got bigger.
so once we met that goal, then morepeople started paying attention
and, and, and offering us.
Ways that we can raise money.
And there was a, there's a groupout of Utah called the Zebras.
And the Zebras came to usone year and said, Hey, we
(11:26):
wanna give you one of our old.
Mod sleds, which if you follow the zebrasor know who they are, getting one of
their mod sleds is, was quite the deal.
I mean, it, it's a custom-builtsnowmobile from the ground up.
And they weren't racing it anymore.
So they, they gave it tous and we raffled it off.
And I think we raised, youknow, $15,000 that year.
(11:50):
And so we were able to, you know, give abunch of money to the Shriners Hospital.
the next year they came to us witha little bit of a newer snowmobile.
And we raised anothergood amount of money.
And the year after that, you know,it was a brand new snowmobile.
A and it's, it's gotten, it'sgotten crazy now, to where, last
(12:11):
year at the, at the bottom ofthe hill, hill climb on one day.
We had the Shriners down there andI think they sold about $15,000
worth of tickets in one day.
Oh bananas.
That's a lot of tickets.
It is.
A lot of tickets.
It is a lot of tickets.
So, you know, it's, it's just, it's cool.
It's, it's cool to be part of itand cool to, to, watch the money get
(12:35):
donated to these people that need it.
Yeah, for, for sure.
the generosity of the snow devilsis remarkable and it feels as
though that you have an event thatwas created in around that event.
is, it is, it's more of a methodto, to raise the money for what
(12:56):
the purpose of the snow Devils is.
Yeah, absolutely.
might look like . It's a, it's ahuge fundraiser, but we want it to
be two things as the snow devils.
We want it to be, you know,the best snowmobile race
that anybody's ever watched.
In person or, or on their computer,you know, on our live stream.
(13:19):
and so there's, you know, there's,there's a lot to it with the, with
the fundraising side of things.
but the, the, one of the, the biggestpart of it is definitely to make
it the best race for the spectatorsand for the racers that show up,
to run their sleds up that hill.
So, Yeah, it is a, it's a great,it's a great event to, to raise
(13:39):
money and, you know, whenever, yousee a, a Shriner walking around in
that goofy looking hat, your walletstarts jumping outta your pocket.
And, and so it's a, it's a, it's a goodthing, you know, you get a little bit
of beer in people, and their spendinghabits get a little bit more generous.
So it's, it's good.
It's a good, it's a good place to, to.
(14:00):
Fundraising like that.
Now, let's go back to the beginningsof the hill climb, if we can.
Okay.
You said that there was in the seventiesa group of people who decided they
wanted to race their snowmobiles up.
Snow king.
Right.
And so nowadays it's not a, it's easyfor those snowmobiles to get it up there.
(14:20):
It's not a big deal
it's easy for the snowmobiles toget up there, but uh, keep somebody
attached to 'em is a whole nother story.
but what was it like in 75 when theywere running snowmobiles up there?
It had to have been adifferent, different show.
yeah, absolutely.
And I, you know, I wish Iwould've been able to see but it.
(14:41):
If you, if you look, if you look backat videos and there are videos, I mean,
these guys were, these guys were makingit maybe halfway up the mountain, and, you
know, and, and basically getting a highmark, which is, you know, as high as you
get on the hill, um, within the gates.
and that's how, that's how theywere, they were winning it.
until, The early eighties, I think maybemid eighties, was the first time somebody
(15:06):
took a snowmobile, you know, over the top.
so yeah, back in, back in their,those days, you know, they were, they
were on snowmobiles that came fromthe local John Deere or Arctic Cat
dealer with, know, metal cleats ontheir tracks and, just trying to get
a under horse-powered snowmobile ashigh as they could up on that mountain.
Now when the first person made it up overthe top, did he have a modified snowmobile
(15:29):
or he had just one right off the floor?
No, it was definitelya modified snowmobile.
So, you know, I mean, in, in 75they were, they were doing what,
you know, what they could do.
And then people start getting into itand they start modifying their stuff
just to climb this, this mountain.
And,
Like a moonshine,
Like a moonshine.
Exactly.
(15:49):
modified the car.
Yep.
Yep.
Gotta make it go a little faster.
yeah, so, that was a modifiedsnowmobile that went over the top,
and I'm gonna really go out on a limbhere and say Was the first stock
snowmobile that went through the lights.
Um, so he broke the, hebroke the timing lights.
Local guy, Tom Roby, didn't get creditfor being the first stock snowmobile
(16:12):
over the mountain because he didn'tgo over the top, but he did break the
timing lights, which are below the top.
and so.
I think the first stock snowmobile overthe top was a guy named Mark Thompson
in 96 or 97, and that was a stockSkidoo right from the dealer, you know,
snowmobile that that went over the top.
(16:34):
And from there, It's crazy.
We've had our first woman over the top.
We've had our second andthird woman over the top.
We've had, you know, 17 year old kidsthat are racing semi-pro go over the top.
what's the youngest that somebodyhas been to go over the top?
I think, boy, that's a good question.
(16:54):
I'm trying to rememberthe, there was a young kid.
That came off of the rim, Shaw circuit,which is kind of a, that's the snowmobile
circuit that runs throughout the winter.
And, and we, we pull rider fromthat circuit to come race this.
I'm, I'm thinking he was probably17 years old, probably 17 or
18 years old, running semi-pro.
And uh, I can't remember his nameright now, but I can see his face.
(17:17):
But, 17 years old probably is our,probably our youngest over the top.
And when you're talking aboutrunning these snowmobiles up this
hill, Can you describe it to me?
Because I've skied the hill andI know what it, skiing it's like.
So describe it as what this
Yeah.
is experiencing, what they're seeing.
(17:38):
yeah.
So, So it's a, it's a backwardski slalom is what it is.
So, you know, if, if you're on skis ina slalom race, then you're coming down
the hill in between your gates and if youmiss a gate, then you're kind of done.
but you're, and you'regoing as fast as you can.
And so that's what the hill climb isin reverse, is you leave the bottom
(18:01):
of the hill and we, there's a set of.
All the way up to wherever thetiming lights are, and you have
to be in between the gates and youjust go as fast as you possibly can
without wrecking your snowmobileand sending it down that mountain.
and what's the angleas they're getting up?
steep.
It's steep as hell.
I don't, I don't know what the angle is.
(18:22):
I think that's 1500 vertical.
Is from, is what is basically whatthe bottom of s snowing is to the top.
it's that it's steep and it's, um, whenyou're going up of something that steep
and trying to keep it, trying to keepyour snowmobile in between the gates,
it's not like a little frolic downthe trail to, to granite hot springs.
(18:44):
it's I raced forever.
I think I've maybe combined, you know,from, from un qualifying, we only
go to the first cat track and yougotta be as fast as you possibly can.
I mean, you're, you're tens, hundredsof a second between racers and so if
you're, you know, a little bit slowin a corner that can, you know, that
(19:07):
make you be done for the weekend.
You don't, you don't getqualified, to run for the top.
So, but.
