Whew! What an incredible pleasure to host this group of classic car enthusiasts. 182 of our classic car family, in 90 cars, traveling over 1200km. Our final day took us from Nelson, through Rossland (Hi Kip!) and then off to Osoyoos for our finish at the Spirit Ridge Resort.

Our McGyver Award was presented to Nolan and Deanna Kitchener, for their roadside replacement of a headgasket, water pump, radiator and thermostat. Yes, you read that right…roadside replacement.

The Hard Luck award was hotly contested this year, with multiple cars trying to strand their owners throughout the event. Jordan Rodier and Amos Rowsell would have surely won (having spent most of the weekend in Dave’s partially-finished Cummins-swapped truck), but they chose a hasty retreat for the ferries! There could be only one winner…and Kristophe Le and Mike Abalakov went home with the prize for their failed wheel bearing, and twelve hour adventure getting home for a replacement vehicle.

The David Ellis Spirit of the Thaw award, presented by Hagerty, was awarded to Rob Fram in 2019. Rob’s mini was often seen on the side of the road with tool kit out and Rob under the hood solving issues for some other entrant. Not only was he mechanic, but he always ran his triangle up the road before he began, so the stranded didn’t need to worry about it. Triangles and mechanics aside, we were most impressed with the way he’s passing down his love of classic motoring to his daughter Brynn. While a multiple participant as a co-driver, this year Brynn arrived with a learners permit which was just days old. And yet, she was piloting the mini for multiple legs this weekend, learning both the art of driving…and the joy of classic cars in our classic car family. Whether assuring a stuck motorist that it’s part of the adventure, or creating adventure within his own family and the future of our hobby, Rob is definitely matching David Ellis’ spirit of adventure and motoring!

Here are a few wonderful preview photos from Andrew Snucins, and Samantha Snucins: