Saturday and Sunday’s pros competed for $15,750 in cash and proved conclusively that the hill was worthy of its name and could take its place with other famous Western hillclimbs such as the world-famous, "Great American Hillclimb" held in Billings, Montana, and Utah’s legendary "Widowmaker". Big Nasty promoters offered something for everyone including a food row, vendor area, street dance, mechanical bull ride-off, street bike poker run and a classy, National Anthem and flag presentation ceremony, courtesy of the Mountain Home Air Force Base Honor Guard.

Saturday featured several big winners; the one and only person who topped the 400-foot pro-altered hill was Montana’s Dave Johnston, who flew his highly-modified, 1000cc Honda over the hill in 12.2 seconds. Omaha, Nebraska’s Harold Waddell also had a great weekend, besting the 30-rider field and taking home nearly $700 in the 0-600 Pro-Altered class, with a high mark for the division at 344 feet. Saturday’s bigger, 601-Open pro-altered class was won by Bountiful, Utah’s Jason Smith who pushed his nitro-methane powered, 800cc, Yamaha twin up to 353 feet. The trophy, (non-professional) classes also ran on Saturday on a 250-foot hill, and featured riders ranging from 5-year olds on mini bikes, to adults on four-wheelers. New Plymouth’s own David Kamo had a good run in his first hillclimb, taking second in the 250cc advanced stock bike class.

Sunday dawned cool and wet, and rain showers alternated all day; at first spectators were scarce, but by noon, over 3,000 people were in attendance. Excitement hung in the air as people waited under umbrellas to see if anyone could scale the ominous 460-foot exhibition hill, with its nearly vertical, 30-foot cliff near the top. Harold Waddell started the show and continued his winning streak from Saturday, taking his tiny, 250cc bike to the top of the 11-rider exhibition class and an impressive height of 330 feet.

The 251-700cc exhibition class hit the hill next, and as bikes got higher and higher on the wicked cliff, a number of riders and machines began flipping over violently and tumbling back down the cliff face. Fortunately, the soft dirt at the bottom of the cliff, and the "catchers" men armed with metal grappling hooks, prevented any serious injuries. Utah hillclimbing legend, Mel Kimball almost made it over, finally bouncing off of a 2-foot vertical ledge and coming to a stop at 414 feet, taking the class win and $1,000.

At this point, only one class remained, the Open Exhibition, featuring machines with unlimited motors and up to 200-horsepower. After watching many of the 700cc machines careen and tumble down the hill, it was decided that the route was simply too dangerous for the heavier, faster machines to attempt and that someone stood a real chance of injury. The route for the Open Exhibition class was modified to run about 50 feet to the right, eliminating the big cliff section. At first, this looked too easy, but even this route was incredibly steep and only four riders scaled the hill. Utah’s Jason Smith took his nitro-powered Yamaha twin over the top to win the class and pocket $1,000. The weekend ended with the King of the Hill Shootout, giving the top five Open bikes one more shot at the hill. Bountiful, Utah’s Devin Aymond took the win and $500. His name will be engraved on the perpetual, Big Nasty King of the Hill Trophy, that will be kept on display in the Double Diamond Saloon in New Plymouth.

Both the spectators and the riders loved the event and it was confirmed that next year it will be part of the NAHA (North American Hillclimbers Association) national series. This will triple the number of entries next year, when the event is held again in August. The organizers wish to extend a hearty "helmets off" to the sponsors, including Internet Truckstop, Hanigan Chevrolet, Les Schwab Tires, The Double Diamond, Coors, Coca-Cola, Boise Motorcycle Salvage, Ady Kawaski, Apache Yamaha, Storage On Site, Bodily RV Super 8 Motel, Mirage Trailers and VMA. A big thank you is also in order for the landowner, Tom Pence, and Rory Clinton of Shore-Line Pest Control, who fought the vicious, Payette County mosquitoes to a standstill for four days at the site. The event could not have happened either without the support of both the New Plymouth City and Payette County officials. For complete results or more information call Ron Dillon at (208) 573-4255, or visit the event website at www.bignastyhillclimb.com.