It's one of those things where youtake a breath at the bottom and you,
and you tell yourself to breathe,you know, and then all of a sudden
you leave and you're at the firstcat track and you're out of breath,
number one, because you didn't breathe.
And number two, because you're holdingonto the handlebar, like somebody's
(19:28):
trying to rip you off of them.
so a little bit of arm pump, and,little bit out of breath, but One of
the biggest adrenaline rushes that,that I've ever experienced is, riding a
snowmobile up the side of that mountain.
And, and I think that's, I thinkthat's true with, with everybody that
leaves the bottom of that hill, on asnowmobile to go up it, whether they,
(19:51):
whether they only, you know, they only.
To gate 18 and they're, they'restuck or they get it clear
over the top of the mountain.
I think the, the amount of adrenalineis what, what drives some of these guys.
and gals,
And gals.
And gals, exactly.
Have you run your snowbill up over the top.
I have not been over the top.
(20:12):
No.
I've, um, I've been to what they call.
The second catwalk.
Uhhuh
And at that point, you know, I've,I've lost the snowmobile to the
world famous catch net before.
it's a lot, it's a lot easier to, to,uh, get it, to just get it unstuck
out of the side of the mountain,you know, if you get stuck instead
(20:32):
of sending it to the catch net.
and, and much preferred on, on whoever.
Wallet it is that you're riding theirsnowmobile up there and . If the
snowmobile goes to the net, there's gonnabe some broken parts on it, most likely.
Oh, snaps.
Yeah.
Hey Jeff, we're going to take aquick break to get a word from one
of our sponsors, and then we'regonna come talk more about the
(20:54):
Snow Devils and the Hill Climb.
Okay.
Jeff, welcome back.
You just spoke about, how you made it tothe second cat track in the hill climb.
I'm curious to know for these racers,there's other hill climbs, aren't there?
There are other hill climb.
Yeah.
And is this like the cherry ontop for people to come compete in
(21:17):
It is, yeah, we, we callit the World Championship,
damn straight
and and we, uh, you know, that's,that's why we spend so much time
making the race what it is cuz youknow, the experience for the racers
alone, they absolutely love it.
So.
There, there is another circuit, rimshots of Rocky Mountain States Hill
(21:37):
Climb Association and they, they kick offtheir season every January and have, you
know, three or four racers races beforeJackson and then we have Jackson, and
then they, they, you know, depending onsnow levels, they'll try and do three
or four more at, at other locations.
so it's, it's not necessarily, youknow, rim Shaw has their points, champ.
(21:59):
but REM Shaw also kind of has a unlimited,uh, number of entries that they can have.
Where Jackson, you know, we're, we'rekind of, we're on some time constraints.
We've got it down to a science onhow many snowmobiles we can final
on Sunday, and so that kind of takesinto account how many snowmobiles we
can bring in to attempt to qualify.
(22:19):
So we don't get every Rimshot racer herebecause their, their circuit is so big,
so they don't count, they don't get, theydon't count in Jackson as a points race.
So you can kind of look at Jacksonlike, like an all-star game in the
n nba in the middle of the season.
Right.
m l b, you know, they go, you get, you getall your, your big guys in one location.
(22:41):
do that for a weekend and then theymove on to the rest of their season.
So that's kind of what it, it compares to.
a lot of people don't, don't understandwhy they continue to race after Jackson,
but that's why, they have a pointschampionship, you know, set up to where
guys accumulate points at all the races.
And then at the end of the yearthere's, there's, there's money and, and
trophies for those points, champions.
(23:03):
now, is there money forthem to win here in Jackson?
And where does that money come from?
there's a lot of money forthem to win in Jackson.
Yeah, so we're, um, the money,the money we're a hundred percent
payback in Jackson, so thatmeans, you know, a racer's entry,
a pro racer's entry is $175.
And so every bit of that, $175 goesback into the, into the payout.
(23:29):
know, it depends on the amount of guysin a class, that's gonna, you know,
kind determine what the payout is.
So if you, if you've got, you know,40 guys in a class, then you take that
$175, and multiply that that there'sa pretty good pile of money in there.
Uh, and we, we pay out, our top five.
So yeah, you can, these bigger classespay out a lot of money, plus the Snow
(23:52):
Devils every year, you know, withthe help of our sponsors, our local
sponsors, you know, like the liquorstore and, and, uh, the marketplace.
Can I do that?
Can I plug your businesses, Stephen?
Sure
They
some bigger sponsors thanJack, than the liquor store.
Jacksonville argument like, uh, Clarine
(24:12):
yes.
and, and.
Yes.
All the, all the manufacturers, right?
Polaris, art, cat Skidoo.
climb is a huge sponsor.
What is Kline?
climb is a, is the, the clothing,
Oh,
gi, the gear.
Um, they build snowmobile gear,they build motorcycle gear,
(24:34):
and they're a huge sponsor.
You know, the even, I mean, we, we getmoney from the, from the Jacksonville
lodging tax, uh, every, every year.
So, you know, huge.
That's huge.
Absolutely.
so this, so back on the money thing,you know, with all these sponsors,
the Snow Devils can, can usuallyin another, you know, 25 grand.
(24:56):
into the, into the pot.
So, so these guys make money, a lotof money, you know, it's for, for
the amount of time that they're,they spend on the hill, right?
I mean, you, you figure you'rea, a two minute run to the,
to the top of Snow King.
for, for a combined 20 minutes at work.
I mean, I've seen pay paydayof, you know, 30,000, 35,000.
(25:19):
I wouldn't mind walking away with$35,000, but my guess is their snowmobile
might cost a little bit more than that.
The Yes, yes, you're exactly right.
You're exactly right.
I think some of these guys, you know,and, and some of your, some of your
top guys are, are sponsored by, bythe manufacturers and, and by all
the aftermarket guy, so, you know.
(25:39):
The snowmobile might be worth $35,000,but they probably don't have that into it.
However, these guys travel from a longways away to get here, you know, and
then, and then all they're lodging andeverything and, and the fuel to get here.
So, you know, this is not a, it'snot like winning the masters or
anything, where you walk awaywith a million or $2 million, but.
(26:02):
they, they make pretty goodmoney on it, so it's good.
And they probably understandwhat the Snow Devil's is doing.
When you guys are raising,you're putting on a great event.
A show, but you're also raisingmoney for the community and you
know, for people that need it,and they're probably behind that.
Absolutely.
They're absolutely behind it.
(26:23):
I mean, there's, we've, we've gota, this is just a, a small bit
of it, but it, it's, it's cool.
Uh, the Snow Devils has a littlecook tent that we have set up
in the parking lot down, kind ofaway from, away from the public.
And, and what that's foris to, feed our crew and to
supply food for our v i P tent.
And here a few years ago, theracers kind of caught onto it and.
(26:47):
You know, they'll come by and, and graba hamburger and they'll throw a hundred
dollars in the, in the tip bucket.
and you know, last year, I think, Ithink we got about $3,700 out of the,
out of the racers for , you know,some hamburgers and breakfast burritos
and maybe a couple of Gatorades, but.
