Imagine living in the willamette valley - between two literal mountain ranges, and it's impossible to find a hill or pit to shoot in to...

[Ura-Ki]

Snowmobiles get torn up if there is bunch of bare spots on the road. Sometimes you just have to use a wheeled rig. Sometimes we had access to a small 4cyl Thiokol or Bombardier Sno-Cat, I don't remember which, but that was only on special occasions and really slo going. And they bomb out in steep/wet snow. We used to carry 20gal propane tanks up to Mt. Emily to restock the generators.



In 1980, snowmobiles weren't what they are today. A 440 was considered to be a really big engine. The tracks had short paddles for riding lakes or packed trails like in the Great Lakes area, nothing steep. The clearance under was about 4". And we towed an equipment sled with about 200lbs of test gear. Even the two-track/singleski old Bombardiers would get stuck in soft snow/powder, were almost impossible to steer, and were often completely defeated by powder. Once those got stuck, you were digging out a 300-400lb vehicle. We rolled one over the side once and it had to stay there til spring.

The Ski-Doo 440s had to be crabbed sideways across that bald knob. Those were the days before powder bars and long/deep tracks. Towing an equip sled... it was hair raising. Easy to get sideways and roll down to the Lostine River.

The face of Mt. Emily was narrow and had 6' moguls that made it a huge challenge. Moguls/drifts on the road to Beaver Mtn outside of Baker City was the same way. One time I had the flu and got altitude asthma, got the snowmobile stuck and the bozz was out front... I didn't see him for an hour while I wheezed and dug myself out; this was 2008 or so and I was nearing 60yrs old; my second tour at Racom... what a jerk my second Racom boss was...


'Zactly. Sometimes we would carry hand tools in on snowshoes and see what we could do, but the service monitors of that period were bulky and weighed too much too carry by hand/pack.



LMAO. But one time near Halfway, the local Nordic ski club used their big Thiokol and heavy roller to groom the trail for us. If a group of shooters wanted to badly enough, they could prob gather funds for such or even to buy the needed equip.

I have yet to get my Thiokol Super Imp stuck in any conditions, including powder drifts over the road 12+ feet deep, I cant imagine you guys getting one stuck! Mine has modified wide tracks with off set rubber track pads between the Growsers, lifts the bars about 1/2 inch off the pavement so it's safe to use on the roads! I got my Tucker stuck really bad once, went round a corner and the crown pulled it into the ditch, took several hours of digging besides the 12,000 winch and tugger straps! No Joke, that Tucker is a serious rig, but some times there is such a thing as too Bad Arse!
I have been up to that spot out of Enterprise you talk about, no joke, I wouldn't wanna slide off that mountain, it's a L-O-N-G ways down with nothing but rough rocks along the way. We some times fly out there and land at the old forest service airstrip up there near the Fire Watch Tower, it's sure beautiful country up there!

 

[bbbass]

I have yet to get my Thiokol Super Imp stuck in any conditions, including powder drifts over the road 12+ feet deep, I cant imagine you guys getting one stuck!

Yep, we sure did! Old two seater with a smoky 4 banger inside the cab. Looked like this one only faded yellow:




In Brookings, I did the same work. We had radio shacks near there and up above Gold Beach with repeaters, plus a microwave link that carried the Coast Guard "landline" between the two and then on to Port Orford. One time we took that snowcat up in 4' of steep sloggy wet heavy sno, straight up the hill, no road... it got bogged down a lot. And the inside was so full of smoke and exhaust that I preferred to get out and walk, and I beat the snowcat up to the top.

 

[bbbass]

Hah! I know all about this.... We used helicopters exclusively to service the CG's VHf highsites throughout Alaska and occasionally, when the weather was less than ideal (which was most of the time) the pilot would suggest that we let him drop us off on the "lower" ridge and we could pack all our chit up to the site. The first few years we used the tried and true IFR1200 which weighs in at right about 40lbs without the pelican case and all the cables and adaptors that go with it.... The last few years we switched to the General Dynamics R8000 (now Freedom R8000) at about 14lbs plus we could leave Anritsu home as well. Still didn't let the pilots drop us off lower down the mt.

The vintage Motorola Service Analyzer/Monitor was about 2'x2'x3' and weighed about 60-80lbs with battery installed. In Brookings I had an IFR1200 and when I went back to work at Racom in 2004 after diabetes made me quit home inspections, I had an IFR1200 and probably the best piece of gear ever was the Anritsu Sitemaster cable and antenna analyzer.

A pic of the Motorola is hard to find, but there is one at this link of one for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3239125635...1291&msclkid=a5edaf254a5316a43768cec839f506ef

 

[JohnnyMac]

The vintage Motorola Service Analyzer/Monitor was about 2'x2'x3' and weighed about 60-80lbs with battery installed. In Brookings I had an IFR1200 and when I went back to work at Racom in 2004 after diabetes made me quit home inspections, I had an IFR1200 and probably the best piece of gear ever was the Anritsu Sitemaster cable and antenna analyzer.

A pic of the Motorola is hard to find, but there is one at this link of one for sale: https://www.ebay.com/itm/3239125635...1291&msclkid=a5edaf254a5316a43768cec839f506ef

Whoa! That thing needs wheels. Glad I didn't have to pack that around. When my company ended it's contract, we had 3 IFR's on the shelf with various issues. The property guy came while we were shutting down to see what got shipped back to the home base and what got chit-canned. He was gonna toss those three IFR's in the dumpster, so I asked and he gave them to me. I made two good ones out of three and sold them for $750/ea on eBay and sold the last one for parts for $200. It was a nice Xmas bonus...

 

[bbbass]

Whoa! That thing needs wheels. Glad I didn't have to pack that around. When my company ended it's contract, we had 3 IFR's on the shelf with various issues. The property guy came while we were shutting down to see what got shipped back to the home base and what got chit-canned. He was gonna toss those three IFR's in the dumpster, so I asked and he gave them to me. I made two good ones out of three and sold them for $750/ea on eBay and sold the last one for parts for $200. It was a nice Xmas bonus...

Racom replaced the IFR1200 with something later on but I can't remember what it was... we needed to be able to generate/rx freqs in the giga range for all the new radios coming out, and the 1200 just wouldn't go high enough.

 

[Idaho44]

Snow can be treacherous on the flats or the hill (mountain) sides! Cascade slime, Sierra cement, Rocky Mtn. powder they are all unique and when combined with wind, rain and sun, they are even more unique! Having lived and worked in the mountains in winter AND having stuck (buried) snowmobiles and tracked vehicles you ALWAYS want to be prepared for the "walk out" (snowshoes and skis can help). And yeah, it's nice to have a blade on the front of that Piston Bully or Thiokol when traveling the 'road' after a dump!

 

[Geardo]

Snow can be treacherous on the flats or the hill (mountain) sides! Cascade slime, Sierra cement, Rocky Mtn. powder they are all unique and when combined with wind, rain and sun, they are even more unique! Having lived and worked in the mountains in winter AND having stuck (buried) snowmobiles and tracked vehicles you ALWAYS want to be prepared for the "walk out" (snowshoes and skis can help). And yeah, it's nice to have a blade on the front of that Piston Bully or Thiokol when traveling the 'road' after a dump!

Cascade slime is a good term. Hadn't heard that one before but it fits.

My buddy likes to drive his old keep Cherokee up on top of a few feet of snow down in the sierra nevadas.