One-on-one with the Kings of Kings

SnoRiders speaks to Kyle Tapio about his recent crowning at the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb

by Kirsten Armleder

A man in black on a green snowmobile.
When he’s not competing on the RMSHA circuit, Kyle Tapio loves to rip it up in the backcountry on his 2013 Arctic Cat M 800 HCR. photo courtesy Kyle Tapio

In 2004, Kyle Tapio was watching from the sidelines as the world’s top snowmobile hillclimb racers surged up the 1,500-foot Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb. That’s when he and his brothers, Nels and Russ, got the itch for racing. Nine years later, Kyle and his brothers are multi-time world championship competitors on the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb Association (RMSHA) circuit.

Kyle, who currently resides in Battle Ground, Washington, recently returned from the 38th Annual World Championship Snowmobile Hillclimb in Jackson Hole with his fifth “King of Kings” title from the event. Kyle went on to receive his King of Kings crowning after he dominated both the 800 Improved Stock and Open Mod classes.

SnoRiders recently caught up with the 33-year-old father of four to get his thoughts on the Jackson Hole Hillclimb and to see what he will be up to this summer. 

Was winning “King of Kings” your goal when you signed up for Jackson Hole this year? I guess that’s always the goal you have in mind. Whenever I go to Jackson, I always expect that things could change. That race is something that you can practice and train for and something can always throw you a curveball. I guess you could say I was a little surprised that I pulled it off again.

What is going through your mind when you’re doing the 1,500-foot climb up Snow King Mountain? I don’t know if there is a lot of things going through your mind when you’re running, other than you are focused on the lines that you try to have picked out.

What goes through your mind when you choose the wrong line? You’re always thinking, “I’m losing time, I’m losing time,” and you have to try to gain that back but it’s kind of a fine line because you can get going too fast where you lose control. In 800 Mods this year, that was actually the kind of scenario I had. I think I got going a little too fast and I blew a corner and I never did place in that class . . . It’s a lot of mind games that get involved with that race. Mostly it’s just keeping focused on where you are going to run and stick with the plan.

Do you have a favourite venue? Jackson Hole is definitely my favourite. Second to that would be the Afton Hillclimb in Wyoming.

What are your plans for the rest of the season? There is the Beaver Mountain climb in Utah—we are planning to go to that one. There’s talk it’s going to be cancelled because of a lack of snow but if it does go, we will be there. And the Schweitzer climb, which would be the last one.

What keeps you busy in the summertime? (Tapio Construction) obviously gets busier in the summer. There’s never a dull moment. We actually got a secondary business started last year, which is a self-serve frozen yogurt shop. We opened the shop last spring and we are planning to open another one here this spring. (In the) summertime, we do a fair bit of salmon fishing. We do some offshore fishing and then some dirt bike riding and hunting in the fall. Other than that, catch up with stuff around home and spend time with the family.

Any special thanks? I would like to say “thank-you” to my wife, Edith, children—Aaron, Hannah, Neah and Calah—(and) thanks to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for the blessings he has giving us all. Thanks to Al Shimpa and Arctic Cat, Boondockers, HMK, EZ-RYDE, FOX, Speedwerx, Arctic FX Graphics, Z-Broz Racing, Fly Racing, BCA, Tapio Construction Inc., Yo Factory, Renton Coil Spring, Tony's Auto Parts, SLP, ProTech Industries and Apex Machine and Engineer.

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