Yeah, they, they're totally,they're totally into it.
(27:09):
They, they know what,they know what we do.
They know what we're about,and they're, I think every one
of them is behind us on that.
Now are other Hill climb eventsaround the country doing.
What the snow Devil's is accomplishinghere with raising money to give
back to say, the Shriners Hospitalor the local hospital or some
(27:32):
other organization or individual.
Yeah.
You know, I haven't.
I can't say yes or no for sure on that,there's a hill climb in Afton, down
there at Grover Park that, you know,the, the local snowmobile club down
there puts on and, and they make money.
And I don't know what they're, I don'tknow what they're donating to or, or
you know that, but I can tell you this.
(27:53):
There's.
You know, 8,500 people standing at thebottom of that mountain watching it.
so, you know, I'm sure that they, I'msure they make a little money and they
can, they can do something with it,but they just don't have the venue.
that, we have kind of had, and, andbeen able to use for the last 46 years.
Hmm, and what is the SnowDevil's goal this year?
(28:16):
Do you guys have a goal?
think there's lots of goals.
I think the , I think the main goal,the main goal is to just put on another
quality event and, and get through it.
and, every year it's, it's just,it's, fun every year watching the
amount of money that we get to giveaway now, you know, that being said,
stuff's getting more expensive things.
Things are getting more expensive to,to put on the, the hill climb itself.
(28:40):
I mean, just that, you know, we got,we gotta pay for all of our video
production and, and all the sound onthe hill and everything like that.
And so it's, it's getting,it's getting more expensive.
So I think the, that's, that's whatwe gotta do is we gotta, we gotta
put on a quality event that, thatkeeps, that continues to bring people.
so that our donationscan get bigger each year.
(29:00):
it's a tough one.
Mother nature has everything todo with, with what our numbers
are at the bottom of the hill.
I mean, our racers are gonna be thereregardless, but it's 10 below zero,
and half the crowd doesn't show.
And the half the crowd that does showup doesn't drink twice as much beer as
the regular crowd was that showed up.
Then, you know, our, our beer salesgo down the, the gates, the gate
(29:25):
sales go down and then, you know,your, your overall money making
goes down and, and that's what's,that's always the tough part, right?
You get a bright, you get a goodfour days of sunshine and no rain.
no.
We could set records thisyear, but you just never know.
And you guys have had a few yearsin the past where you couldn't have
(29:47):
it because there wasn't enough snow.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Not enough snow.
we couldn't have it becauseof Covid a couple years ago,
Yeah, I remember
that one.
was tough.
but yeah, there's been two years.
Two years here lately thatwe, that we couldn't do it.
Uh, I think 2016 we were lowon snow and you know, 2019 was
(30:09):
the, or 2020 was the covid year.
Yeah, it's 2020.
So you mentioned streaming.
So for those of folks who, want tobe in front of their flat screen,
pay for the streaming and donatemoney, they say the gate fee that
they would pay if they were there.
How do they go about doing that?
(30:30):
so the streaming is free, right?
You just get on, get on the Snowdevils.org, website, snow devils.org,
and we'll have a link on there andyou can watch the Hill Climb, but.
On the top of the page,there's a Donate Now button.
So you know, any bit of, anylittle bit of money we can,
(30:50):
we can get is always helpful.
we've charged for the streaming in thepast, but the amount of people that
complained to us, it wasn't worth it.
So, And it wasn't due, you know, maybea little bit of technical difficulties.
Maybe our sound wasn't workingquite right for five or 10 minutes.
But, you know, I'm, I'm guessing that themajority of them were, were self-inflicted
(31:14):
problems with their computer equipment.
So decided to just, you know, let this go.
Like they didn't have their computer on.
Like they didn't have their computer on,like they forgot to turn it on before they
Hi.
My computer doesn't work.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
So it's free.
The streaming is free.
I know we played at the store, atthe liquor store on our screens.
(31:36):
That's, that's a, that's a, it's quitethe event, you know, we've, we've
got a, a awesome production crew thatcomes in and, it's funny, there used
to be camera guys all over that hill,
Mm-hmm.
know, with these, with thesemassive cameras that, and that's
a steep incline up there, right?
So when you're standing on a hilland you're looking the camera with
(31:58):
one eye and your other eyes openbecause you're watching the snowmobile
that's coming right towards you.
That gets a little crazy for footing.
So now these guys, these guys are runningthese cameras from the bottom of the hill.
They're just set up there on atripod and they're controlling
them from the bottom of the hill.
It's insane.
and a lot, you know, there's, there'sa lot less human life in danger.
(32:19):
with just a camera sitting on a tripod.
and you guys have some drones flying over.
No drones?
No, no drones.
The, uh, well, the Forest Service, theForest Service had a shut down on drones,
um, because that, that, you know, the,for people that don't know, the upper part
of Snow King is Forest Service property.
and the Forest Service said, you know,no drones, um, because when people
(32:42):
fly drones, Other people fly droneswithout asking, and we just don't
wanna have any drone crashes, over thetop of that, over the top of our race.
So it's, it's kind of just easierto just say no drones than have one
drone flying through the air andsomebody else goes and gets theirs
(33:02):
out of their truck that they have.
And pretty soon we gotta go find out who'sgot their remote control for that one.
And, Yep.
Just kind of, uh, um, don't openthat can of worms situation.
So what's the website again that peoplecan go to, to livestream and donate
(33:23):
It is Snow devils.org.
snow devils.org.
And, and tell me about you, youmentioned the, the food that
you guys have for VIPs and such.
So I'm used to going.
Jazz Fest in New Orleans and they're, thefoods just bomber people die for the food.
What type of food can peoplelook forward to at the Hill Climb
(33:45):
because it sure does smell good.
Yeah, so, so the, the one that I wastalking about earlier is not really
for the public, uh, to come get,but we do have food vendors there.
Uh, pinky, pinky Cheese will bethere with their truck, have a
slice of pizza, the Elks Club.
give them a spot at the bottomof the hill so that they, they
cook cheese steaks every year.
And so, you know, the Elks Clubis another, they're, you know,
(34:08):
they're, they're just anotherclub like the Snow Devils that
just gives back to the community.
So, where, where we can give toa, to another club that does that.
we, we absolutely just roll out thecarpet for 'em, let 'em have the
space, and they go to making cheesesteaks and, and making some money.
You're providing the space and the eventfor the Elks to sell cheese steaks.
(34:31):
That's extremely talk about, payingit forward and giving upon giving.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And that's just, that's just what, that'sjust what the Snow Devils is about.
I mean, you can't I can't say it enough.
That's, that's what we do.
That's what we do.
We give, we give back and weput on a hell of a hill climb.
Yeah, you do bring a lotof people to town too,
(34:51):
Exactly.
is awesome.
Hey, Jeff.
I so appreciate you taking the time todo, share all this information about
the Hill Climb, the Jackson Hole, snowDevil's Hill climb, and your, your family.
are you gonna be, dropping the flag forthe first racer like your dad used to?
