Driving A Snow Cat?

[g0mer]

Ha! I don't think I've been on TGR since this thread. Thanks for bumping it.

I don't have much additional intel on getting a job. The resort websites list them. It's a little late in the game but there may be openings somewhere. It's not difficult though. We train brand new first-timers who've never been in heavy equipment. I was, when I started. And I'm not gonna lie, I sucked. But you pick up tricks and tips from the experienced guys and pretty soon you're making things happen.

What I can say is that, after years, the job remains incredible. The scenery is amazing, the job continues to be intellectually stimulating, and the machines are badass. This is my ninth season in a cat and I'm still learning new things. Perfection is the goal, but can be a challenging target.

A really cool aspect is that at night, the mountain belongs to you. Daytime you have to deal with 15,000 people on the mountain and it's a free-for-all. But in the middle of the night, you can stand alone at the top of the mountain, look at the stars, smell the air, and feel sublime. Moonrise, meteor showers, sunsets, sunrises, foxes, blizzards, gales, twinkling lights of the town below. It never, ever, gets old.

You'll have to decide where you'd like to go. People bag on Vail here, and sure, the place is what it is. I agree, it's uber-big and uber-corporate, and makes up in Bogner what it doesn't have in puckering terrain. But the meat and potatoes for all those vacationing tourists is the grooming, and they are pretty damned serious about it. I would venture to say that we have one of the top-notch cat crews in the world. We have over 50 cats on the hill and get shit done with consistently excellent quality and efficiency. It's no dog-and-pony show. The size of the place means that you get to do different stuff every night. I don't work on the same part of the mountain more than once a week.

Smaller hills, you're doing the same thing a lot. I've started working at Mt. Hutt on the south island of New Zealand in summers. It's an amazing, incredible place, about the size of A-Basin in Colorado. However, the grooming can be repetitive. Plus they don't have the cash that Vail does. Therefore, you can't spend time making a masterpiece. Back at Vail, we have the equipment and time to do the best job we can, which is nice. Small mountains are cool because the employees are more like a family. You're on first-name basis with the honchos and know everyone. At a mega-resort it can feel like you're just a number, another warm body. My loyalty is to the grooming crew, though. I've stopped caring if nobody else in the organization knows who I am. Flying under the radar has its benefits.

So, yeah, it's great. I think it's the best ski-town job there is. You're out in nature but you're not freezing your ass off like a patroller or instructor would. You don't have to deal with D-bags like a hospitality job. You don't get wasted every night at a bar job and skip the skiing in the morning. I'm sure some people thrive at those jobs, but I'm not one of them. It's a pretty cool group too, the cat crew. There are always guys looking to ski before the shift, and we get new guys every winter who are like, "Hell yeah!!!" It's infectious. Plus there are some guys who absolutely slay on skis. Ex-racers, low-key rippers, dirtbag gear sluts... all of whom love the mountain and are a blast to ski with. We have top competitors at ski-joring in Leadville every year if that says anything.

I guess I'm pretty rah-rah about it. Can't help it, though. Give it a shot for a winter, see if it's for you.

Attached pics are me and my BR350 winch. I get in, plug in Pandora, slug caffeine, and push massive snow. The silver cat is our newest toy, the Prinoth "Beast". Not too many mountains get to play with those. We just got two of them. 520hp Caterpillar C-13, body by Pininfarina. It's the Starship Enterprise on snow. Those slots on the side are actually photon torpedo launchers.

specs of the machine:
http://www.prinoth.com/attach/PRI-08...lder-Beast.pdf


Best,
Ray

[sb]

Attached pics are me and my BR350 winch. I get in, plug in Pandora, slug caffeine, and push massive snow. The silver cat is our newest toy, the Prinoth "Beast". Not too many mountains get to play with those. We just got two of them. 520hp Caterpillar C-13, body by Pininfarina. It's the Starship Enterprise on snow. Those slots on the side are actually photon torpedo launchers.

specs of the machine:
http://www.prinoth.com/attach/PRI-08...lder-Beast.pdf


Best,
Ray

Holy moley, that thing is wicked!

[jonesy]

Feel the CAT power,low RPM & high torque. C-13 Acert twin turbo? Last class 8 I ran had the C-16 Acert. God that engine would run,50mph on a 6% @ 53Tons.

[Crampedon]

Gomer that rig is bad-as. Do you use it for the solo runs since you have only a couple? Pininfarina? Really?
Seems like doing Mill Creek road and the odd out of the way stuff would be fun.

[g0mer]

We're actually still sorting out the best application for the new cats. They have different capabilities than the rest of the fleet, so they generally work alone. They can climb better due to the super-wide tracks so we sometimes put them on steeper stuff. They would have been interesting for early-season snowmaking dozing since they can push so much. Have to wait and see next year.

