Events

April 7th, 2025

6th Annual Riley Suhan Backcountry Race Recap

The 6th Annual Riley Suhan Backcountry Race, held on April 5, 2025, at Quartz Creek, once again showcased the unmatched spirit of the snowmobile community amidst the breathtaking backdrop of British Columbia’s mountainous terrain. Organized by the Golden Snowmobile Club, this year’s event introduced an exciting new Pro category, elevating the competition to unprecedented heights.

This event continues to be a one-of-a-kind backcountry race event highlighting teamwork and inclusivity. Participants are grouped into teams of four through a randomized selection process, ensuring a diverse mix of skills and fostering new connections among riders.

Results for the event can be found with the good folks at Zone4 timing.

Friday night riders came together to register, gather details for the weekend and set the tone for the high stoke. Saturday morning 120 competitors plus their friends and families descended on the Quartz creek parking lot and the trek into the updated venue began. The snow started just after the kiosk, where racers paid a discounted trail fee.

Riley and his daughter, ready to start the day.

This year the start and finish area moved up to “AST Meadows” from the usual spot at the Quartz Cabin. The venue had much more room to host everyone and the team pits have never been so organized. Of course it didn’t hurt that we had perfect weather without a cloud in the sky.

High stoke for the day.

“Sled Golden sure knows how to put together such a sweet family-fun event to gather everyone at the end of the season to close off a solid winter. A bunch of humans coming together to volunteer for a common passion of snowmobiling. The vibe is always high at this race, the stoke is always pumping, and the high fives are always flowing. Love how the format is laid out with a random pull for teams, and they always managed to switch it up a bit this year, adding a pro division to keep the pros stoked and the spectators on the edge of their seats! Good times!!! Thank you to all of the volunteers that pull this together year after year.” – Julie-Ann Chapman, She Shreds Mountain Adventures

Ample excitement from everyone at the event.

The most interesting addition to the the event for 2025 was the addition of the ‘pro race’ category, which took 30 racers with fastest times in the regular lap and allowed them into a much more difficult hill climb section. Since Riley has been racing on the RMSHA circuit, he’s learned a lot about racing gates uphill and he took that into consideration when setting the course. The goal was to make something much more difficult. That mission was accomplished and the crowd was treated to a wild display of expert sledding as the riders navigated the icy steep climb. Only 22 out of the 30 top riders finished the race.

“This was my third year attending Riley’s race and my second time racing it. I had an injured back last year, so I just came to support everyone but couldn’t race.

I was definitely a huge fan of the pro lap this year. Having the main/first lap as a qualifier, followed by the pro lap with the RMSHA-style hill climb, really added that RMSHA feel and excitement, while still maintaining the unique endurocross vibe that Riley has created with this event.

While the epic riding and wild hill climb fails were definitely highlights, I think what stood out the most was seeing everyone, along with their families and friends, come together in the middle of the backcountry, surrounded by Golden’s beautiful alpine. It was incredible to be part of such an epic event, making new friends, creating core memories, and feeling the excitement build for next year’s race. I really think Riley’s on to something with this race, and it’s only going to keep getting better!” – Jaryn Seel, @jseel_250

“The pro hill climb portion for me was a really neat part of the event. Having been a spectator at Jackson Hole hill climbs a few weeks ago, this really seemed as close to that as you can get without it being on the RMSHA circuit. Being able to test your abilities and get through the hill climb portion as fast and as clean as possible was very unique and definitely left me wanting more of it. Lots of drive now to improve even more for next year.” – Jordan Janke, @jordan_d_janke

Riley closing out the event as the last rider.

A collaborative event from start to finish. From creating the course track, to cleaning up at the end of the day. Everyone was hyped to be apart of such an epic day.

Party on, friends. With a special appearance from Dr. Poz and a little rap from Shannon Mason reminding Mat Cox to make sure his bike is full of fuel next year the after party was a fun time. All the racers got a draw ticket and many walked away with some sweet prizes from CFR, BWB, GGB, Tempest, 509, Mountain Lab and more.