Who
You know, I'm not, I'm not, I've, Ihave, um, drawn another short straw
(35:13):
in that to be the race director.
So I'm kind of, I'm kind of in chargeof keeping the race under control,
making sure that the hill is safe,um, making sure if we don't have,
you know, if we have any issues onthe hill, that we take care of 'em.
so I wish I had that, of that, uh, job.
Telling a racer to go aheadand go on up the hill.
(35:34):
But, it's a little bit, it's a littlebit of a bigger scope than that,
uh, what I've got going this year.
So, you know, we, we got anotherguy that's gonna tell him to leave,
go ahead and go up the hill, but,Not gonna be George, he's gonna
be playing golf, guaranteed.
So, but no, I will be at the bottom ofthe hill, um, probably for the next week
and a half , to put on our four day event.
(35:55):
And, uh, yeah.
And then, and then we'll just,we'll just go on from there.
Well, I can't think of a betterperson connected to safety
j other than Jeff Toolen.
I, I mean when I hear safety,it's Jeff, the first name, that
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
right guy.
(36:16):
Yes.
Yes.
Well, cheers to another successfulevent for the Snow devils.
How what year will this be?
Of the Hill Climb?
So this is the 47th annual?
47.
Yeah.
Crazy.
It's crazy.
that's, that's almost as old as me.
It is as old as me.
(36:38):
It's even got me by a few years.
Yeah, you're the little young guy.
good.
Jeff, take care.
Thanks for the information.
I appreciate this.
All right.
Thanks for having me on.
You got it Later.
To learn more about the Jackson HoleSnow Devils and the World Championship
Hill Climb, visit the Jackson holeconnection.com, episode number 233.
(37:03):
Thank you, Michael, for doing theediting of this podcast and marketing.
Folks.
If you want to have your own podcast,you can reach out to Michael Morrie.
His information is in the show notes.
That's what Michael does.
He helps people create.
Podcast and bring them to life.
Thank you, Laura, my life, my lovefor supporting me, and of course,
(37:25):
the boys, Lewis and William, whogive joy and surprises every day.
Thank you folks for your time, andI truly have enjoyed sharing my time
with you today, and I look forward toseeing you back right here for the next
episode of the Jackson Hole Connection.
You are tuned into the Jackson hole,connection, sharing, fascinating stories
of people connected to Jackson Hole.
I am truly grateful for each ofyou for tuning in today and support
for this podcast comes from:
I'm gonna begin today's episodewith a quote The man who believes
he can do something is probably.
(00:22):
And so is the man whobelieves he cannot not.
That one is marked anonymous.
If you know who, createdthat quote, send me a note.
Love to know.
Welcome to episode number 233 folks,and my guest today is sharing the
history of the Jackson Hole Snow Devils.
(00:42):
I have the great privilege tospeak with my friend Jeff Tosen,
whose family has been a part ofthe Snow Devil's and the World
Championship He'll climb for decades.
all of the folks who volunteer their timeto organize and execute a world-class
event be, are to be commended.
(01:03):
These are the folks who carry on thetradition of gathering as a community in
lifting up a community by helping others.
The Snow devils have been giving back1.2 million to this community, and it
is still climbing the Jackson Hole.
Snow devils are to becommended for the generosity.
(01:25):
Which they contribute rightback to our community.
And trust me, when you hear aboutwhat's been going on over there at Sno
King over the past 46, 40 seventh Hillclimb, you will be absolutely amazed.
it.
Jeff, thanks for joining me heretoday at the Jackson Hole Connection.
It's delightful to talk to you,even though I don't get to see you.
(01:49):
Yeah.
Well, we do get to see each other
Yeah.
So before we get into this, I thinkit's, important for me to share how
we're talking to each other and why weare in the situation that we're We're
separated by a wall and the reasonwe are not in the same room is because
every time I have done an in-personinterview, I've messed up the audio.
(02:10):
So this is the best way toensure that we have actually good
audio for your interview today.
For the Jackson Hole Snows
I like it.
You gotta love technology.
I can figure some of it out.
Well, That's, that's moreimportant than, not being able to
figure any of it out, that's for
That's true.
That's true.
And so we are here talking about JeffToolen cuz you drew the shortest straw
(02:36):
in the stack of where they didn't provideany straws to talk about the snow.
Devils
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly.
I didn't even have thechance to pull a straw.
I just kind of got handed this
you were voluntold.
ball and told yes.
Yes.
And you've been a snowdevil for a few years.
Just a few.
(02:56):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm 41, so uh, 41 years.
I've been a snow devil for 41 years.
So you've got your membership to theSnow Devils before you got your V
I P membership at the liquor store.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Yeah.
I think I got the v i Pmembership when I was 16.
Oh,
no, I mean, I mean 21.
21, right when I turned 21.
(03:18):
well it could have been16 drinking age back then.
Nah, I was, nah, it was
yeah.
No, people will start doing the mathon that and we'll both be in trouble.
Oh, we don't wanna get in trouble Andyou got teenage kids, so we don't need
to lead them in the wrong direction.
Teenagers, you can'tdrink alcohol right now.
no
No, buy it.
Don't buy it.
(03:38):
Teenagers, anybody under 21 don't do it.
so you were born here in Jackson?
I was born and raised in Jackson.
No kidding.
yes,
All right.
One of the few left.
there used to be a bunch of us, butnow there's fewer and fewer of us.
you say us, does that mean the tosen.
(03:59):
I think, no.
Well, yeah, yeah.
No, we can do that.
We could do that.
Um, yeah.
My, my, my sister doesn'tlive here anymore.
My mom and dad don't live here anymore.
they all live in Star Valley now.
But, when I say yes, I just, Ithink about, you know, we're.
the kids that I went to school withand, and, uh, and there's, there's a
handful of them that are still here,but a lot of them are, are not anymore.
(04:22):
So,
You married one, didn't you?
I did marry one.
Yes, I did.
That's how you kept one of them
That's how we kept one of 'em around.
Exactly, exactly.
or she kept you around
Yeah.
Well, it depends on who you ask.
And how far back does your familygo to being here in the valley?
So I'm gonna, I'm gonna guessthat it was 1970 when my, well,
(04:50):
no, I'm gonna backtrack there.
My mom was born here.
so, you know, the Tosen namedidn't show up until, uh, 1979.
but you know, my mom was born here.
I think.
Her mom was born here.
Oh really?
so yeah.
Yeah, it goes back a long way.
(05:10):
So we've got a little bit of, wegot a little bit of Clark, that's
what my, my mother's maiden name is.
And the, and then the Tosome side,you know, they came from, they came
from Casper in the seventies and, andmy dad graduated high school here.
I think he moved here whenhe was a junior, a senior.
and that's where they, you know,mom and dad met, was in high school.
And, my grandfather was actuallymoved here to work for Mountain Bell,
(05:36):
which was, The now Century Link.
Um, so the old , you know, telephoneline, copper infrastructure
that's running around Jackson.
he worked for Mountain Bell and, mydad also worked for Mountain Bell.
they moved, they had himmove to Green River, my mom.
