Clean Snowmobile Challenge Starts Next Week

Students from around the US and Canada--and Finland this year--compete in the SAE International Clean Snowmobile Challenge.
Students from around the US and Canada--and Finland this year--compete in the SAE International Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

The snow is thick, and the test course is set. Soon more than 20 teams of snowmobiling students will flock northward for the 16th annual SAE International Clean Snowmobile Challenge.

For the 13th year running, Michigan Technological University hosts the competition at the Keweenaw Research Center. The winter wonderland site is in the heart of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, where average snowfall tops 200 inches. The competition takes place March 2-7, with events ranging from an endurance run to emissions and noise tests to acceleration and handling courses.

The student teams come from all over the northern US and Canada — and even Finland this year — to engineer, test and showcase snowmobiles that are quieter and cleaner than modern sleds.

Laws passed in 2006 define emissions and noise standards for snowmobiles, which the students are challenged to surpass. With these laws and more strict regulations required for snowmobiles in national parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton, the educational opportunity has a real-world connection.

Gas, Electric, Diesel 

The teams compete in three categories: internal combustion — gasoline; electric, also called zero emissions; and a new entry, diesel utility.

Each category has a unique purpose. Gasoline-powered sleds are the most common, of course, making their designs important for recreation and other uses. Held to the same noise and emissions levels, diesel utility sleds could never win a race, but are tested for pulling heavy loads. The electric sled is designed for scientific missions in  arctic areas where hydrocarbon emissions cannot be tolerated. The National Science Foundation funds the category.

Endurance Run

The six-day competition starts on Monday March 2 and ends on Saturday March 7 with an awards ceremony honoring the winners of many categories.  Day one is devoted to technical inspections, making sure all teams meet the rules.  Day two features a 100-mile Endurance Run from the Keweenaw Research Center to Copper Harbor.  Day three includes technical presentations and a public display of the sleds at the Copper Country Mall.  Day four is devoted to emissions measurements, noise measurements and subjective ride evaluations.  Day five continues with more emissions testing and a break for the students and volunteers to enjoy what the Keweenaw has to offer in skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. 

The final day’s events are open to the public and begin with a cold-start test, then on to acceleration and handling events. Saturday night culminates in a banquet at the Michigan Tech Memorial Union Building on campus, where the winners are announced.

Stay tuned for updates on the Clean Snowmobile webpage: http://www.mtukrc.org/snowmobile.htm and the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SAECleanSnowmobileChallenge.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.