The first patents for vehicles designed to travel over snow were issued in the late 1800s. Some of these machines used rotating tracks for propulsion, while others sat up high on runners and were powered by propellers. Most of these early inventions were built for several passengers, so they were large and slow.

The first successful small motorized ski sled was developed in 1927. Carl Eliason, a Wisconsin storekeeper, built a long, wooden, toboggan-like sled whose rear portion housed a two-chain track system. The engine, mounted in front, was a small outboard design with a radiator from a Model T Ford. Over the next thirty years, Eliason made about forty of these vehicles, selling them for $360 each. He gradually adapted the design to include a cowl and windshield for passenger protection, a metal chassis, and a rear-mounted engine.

About the same time that Eliason patented his invention, Joseph-Armand Bombardier...