They moved to Green River and, and, heworked for Mountain Bell down there.
And then they, they transferred back.
(05:58):
Him back up here and, uh, uh, 1984, mygrandpa quit or retired from Mountain
Bell, and started Tools and Telephone.
And a few years after thatmy dad quit Mountain Bell and
came to work for, my grandpa.
And, yeah, the rest is kinda history.
it's quite the deal.
(06:18):
So we've been here for a long time.
They probably weren't layingCat five wire in 1984.
Were they
was, there was no suchthing as Cat five wire.
Matter of fact, when I, when I get, Iget to talking to my dad about, about
what we, you know, are doing these days,it's up and over the top of his head.
some some people say, why don'tyou just get your dad to come
(06:39):
down and help you in the summer?
And I say, well, cuz I hadto retrain him all over.
So
would be a funny short
that would be
training your dad
Yes.
I don't know if I wannabe part of that anymore.
they say old dogs can't learn newtricks, that might be one of them.
That is exactly what they'retalking about right there.
Yes.
So you were born into the SnowDevils to be a part of that, cuz
(07:04):
what your parents were a big partof the Jackson Hole Snow Devils.
They were, yeah, so they've, you know,they've been members for, for a long time.
I mean, probably, probably whenthey moved back from Green River,
so around, you know, 1980 or so.
they've been members of the SnowDevils and, know, my, my dad sat
on the board for a while and thenwas president for a while and.
(07:26):
And up until a few years ago, he would,he would make the drive from his winter
home in Solom, Arizona just to standon the starting line, at the hill
climb to, to turn the racers loose.
So
Huh.
he was, he was in it, he's in ita little harder than, than I would
have ever imagined him be in.
But, you know, to make that 14hour drive each direction to.
(07:50):
Come hang out with us.
It was, uh, it was, it was pretty cool.
Pretty cool deal.
He
shows its commitment to thatorganization and what it meant to him.
absolutely, And maybe we can justtake from this, that his golf game's
gotten a little better in the last twoyears and , he doesn't wanna give that
up for a snowy drive into Wyoming.
(08:10):
he can't blame the guy on that one.
No, absolutely not.
No.
And the snow devils existedbefore your parents joined.
do you know the history of the snow devilsas to why it started, how it got together?
You know, I mean, there was, therewas just a group of people and the
Snow Devils is, I, I'm gonna be honestwith you, I don't know what year
(08:32):
the Snow Devils came into existence.
But there was a group of peoplein, 1975 I believe, that, uh, that
decided they wanted to race theirsnowmobiles up Snow King Mountain.
And so that's kind of howhow the hill climb started.
But the snow devils were intact, uh,before that, you know, and, and I don't
think it's anything what it is now.
(08:52):
You know?
And I think we're maybe talking20 or 30 people that got together
and, you know, did a, did aclub ride every once in a while.
Or a chili cookout, cookout, or,you know, did something fun with
the families while it was, whilethere was snow on the ground.
I don't think it was.
You know, whoever put this clubtogether, I'm pretty sure didn't
(09:13):
have aspirations of it being what,what it has turned out to be.
And.
What has it turned out to be?
Well, it turned out to be, A couple yearsago we had, we had over 400 club members.
Woo.
That's a big club.
yeah, it is, it is a big club.
It is a big club.
And it was, it's a, it's a cool deal.
You don't, you know, we're primarilya snowmobile club, but, but you
(09:35):
don't have to, don't have to have asnowmobile to be part of our club.
the, the amount of moneythat, that we give away, Is
what kind of draws people in.
You know, you get, you get those typesof people that wanna be part of groups
that, that give back to the communityand give back to people in need.
and they'll, they'll crawl, crawlright in there and, and give you a hand
at, at your events or, or help, youknow, sell raffle tickets or whatever.
(09:59):
And, and, kind of a pretty cool deal.
It's a pretty cool deal.
Do you have an idea of, say, over the pastnumber of years, how much money the Snow
Devils has provided back to the community?
I do.
So, you know,
Heidi prompted you.
She gave you a sheet of paper
Heidi's, Heidi's in Miami right now.
So she has no idea thatthis is even happening.
(10:22):
She'll soon.
She will soon.
She will soon.
So, We're up over 1.2 million rightnow, on donations back to the community.
and that is, that's probably since 2000.
Around, probably around the year 2000,I would think, is when, when that we
started giving enough money away tokind of keep track of who we were giving
(10:43):
it to and how much we were given away.
and I, I'm pretty sure that this allstarted out with, uh, a donation to St.
John's Hospital where they, they kindof set a goal for, you for the next
five years, we're gonna donate a hundredthousand dollars, over those five years.
and that kind of spiraled notout of control, I should say.
(11:05):
It snowballed.
It just got bigger.
so once we met that goal, then morepeople started paying attention
and, and, and offering us.
Ways that we can raise money.
And there was a, there's a groupout of Utah called the Zebras.
And the Zebras came to usone year and said, Hey, we
(11:26):
wanna give you one of our old.
Mod sleds, which if you follow the zebrasor know who they are, getting one of
their mod sleds is, was quite the deal.
I mean, it, it's a custom-builtsnowmobile from the ground up.
And they weren't racing it anymore.
So they, they gave it tous and we raffled it off.
And I think we raised, youknow, $15,000 that year.
(11:50):
And so we were able to, you know, give abunch of money to the Shriners Hospital.
the next year they came to us witha little bit of a newer snowmobile.
And we raised anothergood amount of money.
And the year after that, you know,it was a brand new snowmobile.
A and it's, it's gotten, it'sgotten crazy now, to where, last
(12:11):
year at the, at the bottom ofthe hill, hill climb on one day.
We had the Shriners down there andI think they sold about $15,000
worth of tickets in one day.
Oh bananas.
That's a lot of tickets.
It is.
A lot of tickets.
It is a lot of tickets.
So, you know, it's, it's just, it's cool.
It's, it's cool to be part of itand cool to, to, watch the money get
(12:35):
donated to these people that need it.
Yeah, for, for sure.
the generosity of the snow devilsis remarkable and it feels as
though that you have an event thatwas created in around that event.
is, it is, it's more of a methodto, to raise the money for what
(12:56):
the purpose of the snow Devils is.
Yeah, absolutely.
might look like . It's a, it's ahuge fundraiser, but we want it to
be two things as the snow devils.
We want it to be, you know,the best snowmobile race
that anybody's ever watched.
In person or, or on their computer,you know, on our live stream.
(13:19):
and so there's, you know, there's,there's a lot to it with the, with
the fundraising side of things.
but the, the, one of the, the biggestpart of it is definitely to make
it the best race for the spectatorsand for the racers that show up,
to run their sleds up that hill.
So, Yeah, it is a, it's a great,it's a great event to, to raise
(13:39):
money and, you know, whenever, yousee a, a Shriner walking around in
that goofy looking hat, your walletstarts jumping outta your pocket.
