The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Marcus Boyd is a prodigious talent on a snowmobile - and he proved it last month in Wyoming. Boyd won the juniors World Championship Hill Climb at Jackson Hole March 21-24, and he won by four seconds, a very big margin in such races.

The run is like an Olympic downhill in reverse, with the snowmobile climbing a steep slope.

"It feels like it's straight up and down," Boyd said.

Boyd didn't know he'd won, let alone by a wide margin, until he started heading back down the hill. In fact, he was pretty sure he hadn't, because he had a glitch at the start.

"I had no momentum going through the timing light," he said.

Frustrated, he opened up the throttle and let the machine loose.

"I just pretty much left it wide open the whole time," he said.

That's the key to victory in snowmobile climbs. The rider who can take corners at speed, the one who leaves that throttle wide open the longest, is going to be the one on top of the leader board. And that was Boyd.

The victory was satisfying to the 18-year-old, but its real impact is what it means going forward.

"It opens the door a lot for potential new sponsors," he said.

Boyd is currently sponsored by Ski Doo and Pro Caliber, and local sponsors Landmark Fine Goods and Sisters Moto. He travels to events across the West with his parents.

"I wouldn't be where I am without them, so I always want them there," he said.

He's finishing out the amateur class this spring.

"That puts me going semi-pro next year," he said, noting that he's trying to turn pro as soon as possible.

He knows that he will have to level up because he will face "a lot faster guys. I'm going to have to work on my conditioning and skill level... smooth is fast."

Boyd trains in Sisters, laying out courses for himself at Three Creek or Ray Benson sno-parks. He says it's a great feeling to be on the podium, especially at the top, but "I'll definitely say that the adrenaline rush is what keeps it going."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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