On Top Of The World
Queen of the Hill: Shelley Balls
Etna, Wyoming
Written by Mandy Fabel
Photography contributed by Shelley Balls
Photo Credit: Todd Williams
Downhill mountain bikers chase speed and a sense of adventure. Backcountry skiers chase the feeling of floating through fresh powder and beautiful wintry landscapes. And all extreme athletes are out to test their limits physically, mentally, and technically.
Shelley Balls of Etna, Wyoming has found all of these things—speed, adventure, beauty, endorphins, and limit testing—through the sport of snowmobiling. Shelley is one of the top female snowmobile riders in the world. Her basement is filled with trophies, plaques, and smiling photos from her time on the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb Association (RMSHA).
“I started racing when I was 18 years old, right after my high school basketball season,” Shelley said, “I hit the last few races of the 2012 RMSHA season. My brother had been racing for a few years before that, so I had watched a few other female riders and I wanted to give it a shot myself! And man did I struggle at first.”
A snowmobile hillclimb is an individual race where the rider starts at the bottom of a steep snow-covered slope and races through gates to get to the top as fast as possible. An entire race lasts between one to two minutes and requires tremendous technique, strength, and endurance. It also takes a fair bit of courage and bravado to push the limits of a 400-pound machine that has close to 200 horsepower under its hood. A typical hillclimb event lasts two to three days and a racer usually rides several different snowmobiles in various classes. The most coveted title at each race is to be named King of the Hill (men) and Queen of the Hill (women) for putting up the fastest time up the course.
When Shelley first started, she was just happy to make it to the second day of racing, also known as Finals Day. What can seem like a simple objective of getting from the bottom to the top of the hill becomes increasingly difficult as ruts form in the snow with each passing racer. As this happens, the margin between fast and reckless gets smaller and smaller. After a few years of racing every weekend from January through March, Shelley began to make it onto the podium.
By 2019, she proudly took Queen of the Hill at every single regular season race. Heading into the World Championship Hillclimb at Snow King Mountain in Jackson, Shelley set a goal of becoming one of only a few women in racing history to make it all the way to the top of the course. Snow King boasts a nearly 45 degree slope angle at the top, and only the elite have the skills to make it there. More often riders are stopped in their tracks from too little momentum or worse–get bucked off their snowmobile and watch it tumble down the mountain.
Shelley’s two boys, Malcolm (3) and Murdock (1) love riding their snowmobile any chance they get.
On the Finals Day at Snow King, Shelley lined up at the starting line for the Women’s Stock Class. She was riding a 2019 Polaris RMK Pro 850 and she felt calm and confident. She built speed in the lower half of the course and carried that momentum into the upper section. She executed her lines perfectly and topped out in a time of 1:46.04. A large crowd at the base of the mountain erupted in cheers knowing they had just witnessed something special. Shelley was flooded with excitement having achieved her ultimate racing goal.
The way Shelley tells the story gives a perfect glimpse into her humble nature, “My husband Gavin was gone on a fishing trip during Snow King that year. When I got to the top, the only one within reach was a nice security guy. So I gave him a big hug.”
Her performance at Snow King that year earned her yet another Queen of the Hill title. She was awarded 2019 Racer of the Year for the entire RMSHA circuit, the first woman to receive the honor.
The smile that the security guard got to see on top of Snow King is also the smile that lights up a snow-filled day in the Wyoming backcountry. Shelley doesn’t race anymore but is a Polaris Ambassador for both the snowmobile and the Timbersled product lines. Thanks to her many years of hillclimbing, she is one of the most technically sound female riders in the world.
Shelley was first introduced to snowmobiling by her father, Eric Heap.
“I think one of the most misunderstood things about snowmobiles is that it's not just about how cool the sled looks or how much money you might have spent, but it's about what happens when you're riding the sled,” Shelley explained, “The endorphins released, the obstacles and challenges overcome, the places you see and discover, and the memories made with family and friends. These are all things non-snowmobilers don't see when a truck rolls up to fuel their sled at the gas station.”
Shelley spends nearly every weekend in the winter chasing steep and technical lines in the backcountry. When she gets home from a long day of riding, she doesn’t even bother changing out of her snowmobile clothes. Her young sons who just came home from grandma and grandpa’s house will be begging to ride their 1972 Kitty Cat sled around the yard for the millionth time. She smiles thinking about how she and her older brother did the same thing every chance they could.
Shelley hopes her boys love snowmobiling as much as she does, but really she just hopes they love spending time outdoors with good people and pushing themselves to be their best. Afterall, that’s really what it’s all about.