And, and so it's a, it's a, it's a goodthing, you know, you get a little bit
of beer in people, and their spendinghabits get a little bit more generous.
So it's, it's good.
It's a good, it's a good place to, to.
(14:00):
Fundraising like that.
Now, let's go back to the beginningsof the hill climb, if we can.
Okay.
You said that there was in the seventiesa group of people who decided they
wanted to race their snowmobiles up.
Snow king.
Right.
And so nowadays it's not a, it's easyfor those snowmobiles to get it up there.
(14:20):
It's not a big deal
it's easy for the snowmobiles toget up there, but uh, keep somebody
attached to 'em is a whole nother story.
but what was it like in 75 when theywere running snowmobiles up there?
It had to have been adifferent, different show.
yeah, absolutely.
And I, you know, I wish Iwould've been able to see but it.
(14:41):
If you, if you look, if you look backat videos and there are videos, I mean,
these guys were, these guys were makingit maybe halfway up the mountain, and, you
know, and, and basically getting a highmark, which is, you know, as high as you
get on the hill, um, within the gates.
and that's how, that's how theywere, they were winning it.
until, The early eighties, I think maybemid eighties, was the first time somebody
(15:06):
took a snowmobile, you know, over the top.
so yeah, back in, back in their,those days, you know, they were, they
were on snowmobiles that came fromthe local John Deere or Arctic Cat
dealer with, know, metal cleats ontheir tracks and, just trying to get
a under horse-powered snowmobile ashigh as they could up on that mountain.
Now when the first person made it up overthe top, did he have a modified snowmobile
(15:29):
or he had just one right off the floor?
No, it was definitelya modified snowmobile.
So, you know, I mean, in, in 75they were, they were doing what,
you know, what they could do.
And then people start getting into itand they start modifying their stuff
just to climb this, this mountain.
And,
Like a moonshine,
Like a moonshine.
Exactly.
(15:49):
modified the car.
Yep.
Yep.
Gotta make it go a little faster.
yeah, so, that was a modifiedsnowmobile that went over the top,
and I'm gonna really go out on a limbhere and say Was the first stock
snowmobile that went through the lights.
Um, so he broke the, hebroke the timing lights.
Local guy, Tom Roby, didn't get creditfor being the first stock snowmobile
(16:12):
over the mountain because he didn'tgo over the top, but he did break the
timing lights, which are below the top.
and so.
I think the first stock snowmobile overthe top was a guy named Mark Thompson
in 96 or 97, and that was a stockSkidoo right from the dealer, you know,
snowmobile that that went over the top.
(16:34):
And from there, It's crazy.
We've had our first woman over the top.
We've had our second andthird woman over the top.
We've had, you know, 17 year old kidsthat are racing semi-pro go over the top.
what's the youngest that somebodyhas been to go over the top?
I think, boy, that's a good question.
(16:54):
I'm trying to rememberthe, there was a young kid.
That came off of the rim, Shaw circuit,which is kind of a, that's the snowmobile
circuit that runs throughout the winter.
And, and we, we pull rider fromthat circuit to come race this.
I'm, I'm thinking he was probably17 years old, probably 17 or
18 years old, running semi-pro.
And uh, I can't remember his nameright now, but I can see his face.
(17:17):
But, 17 years old probably is our,probably our youngest over the top.
And when you're talking aboutrunning these snowmobiles up this
hill, Can you describe it to me?
Because I've skied the hill andI know what it, skiing it's like.
So describe it as what this
Yeah.
is experiencing, what they're seeing.
(17:38):
yeah.
So, So it's a, it's a backwardski slalom is what it is.
So, you know, if, if you're on skis ina slalom race, then you're coming down
the hill in between your gates and if youmiss a gate, then you're kind of done.
but you're, and you'regoing as fast as you can.
And so that's what the hill climb isin reverse, is you leave the bottom
(18:01):
of the hill and we, there's a set of.
All the way up to wherever thetiming lights are, and you have
to be in between the gates and youjust go as fast as you possibly can
without wrecking your snowmobileand sending it down that mountain.
and what's the angleas they're getting up?
steep.
It's steep as hell.
I don't, I don't know what the angle is.
(18:22):
I think that's 1500 vertical.
Is from, is what is basically whatthe bottom of s snowing is to the top.
it's that it's steep and it's, um, whenyou're going up of something that steep
and trying to keep it, trying to keepyour snowmobile in between the gates,
it's not like a little frolic downthe trail to, to granite hot springs.
(18:44):
it's I raced forever.
I think I've maybe combined, you know,from, from un qualifying, we only
go to the first cat track and yougotta be as fast as you possibly can.
I mean, you're, you're tens, hundredsof a second between racers and so if
you're, you know, a little bit slowin a corner that can, you know, that
(19:07):
make you be done for the weekend.
You don't, you don't getqualified, to run for the top.
So, but.
It's one of those things where youtake a breath at the bottom and you,
and you tell yourself to breathe,you know, and then all of a sudden
you leave and you're at the firstcat track and you're out of breath,
number one, because you didn't breathe.
And number two, because you're holdingonto the handlebar, like somebody's
(19:28):
trying to rip you off of them.
so a little bit of arm pump, and,little bit out of breath, but One of
the biggest adrenaline rushes that,that I've ever experienced is, riding a
snowmobile up the side of that mountain.
And, and I think that's, I thinkthat's true with, with everybody that
leaves the bottom of that hill, on asnowmobile to go up it, whether they,
(19:51):
whether they only, you know, they only.
To gate 18 and they're, they'restuck or they get it clear
over the top of the mountain.
I think the, the amount of adrenalineis what, what drives some of these guys.
and gals,
And gals.
And gals, exactly.
Have you run your snowbill up over the top.
I have not been over the top.
(20:12):
No.
I've, um, I've been to what they call.
The second catwalk.
Uhhuh
And at that point, you know, I've,I've lost the snowmobile to the
world famous catch net before.
it's a lot, it's a lot easier to, to,uh, get it, to just get it unstuck
out of the side of the mountain,you know, if you get stuck instead
(20:32):
of sending it to the catch net.
and, and much preferred on, on whoever.
Wallet it is that you're riding theirsnowmobile up there and . If the
snowmobile goes to the net, there's gonnabe some broken parts on it, most likely.
Oh, snaps.
Yeah.
Hey Jeff, we're going to take aquick break to get a word from one
of our sponsors, and then we'regonna come talk more about the
(20:54):
Snow Devils and the Hill Climb.
Okay.
Jeff, welcome back.
You just spoke about, how you made it tothe second cat track in the hill climb.
I'm curious to know for these racers,there's other hill climbs, aren't there?
There are other hill climb.
Yeah.
And is this like the cherry ontop for people to come compete in
(21:17):
It is, yeah, we, we callit the World Championship,
damn straight
and and we, uh, you know, that's,that's why we spend so much time
making the race what it is cuz youknow, the experience for the racers
alone, they absolutely love it.
So.
