David Shepherd • The legacy behind No. 22
The mountain
remembers.
Five-time RMSHA points champion. Twelve King titles. Four-time Jackson Mod King of Kings. David Shepherd was a builder, racer, teammate and father whose influence reached far beyond the championships—and left Toby a standard much bigger than a number.
Career highlights documented by RMSHA and the Snowmobile Hall of Fame
Watch the archival film Snow King Mountain • 5:26
Remembered by the racers
Competitive.
Grounded.
Always willing to help.
The record establishes David as a champion. The people who raced beside him explain why he remained so respected.
“The one thing I like about David more than anything is he was down to earth with everybody.”
— Ryan Zollinger • 2002 Hillclimb Program
“Shepherd has got to be one of the most enjoyable characters that I’ve met.”
— Steve Janes“Anytime you were racing against David it was always fun.”
— Dennis DurmasAgain and again, competitors remembered the same man: quick-witted, intensely focused on the hill, generous with encouragement and willing to help wherever racing took him.
The racer and the builder
David’s career crossed oval, cross-country and hillclimb racing. He won across disciplines, changing terrain and generations of snowmobile design, with Jackson Hole becoming his greatest stage.
David began racing in oval and cross-country competition before making hillclimbing his defining arena. Across sanctioned RMSHA races and independent events, he built a reputation for winning on very different terrain and through changing eras of snowmobile design.
Jackson Hole became his greatest stage. David earned four Mod King of Kings titles—in 1987, 1991, 1992 and 1995. In 1987 he won Mod II, Mod III and Open Mod before being crowned King. He was still winning Jackson classes a decade later, including Mod IV in 1996 and Mod II in 1997.
He understood both sides of racing: how to ride a sled at its limit and how to build one capable of reaching it. David’s hand-built tubular chassis and Mod sleds earned a reputation of their own. Working with Mike Allsop and Pete Colvin, he helped advance tubular chassis construction, early belt-drive systems and turbocharged two-stroke hillclimb machines.
“Sunday, she’s all or nothing. You just go for it.”
— David Shepherd • archival Snow King interview
The archival film captures that direct race-day approach. David speaks about preparation, commitment and making the right calls. After a winning run, he immediately credits the mechanics in the trailer and the setup changes they made that morning. To David, the result belonged to the rider, the machine and the people behind both.
David retired from RMSHA competition in 2000 and was killed in an avalanche in 2001. In 2025, he was inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame. The honor recognized a legacy already carried for decades by the No. 22, his hand-built race machines, the people he helped and the racers who followed him.
Toby did not simply inherit David’s number. He inherited a way of approaching the mountain: build carefully, listen to the people beside you and commit when it is time to go.