Clash of cultures

By NICK GEVOCK Chronicle Staff Writer

The second weekend in March is going to be a bustling affair in West Yellowstone, but locals are hoping they can pull off two major events that draw far different crowds.

The town will host its annual Rendezvous Ski Race, a cross country skiing classic that last year drew 826 contestants and many more spectators, the same weekend Arctic Cat is holding its dealers convention in town.

"It's too bad that it happened," Scott Carsley, who is one of the Rendezvous Race organizers, said. "This is our 26th year of running the race."

Arctic Cat's convention will run the week of March 7, followed by "Snow Blast," a series of outdoor concerts and activities through the weekend of March 12 and 13.

Like Carsley, a lot of skiing enthusiasts are not happy that a major snowmobile event was scheduled for the same weekend as the town's showcase ski event.

"We only wish it could be another weekend so we could spread the business out," said Melissa Buller, co-owner of FreeHeel and Wheel, a cross country ski shop.

Some skiers who came to West Yellowstone were miffed when they couldn't book a room for the race in hotels they usually stay at, Carsley said. Arctic Cat reserved blocks of rooms to accommodate its dealers.

That frustration is reflected by the fact that skier registrations for the race are half of what they were at this time last year, Carsley said. But he doesn't attribute all of that to Snow Blast, saying skiers typically register late and may be leery of snow conditions.

However, Arctic Cat was fully aware of the ski race when it planned its annual conference and didn't see a problem, said Marge Wanner, snowmobile events coordinator for the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce. A combination of scheduling conflicts and concerns over snow conditions made the weekend the best for the company to hold its event.

Besides, West Yellowstone badly needs the dollars Snow Blast will bring in, Wanner said.

"West Yellowstone cannot afford to be fussy about who they do business with right now," she said.

Aside from the logistics of holding each event, the issue is mostly a clash of different cultures.

Arctic Cat bills Snow Blast as the "biggest party on snow" on its Internet site. The company has scheduled live concerts every night, where beer will be served.

Cross country skiers, on the other hand, are a dramatically different crowd that generally seeks a quieter experience.

But skiers who are staying away from the race because of Snow Blast are uninformed, because there won't be any more snowmobiles in town than a typical winter weekend, Wanner said. Arctic Cat is flying its dealers into the convention, so they won't be bringing snowmobiles with them.

In addition, Arctic Cat is shutting everything down at 10 p.m. Friday night before the race so skiers can get to sleep, Wanner said. And most of the snowmobile events will be held at the West Yellowstone Airport, miles away from the ski trails.

"Arctic Cat is bending over backwards to try to accommodate our needs as a community," she said.

Local business owners are doing their part as well. To deal with the influx of people, owners of several hotels that are otherwise shut down for the winter are opening, although space is tight.

Carsley too is taking a positive attitude and said everybody needs to work together to handle the crowds. If Snow Blast goes off without a hitch and Arctic Cat is interested in returning, Rendezvous Race organizers might consider moving the race to a different weekend.

Carsley hopes ski racers don't stay away because of the snowmobile event. Nor does he want any surprises when skiers arrive.

"The last thing I want as an organizer is for people to come to town and be shocked that there's another event going on," he said.

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