There, there is another circuit, rimshots of Rocky Mountain States Hill
(21:37):
Climb Association and they, they kick offtheir season every January and have, you
know, three or four racers races beforeJackson and then we have Jackson, and
then they, they, you know, depending onsnow levels, they'll try and do three
or four more at, at other locations.
so it's, it's not necessarily, youknow, rim Shaw has their points, champ.
(21:59):
but REM Shaw also kind of has a unlimited,uh, number of entries that they can have.
Where Jackson, you know, we're, we'rekind of, we're on some time constraints.
We've got it down to a science onhow many snowmobiles we can final
on Sunday, and so that kind of takesinto account how many snowmobiles we
can bring in to attempt to qualify.
(22:19):
So we don't get every Rimshot racer herebecause their, their circuit is so big,
so they don't count, they don't get, theydon't count in Jackson as a points race.
So you can kind of look at Jacksonlike, like an all-star game in the
n nba in the middle of the season.
Right.
m l b, you know, they go, you get, you getall your, your big guys in one location.
(22:41):
do that for a weekend and then theymove on to the rest of their season.
So that's kind of what it, it compares to.
a lot of people don't, don't understandwhy they continue to race after Jackson,
but that's why, they have a pointschampionship, you know, set up to where
guys accumulate points at all the races.
And then at the end of the yearthere's, there's, there's money and, and
trophies for those points, champions.
(23:03):
now, is there money forthem to win here in Jackson?
And where does that money come from?
there's a lot of money forthem to win in Jackson.
Yeah, so we're, um, the money,the money we're a hundred percent
payback in Jackson, so thatmeans, you know, a racer's entry,
a pro racer's entry is $175.
And so every bit of that, $175 goesback into the, into the payout.
(23:29):
know, it depends on the amount of guysin a class, that's gonna, you know,
kind determine what the payout is.
So if you, if you've got, you know,40 guys in a class, then you take that
$175, and multiply that that there'sa pretty good pile of money in there.
Uh, and we, we pay out, our top five.
So yeah, you can, these bigger classespay out a lot of money, plus the Snow
(23:52):
Devils every year, you know, withthe help of our sponsors, our local
sponsors, you know, like the liquorstore and, and, uh, the marketplace.
Can I do that?
Can I plug your businesses, Stephen?
Sure
They
some bigger sponsors thanJack, than the liquor store.
Jacksonville argument like, uh, Clarine
(24:12):
yes.
and, and.
Yes.
All the, all the manufacturers, right?
Polaris, art, cat Skidoo.
climb is a huge sponsor.
What is Kline?
climb is a, is the, the clothing,
Oh,
gi, the gear.
Um, they build snowmobile gear,they build motorcycle gear,
(24:34):
and they're a huge sponsor.
You know, the even, I mean, we, we getmoney from the, from the Jacksonville
lodging tax, uh, every, every year.
So, you know, huge.
That's huge.
Absolutely.
so this, so back on the money thing,you know, with all these sponsors,
the Snow Devils can, can usuallyin another, you know, 25 grand.
(24:56):
into the, into the pot.
So, so these guys make money, a lotof money, you know, it's for, for
the amount of time that they're,they spend on the hill, right?
I mean, you, you figure you'rea, a two minute run to the,
to the top of Snow King.
for, for a combined 20 minutes at work.
I mean, I've seen pay paydayof, you know, 30,000, 35,000.
(25:19):
I wouldn't mind walking away with$35,000, but my guess is their snowmobile
might cost a little bit more than that.
The Yes, yes, you're exactly right.
You're exactly right.
I think some of these guys, you know,and, and some of your, some of your
top guys are, are sponsored by, bythe manufacturers and, and by all
the aftermarket guy, so, you know.
(25:39):
The snowmobile might be worth $35,000,but they probably don't have that into it.
However, these guys travel from a longways away to get here, you know, and
then, and then all they're lodging andeverything and, and the fuel to get here.
So, you know, this is not a, it'snot like winning the masters or
anything, where you walk awaywith a million or $2 million, but.
(26:02):
they, they make pretty goodmoney on it, so it's good.
And they probably understandwhat the Snow Devil's is doing.
When you guys are raising,you're putting on a great event.
A show, but you're also raisingmoney for the community and you
know, for people that need it,and they're probably behind that.
Absolutely.
They're absolutely behind it.
(26:23):
I mean, there's, we've, we've gota, this is just a, a small bit
of it, but it, it's, it's cool.
Uh, the Snow Devils has a littlecook tent that we have set up
in the parking lot down, kind ofaway from, away from the public.
And, and what that's foris to, feed our crew and to
supply food for our v i P tent.
And here a few years ago, theracers kind of caught onto it and.
(26:47):
You know, they'll come by and, and graba hamburger and they'll throw a hundred
dollars in the, in the tip bucket.
and you know, last year, I think, Ithink we got about $3,700 out of the,
out of the racers for , you know,some hamburgers and breakfast burritos
and maybe a couple of Gatorades, but.
Yeah, they, they're totally,they're totally into it.
(27:09):
They, they know what,they know what we do.
They know what we're about,and they're, I think every one
of them is behind us on that.
Now are other Hill climb eventsaround the country doing.
What the snow Devil's is accomplishinghere with raising money to give
back to say, the Shriners Hospitalor the local hospital or some
(27:32):
other organization or individual.
Yeah.
You know, I haven't.
I can't say yes or no for sure on that,there's a hill climb in Afton, down
there at Grover Park that, you know,the, the local snowmobile club down
there puts on and, and they make money.
And I don't know what they're, I don'tknow what they're donating to or, or
you know that, but I can tell you this.
(27:53):
There's.
You know, 8,500 people standing at thebottom of that mountain watching it.
so, you know, I'm sure that they, I'msure they make a little money and they
can, they can do something with it,but they just don't have the venue.
that, we have kind of had, and, andbeen able to use for the last 46 years.
Hmm, and what is the SnowDevil's goal this year?
(28:16):
Do you guys have a goal?
think there's lots of goals.
I think the , I think the main goal,the main goal is to just put on another
quality event and, and get through it.
and, every year it's, it's just,it's, fun every year watching the
amount of money that we get to giveaway now, you know, that being said,
stuff's getting more expensive things.
Things are getting more expensive to,to put on the, the hill climb itself.
(28:40):
I mean, just that, you know, we got,we gotta pay for all of our video
production and, and all the sound onthe hill and everything like that.
And so it's, it's getting,it's getting more expensive.
So I think the, that's, that's whatwe gotta do is we gotta, we gotta
put on a quality event that, thatkeeps, that continues to bring people.
so that our donationscan get bigger each year.
(29:00):
it's a tough one.
Mother nature has everything todo with, with what our numbers
are at the bottom of the hill.
I mean, our racers are gonna be thereregardless, but it's 10 below zero,
and half the crowd doesn't show.
And the half the crowd that does showup doesn't drink twice as much beer as
the regular crowd was that showed up.
Then, you know, our, our beer salesgo down the, the gates, the gate
(29:25):
sales go down and then, you know,your, your overall money making
goes down and, and that's what's,that's always the tough part, right?
