My father-in-law comes up with a lot of crazy schemes – but one of the craziest was to rebuild a vintage Bombardier Bombi SnowCat to use up at the family cottage in winter instead of a snowmobile.
The cottage doesn’t have road access in winter – it’s snowmobile only. Of course only suckers use snowmobiles – real men ride in style in a re-purposed Bombardier BR100 Bombi SnowCat with 57 horsepower of two-stroke fury.
I have no idea how old this thing is, 1960’s is my guess. All I know is that it had a family of raccoons living in it at one point. The really crazy thing is that there is a cult obsession for these things – most of which are found abandoned in a farmer’s field before they’re rescued and rebuilt. The resale value is ridiculous – you could buy a pretty decent car, or a top-end snowmobile for the price of a barely functional rusted out Bombi SnowCat!
It leaks oil, the clutch barely works, none of the gauges function, it backfires, occasionally explodes and it’s caught on fire at least once (that I know of) – but when it’s running I have to admit that a Bombardier BR100 Bombi SnowCat is a pretty useful machine to have around the cottage in the winter.
This photo series was captured earlier this January:
Rare antique snow groomer in Muskoka woods snow field by wood shed
Caterpillar tracks of vintage snow grooming machine
Close-up view of snow grooming machine’s caterpillar tracks moving on snowy Ontario road
Girl in winter jacket sits in the bed of antique snow groomer moving through Muskoka forest
Girl in winter jacket sits in the bed of antique snow groomer moving through Muskoka forest
Boy calm in serene winter scene getting ride in old man’s snow grooming machine
Exhaust spews from rusty old muffler strapped to cab of orange vintage snow groomer
Rustic northern Ontario man steps into cab of snow grooming machine
Indicator dials on dashboard of old vintage snow grooming machine
Rustic northern Ontario man leaves cab of snow grooming machine to light a cigarette
Snow-covered small pine tree seen up close as orange vintage snow groomer machine moves in the background
Boy in red winter jacket rides on the back of snow groomer as it treks through snowy Ontario forest
Snow groomer machine treks across snowy field with a load of firewood
Snow falls as boy moves firewood from wood shed to bed of snow groomer machine
Boy in red winter jacket tosses firewood from wood shed onto pile of firewood
Boy in red winter jacket tosses firewood from wood shed onto bed of snow groomer machine
Images from this session are available for royalty free licensing at Stocksy United.
