Jim Phelan, the creator of the Thunderstruck snowmobiling films, shoots many talented riders and spoke highly of Tina Thomas—a hard-core, crazy rider who rides simply because she loves it.
“In my 10 years of riding I have met and rode with literally hundreds of women,” said Phelan. “Tina is the best woman rider I have ever seen. She is good with a sled, strong as an ox, which is crazy because she is really skinny—and she is crazy, she’ll do just about anything—deep powder, shoot climbing. And she is a cool chick.”
Randy Swenson, one of the stars of the Thunderstruck films, has also seen Thomas on a sled and praised her courage and skill.
“Tina is hard-core,” said Swenson. “She was the first lady to climb a shoot that is over 1,000 vertical feet.”
So, who is this woman?
Thomas was raised in a small farming community of Eckville, Alberta, and excluding school hours she spent her childhood on a snowmobile.
“I have an older brother and a younger sister,” said Thomas. “Snowmobiling was a family outing—we had our own sleds when we were 10 and we would take weekend trips to B.C. Also back then we would get snow at home and dad would get us up before school to go riding.”
How it all happened
Thomas said that she took some time off from sledding, but three years ago she got back into the sport and really found her passion. Last season, Thomas met Troy Lakusta, another Thunderstruck rider, and their shared love for sledding helped their friendship blossom. Thomas said that they travel to where the snow is and sometimes they drive through the night to get to it. On particular trip was to Wyoming. This is where Thomas met Phelan and was filmed for the latest Thunderstruck film riding her Ski-Doo Summit XP 880 sled.
“I travel anywhere there is snow and people that I like riding with,” said Thomas. “I am ridiculous. I will drive all through the night and sleep one hour to ride all day. When I met Jim, Troy and I had driven 15 hours through the night to Wyoming and drove straight through the night. We got to Wyoming at 9 a.m. and rode all day . . . That is what we do though, we do anything that we can to just get out and go.”
Conquering the snowy mountain
Thomas is currently living in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, and working as an environmental consultant. However, in the winter Thomas rents a condo in Sicamous and loves to sled in the Revelstoke and Sicamous region. For Thomas, the driving time and the money spent is nothing compared to what she gets out of sledding. For her, there is nothing better.
“I just absolutely love riding,” said Thomas. “There are many days riding that a challenge arises that makes me shudder with anticipation. I am not afraid of my fears, in fact, I welcome them. It’s not the mountain that I conquer, but rather myself—and overcoming the challenges makes life meaningful.”
Thomas said that she and Lakusta have the same sort of riding style and this makes him a great riding partner. In fact, each time they ride together, Thomas said they like to see new places, climb new hills and try more technical manoeuvers.
“We like to explore,” said Thomas. “We don’t sit at the bottom of the hill all day and drink beer. We like to get way in the back where no one is, break the trail, explore new territory, put up a fire and enjoy the area. It is exhilarating and breathtaking being in a lot of those places. You can stop and enjoy it for a little bit and it leaves you awestruck.”
Not a thought of slowing down
Thomas just started hillclimbing last sled season and for her, nothing is that big of a deal. If she can climb a big hill or pop a wheelie, great. If she can’t, then she’ll figure out how to do it differently. She also plans to travel to Alaska this coming winter as she feels the best way to travel is by snowmobile.
“People call me an adrenalin junky,” said Thomas. “But for me that is not what it is about. Yes, you get a rush but there is so much more to it than that. For me, it is (partly) the challenge. I like laughing at myself . . . But I think the biggest thing is, when you truly love something you are naturally good at it. You give everything you have into it and you believe that you can do it and it is not even a question. You just do it because you enjoy it. There are a lot of people that like to snowmobile but I don’t think that they are as passionate about sledding as I am.”
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