You get a bright, you get a goodfour days of sunshine and no rain.
no.
We could set records thisyear, but you just never know.
And you guys have had a few yearsin the past where you couldn't have
(29:47):
it because there wasn't enough snow.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Not enough snow.
we couldn't have it becauseof Covid a couple years ago,
Yeah, I remember
that one.
was tough.
but yeah, there's been two years.
Two years here lately thatwe, that we couldn't do it.
Uh, I think 2016 we were lowon snow and you know, 2019 was
(30:09):
the, or 2020 was the covid year.
Yeah, it's 2020.
So you mentioned streaming.
So for those of folks who, want tobe in front of their flat screen,
pay for the streaming and donatemoney, they say the gate fee that
they would pay if they were there.
How do they go about doing that?
(30:30):
so the streaming is free, right?
You just get on, get on the Snowdevils.org, website, snow devils.org,
and we'll have a link on there andyou can watch the Hill Climb, but.
On the top of the page,there's a Donate Now button.
So you know, any bit of, anylittle bit of money we can,
(30:50):
we can get is always helpful.
we've charged for the streaming in thepast, but the amount of people that
complained to us, it wasn't worth it.
So, And it wasn't due, you know, maybea little bit of technical difficulties.
Maybe our sound wasn't workingquite right for five or 10 minutes.
But, you know, I'm, I'm guessing that themajority of them were, were self-inflicted
(31:14):
problems with their computer equipment.
So decided to just, you know, let this go.
Like they didn't have their computer on.
Like they didn't have their computer on,like they forgot to turn it on before they
Hi.
My computer doesn't work.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
So it's free.
The streaming is free.
I know we played at the store, atthe liquor store on our screens.
(31:36):
That's, that's a, that's a, it's quitethe event, you know, we've, we've
got a, a awesome production crew thatcomes in and, it's funny, there used
to be camera guys all over that hill,
Mm-hmm.
know, with these, with thesemassive cameras that, and that's
a steep incline up there, right?
So when you're standing on a hilland you're looking the camera with
(31:58):
one eye and your other eyes openbecause you're watching the snowmobile
that's coming right towards you.
That gets a little crazy for footing.
So now these guys, these guys are runningthese cameras from the bottom of the hill.
They're just set up there on atripod and they're controlling
them from the bottom of the hill.
It's insane.
and a lot, you know, there's, there'sa lot less human life in danger.
(32:19):
with just a camera sitting on a tripod.
and you guys have some drones flying over.
No drones?
No, no drones.
The, uh, well, the Forest Service, theForest Service had a shut down on drones,
um, because that, that, you know, the,for people that don't know, the upper part
of Snow King is Forest Service property.
and the Forest Service said, you know,no drones, um, because when people
(32:42):
fly drones, Other people fly droneswithout asking, and we just don't
wanna have any drone crashes, over thetop of that, over the top of our race.
So it's, it's kind of just easierto just say no drones than have one
drone flying through the air andsomebody else goes and gets theirs
(33:02):
out of their truck that they have.
And pretty soon we gotta go find out who'sgot their remote control for that one.
And, Yep.
Just kind of, uh, um, don't openthat can of worms situation.
So what's the website again that peoplecan go to, to livestream and donate
(33:23):
It is Snow devils.org.
snow devils.org.
And, and tell me about you, youmentioned the, the food that
you guys have for VIPs and such.
So I'm used to going.
Jazz Fest in New Orleans and they're, thefoods just bomber people die for the food.
What type of food can peoplelook forward to at the Hill Climb
(33:45):
because it sure does smell good.
Yeah, so, so the, the one that I wastalking about earlier is not really
for the public, uh, to come get,but we do have food vendors there.
Uh, pinky, pinky Cheese will bethere with their truck, have a
slice of pizza, the Elks Club.
give them a spot at the bottomof the hill so that they, they
cook cheese steaks every year.
And so, you know, the Elks Clubis another, they're, you know,
(34:08):
they're, they're just anotherclub like the Snow Devils that
just gives back to the community.
So, where, where we can give toa, to another club that does that.
we, we absolutely just roll out thecarpet for 'em, let 'em have the
space, and they go to making cheesesteaks and, and making some money.
You're providing the space and the eventfor the Elks to sell cheese steaks.
(34:31):
That's extremely talk about, payingit forward and giving upon giving.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And that's just, that's just what, that'sjust what the Snow Devils is about.
I mean, you can't I can't say it enough.
That's, that's what we do.
That's what we do.
We give, we give back and weput on a hell of a hill climb.
Yeah, you do bring a lotof people to town too,
(34:51):
Exactly.
is awesome.
Hey, Jeff.
I so appreciate you taking the time todo, share all this information about
the Hill Climb, the Jackson Hole, snowDevil's Hill climb, and your, your family.
are you gonna be, dropping the flag forthe first racer like your dad used to?
Who
You know, I'm not, I'm not, I've, Ihave, um, drawn another short straw
(35:13):
in that to be the race director.
So I'm kind of, I'm kind of in chargeof keeping the race under control,
making sure that the hill is safe,um, making sure if we don't have,
you know, if we have any issues onthe hill, that we take care of 'em.
so I wish I had that, of that, uh, job.
Telling a racer to go aheadand go on up the hill.
(35:34):
But, it's a little bit, it's a littlebit of a bigger scope than that,
uh, what I've got going this year.
So, you know, we, we got anotherguy that's gonna tell him to leave,
go ahead and go up the hill, but,Not gonna be George, he's gonna
be playing golf, guaranteed.
So, but no, I will be at the bottom ofthe hill, um, probably for the next week
and a half , to put on our four day event.
(35:55):
And, uh, yeah.
And then, and then we'll just,we'll just go on from there.
Well, I can't think of a betterperson connected to safety
j other than Jeff Toolen.
I, I mean when I hear safety,it's Jeff, the first name, that
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
right guy.
(36:16):
Yes.
Yes.
Well, cheers to another successfulevent for the Snow devils.
How what year will this be?
Of the Hill Climb?
So this is the 47th annual?
47.
Yeah.
Crazy.
It's crazy.
that's, that's almost as old as me.
It is as old as me.
(36:38):
It's even got me by a few years.
Yeah, you're the little young guy.
good.
Jeff, take care.
Thanks for the information.
I appreciate this.
All right.
Thanks for having me on.
You got it Later.
To learn more about the Jackson HoleSnow Devils and the World Championship
Hill Climb, visit the Jackson holeconnection.com, episode number 233.
(37:03):
Thank you, Michael, for doing theediting of this podcast and marketing.
Folks.
If you want to have your own podcast,you can reach out to Michael Morrie.
His information is in the show notes.
That's what Michael does.
He helps people create.
Podcast and bring them to life.
Thank you, Laura, my life, my lovefor supporting me, and of course,
(37:25):
the boys, Lewis and William, whogive joy and surprises every day.
Thank you folks for your time, andI truly have enjoyed sharing my time
with you today, and I look forward toseeing you back right here for the next
episode of the Jackson Hole Connection.
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