McGill University has been running its electric snowmobile through the paces doing everything from collecting snow samples in Greenland’s “no-emissions zone” to working at the FSI World Alpine Ski Championship. Just recently, however, it performed its highest profile gig to sate as it carried an Olympic torch bearer on the road between Vancouver and Whistler, Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The McGill University designed and built electric snowmobile has a top speed of 35 mph and a range of 10 miles, which is for its function as a utility vehicle. It also makes great use of regenerative braking which, in an alpine setting, can add a lot of life to the battery.

The regenerative braking also makes for a safer snowmobile when descending a steep slope. Jeff S. Turner of McGill University explains:

“You can actually switch from forward to reverse with the throttle pinned, and it’ll smoothly bring you to a stop before accelerating backwards. So going downhill, you can pop into reverse gear, and your throttle suddenly becomes a perfectly progressive regen brake pedal. There’s no messy blending of regen and regular hydraulic brakes to speak of.”

Canadian Snowmobile Adventures, based out of Whistler, BC, is one of the McGill electric snowmobile program’s and has been for year. They hope to ultimately develop a zero emissions snowmobile for use in their winter backwoods tours.