Cat show

By MEGAN HUGHES

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Ironwood Township - The Cat Clowder, a gathering of sno-cats and similar vehicles built to move through and on deep snow, celebrated it's 10th year gathering at Powderhorn this past weekend. More than 30 vehicles made the trip up to Big Powderhorn Resort for the celebration of all things sno-cat.

Big Powderhorn general manager Bruce Noren said the clowder is a highly anticipated event each year, as it draws people from across the country.

"We had some come from Washington state, we had some come from New York state. Most of them are from the Midwest," said Noren. "The neat thing is, these people come from all walks of life. You wouldn't see these people come together any other way if they didn't have this common interest. You see farmers, engineers, restaurant owners. It's such a mixture. It's just amazing."

Noren said one brand, Tucker, is a favorite among enthusiasts, and pointed out that many of the personal transport vehicles were created by the brand. He referred to their style as a "cab" style, as the vehicle is entirely enclosed and does not have a plow attachment.

The hill in Bessemer Township had its own machines on display as well, including a manufacturer's demo from a company called Prinoth, which was brought in to be demonstrated at the area ski hills.

"In snow grooming today, there is mainly Prinoth and Piston Bully," said Noren.

This year, due to the small amount of snow the usual clowder parade was cancelled, as the resort was worried about damaging the hill. In 2023, the clowder hit record numbers, with around 50 vehicles participating.

"It's still a pretty good turnout," said Noren Saturday. "A couple dozen mach-ines made it out here."

One of the event's originators, Mike Merbach, spoke about the origin of the Cat Clowder, explaining that it started with a single cat at Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. "We went out, drove around, and it was a lot of fun. That was technically the first clowder, and it was 13 years ago."

The move to Powderhorn was made three years later, the year after Noren had joined in the festivities.

Since then, the Cat Clowder has grown, now hosting a dinner program, the parade on the ski hill, as well as trail rides leading up into the Saturday show for the public.

Many of the participants found each other online, from forums dedicated to sno-cat owners, connecting them from around the country.

"When I was a kid I had a Matchbox toy of a sno-cat," said Frédéric Boudouani of Elkander, Iowa, one of the event organizers. "And maybe 10 years ago, I couldn't sleep, and turned on the TV, and I saw this show called Salvage Squad about guys in Scotland restoring the actual machine of the toy that I had. I thought, 'Well, I am probably at the point in life where I can own the actual machine.'"

From there he began researching and found out from a 2015 article from The Daily Globe about the Cat Clowder, also learning that one of the participants lived not too far from where he was. Within the week, he was visiting the vehicle's owner, and riding it around his farm property in Iowa.

On Saturday, a couple of the privately owned mach-ines were shown off to The Globe by their owners.

Craig Nelson brought up his 1989 Tucker from central Wisconsin, which he uses at home to groom snow hills for his area ski club. He has restored various parts of the machine, including adding an engine preheater, which can warm up the motor in the cab before they start it.

"We didn't need it after all, with how warm it was this year," he said, referencing the warm weather. "For anyone involved with snow this year has just been terrible."

One of the most unique machines in attendance was the 1962 Snow Trac owned by Kirk Citurs. He came from Iowa, too.

"They made them from 1958 to 1979, and made around 2,400. It weighs around 3,000 pounds," said Citurs, adding that the machine has many similarities to Volkswagen machines, with the manufacturer using parts from the vehicle's in it's construction.

"It has that timeless appearance," said Citurs. "They are not as square as a lot of the other cabs."

He explained that unlike many two-track sno-cats, the Snow Trac has a wheel it steers with, instead of a dual lever system, which was made possible by some unique engineering done inside the engine compartment.

"These were made to transport people, mainly. You don't put blades on them, and they typically don't pull a dragger or groom," he said.

According to Merbach, the connections that people have made through this event are unlike anything else. "When people buy a sno-cat, wherever they are from, they are the only guy that has one. They're the 'weirdo.' Here? They fit in."

Boudouani said he was born in Algers, Algeria. "The chances of these two people meeting are very close to zero. But there is this common language that we are both passionate about that makes us meet."