¿what are snowmobiles?

Hello, as are friends who read me and share this platform on a daily basis, I hope that time treats them well and can enjoy this publication about an extreme sport on snow such as snowmobiles.

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A snowmobile is a land vehicle driven by a single wheel with tracks with skis on its sides for handling. They are designed to work on snow or ice, without the need for any type of road. Most snowmobiles are driven by a two-stroke engine, although four-stroke engines are increasingly popular. Although they are not designed for this, snowmobiles can even be driven by the upper layer of water if the speed is high enough, as demonstrated in the annual river dredging competition held in Kautokeino, Norway.

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The first snowmobiles were modified Ford T models that were replaced with skis. Its use was popular for a time for sending rural correspondence. Its beginnings point to Carl Eliason1 in Sayner and his first hand-built model completed in 1923. He was granted the patent in the United States in 1927. The Polaris Industries in Rouseau, United States, was the pioneer in establishing a chain of snowmobile commercial production.

The conditions of the Midwest of the United States, where the snow is dry and where the modification of the T models originated, made this and other vehicles not operable in areas where the snow was wetter as in Quebec, Canada. This led Joseph-Armand Bombardier, from the small town of Valcourt in Quebec, to invent a caterpillar traction system that would allow its use in any type of snow conditions. Bombardier had already built some metal traction systems since 1928, but its revolutionary new traction system (a rubber-covered cogwheel, and a rubber and cotton belt that wraps around the rear wheels) was its first major invention that led to becoming an industrialist. Production began in 1937 of the B-7, a closed version of snowmobile capable of carrying up to seven passengers, and subsequently another similar version with a capacity of up to twelve passengers, which he called B-12. The B-7 had a flat-head V8 engine from the Ford Motor Company. The B-12 had a six-cylinder in-line plant head of the Chrysler industries. 2,817 units were produced until 1951. They were used with various applications, such as ambulances, mail vehicles from the Canadian postal service, winter "school buses" and even as military vehicles during World War II. Although Bombardier always thought of a smaller and lighter version of the snowmobile, the one he did not do at the beginning due to mechanical limitations.

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