King of the hill
B.C. rider Jason Hughes is making
hismark in the world of hillclimbing
by KELVIN HARRISON
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REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: A smooth, precise style of riding has made Jason Hughes a champion in Canada and the United States.
—photo courtesy Jason Hughes
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Jason Hughes grew up on the sunny shores of Shuswap Lake in Celista, B.C. He first climbed on a snowmobile in 1987 at the age of 13. A kid couldn’t ask for more: having the Crowfoot Mountain snowmobiling area as your backyard and the shores of Shuswap Lake as the front.
“My first snowmobile was a 1972 Sno-Jet 440,” said Hughes, “then at 14, I moved up to a new Arctic Cat Jag. As a 17-year-old with the support of my father, I started racing on a Prowler 440 special. In the early ’90s we made a few trips down to the U.S. to compete in the Rocky Mountain race series, where Kirk Hibbert (Tucker’s father) was ripping up the mountains on his Arctic Cats. He was a great source of inspiration with his exciting, full boar, balls-to-the-wall style.”
Climbing to victory
By 1996, Hughes was the overall hillclimb points champion in Canada. He was runner-up to this title on five other occasions, and in 1997 he won the world title at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 600 improved. Hughes followed this up in 1999 with another world title in stock 600. He was a regular on the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation (BCSF) race circuit from 1995 through to its demise in 2005. Throughout these years, Hughes racked up 16 overall class titles and in 2003 won an amazing six of seven King of the Hill races.
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I followed the BCSF circuit from 2000 through 2004 and Hughes was always the guy you didn’t really notice. He wasn’t on and off the throttle like a lot of the guys; his riding style is smooth and his lines on the hill calculated and precise. It wasn’t until his time was posted that you realized how fast he really was. In 2007, Hughes ran a few races south of the border and had a fifth-place finish at the Jackson Hole Worlds in the open class on his 800 mod.
Fast times across the line
Without a sanctioned hillclimb race series in Canada, Hughes is forced south across the line for 2008 to compete in the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Association’s (RMSHA) circuit. With great support and sponsorship from Leading Edge Motorsports, Arctic Cat, D&D, Monster Energy and Holtz Racing, Hughes will be pushing the Americans hard on his Arctic Cat 800 mod and M1000 improved sleds.
For a schedule and series results go to www.RMSHA.com.
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