Shovel Racing

In the world of unusual adventure sports, New Mexico carved out its own niche with competitive shovel racing. Yes, you read correctly — shovel racing.

The phenomenon dates back to the 1970s in the ski resorts of New Mexico. The lift operators grew bored taking the slow way down and began using shovels to quickly get from one point to another. This simple innovation blossomed into an extreme sports subculture that peaked in 1997.

While traditional shovel racing relies on plain metallic grain shovels, the sport exploded in popularity with the adoption of modified shovels. These divisions became increasingly elaborate, with “shovels” weighing hundreds of pounds, complete with roll cages and nitrogen-powered hydraulic braking systems. The modified counterparts bear little resemblance to a regular shovel, but could reach speeds up to and more than 70 mph.

The sport reached its peak of popularity in 1997, when it was chosen as an event for the first Winter X Games. It would be shovel racing’s sole moment in the sun, as the event never came back after a particularly brutal crash by John “Shovelmeister” Strader, who suffered numerous injuries including a cracked sternum, bruised heart and a broken jaw, leg and back. That hasn’t stopped Strader though; he went on to become shovel racing’s most prominent spokesman, aiming to get it into the Olympics.

The X Games couldn’t continue the event for liability issues and the growing popularity of modified shovels gave the sport a dangerous image. New Mexico’s Angel Fire Resort, which hosted the Shovel Racing World Championships, temporarily canceled the event in 2005 due to these concerns, but brought it back in 2010 after a ban on modified shovels. While die-hard enthusiasts are disappointed by the return to normal shovels, they hope it will renew interest in the sport and eventually bring back the modified divisions.