[spudbumkin]

I drove cat for a couple of years in the late 80's early 90's at Bogus. My shift went from 0400 to 1200 and we would buff out the front side. Incredibly boring job overall, somewhat similar to mowing a very big lawn day in and day out. Whiteouts during the night could produce some impressive vertigo, and during dry spells getting sideways and taking a sled ride down an icy slope hoping one's grousers would suddenly grab provided about the only entertainment! When I started I thought it would awesome; groom till noon and then track out the powder that wasn't made into corduroy. Sometimes it worked out like that, but usually I just wanted to get off the hill and make the incessant vibrations from the cat stop emmanating from within my body. Granted our cats were LMC 3700Cs not plush Piston Bullys, I imagine today's equipment is far and beyond what we worked with in the day. I do agree with the comaraderie that develops with the other drivers, they were a bunch of cool cats to be around and overall it was a decent experience and I am glad I had the opportunity.

[Crampedon]

We're actually still sorting out the best application for the new cats. They have different capabilities than the rest of the fleet, so they generally work alone. They can climb better due to the super-wide tracks so we sometimes put them on steeper stuff. They would have been interesting for early-season snowmaking dozing since they can push so much. Have to wait and see next year.

gOmer, ya'll bought 2 @ $500,000 each and they don't have an exact plan for where they will use them? Seems like a purchase like that would be based on need for a job no other cat could do, or do more efficiently.

Can I take a ride and see how it goes? Looks like you could do roger's or highline in one pass!

[djspookman]

Always wanted to be a groomer OP, but got roped into the ski school end of it instead. Still want to learn though, maybe someday when the kids are out of the house so I can run the night shift. (any mtn in SO VT or SO NH need one, wink, wink?)

Kudos to all groomer operators out there, and thanks for making the corduroy!

[Bunion 2020]

G0mer, great description of the grooming world. At our little piece of paradise I rely very much on the drivers for a lot of things and they usually come through.

[vailcat]

Speaking of low key rippers you still tearin that place apart on those 195 rossis??

Good to hear things are still rollin down there.

Gomer summed it up pretty good. The fun starts when you get out of the pack and go solo or actually lead. That and the solitude is damn nice.

Buzz me sometime ray. Catch up or come up and see the gnar here!

[Team Blurr]

People don't " run " groomers or " drive " them. They " operate " them. If you go to talk to somebody about the job, be sure to stress the word operate. It will show them that you aren't looking to be a cowboy in the seat.
It can be a cool job at the right place but the romance wears off pretty quick. After the rush of being in the machine wears off, it becomes like mowing the lawn, the same lawn, over and over, all night.
It can be a good way to pick up chicks.... "Wanna go for a ride? "

[Crampedon]

I can imagine it can get monotonous, I "operate" a mower with a 16' cut and have a 12 acre polo field to mow, and getting out of that thing is the best part of the job!

Having the right machine does make it more enjoyable though, 16' at full speed means almost 8 acres an hour.

Watching the fleet from 21 do china bowl mid morning gives on an idea of the coordination of the fleet when there are 5-6 groomers working as one. Very impressive. Vail's guy do an amazing job. Big Mahalo to that crew, I try to give a thumbs up whenever a cat goes by!

[Eluder]

Thanks for the reply g0mer, all the responses sum it up pretty well. Awesome job for the right person, but certainly not for everyone. Pretty sure I am doing a ride along on Wednesday so that should give me a good idea of what its all about.

[Art Shirk]

Speaking of low key rippers you still tearin that place apart on those 195 rossis??

Gomer couldn't handle the white XXX's and is now skiing some 154 Roxy's.

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Whoa, that thing is sick g0mer!

[g0mer]

Mr. Commonlaw, these days my weapon of choice is some custom-made swallowtail "Big Feet" that I ordered with rocker, electromagnetic VAS with the blinking light, and Dukes. U know my steeze.

Mr. Fast Farmer, I've been planning to check out Targhee one of these weekends, maybe see if Jacobson is still there. How far to your neighborhood from there?

[Art Shirk]

Mr. Commonlaw, these days my weapon of choice is some custom-made swallowtail "Big Feet" that I ordered with rocker, electromagnetic VAS with the blinking light, and Dukes. U know my steeze.

Mr. Fast Farmer, I've been planning to check out Targhee one of these weekends, maybe see if Jacobson is still there. How far to your neighborhood from there?

Actually got Silver on the hill this weekend and he was extolling the virtues of your neighborhood. When can I make flight arrangements? I am only half joking, I wanna go. Also, currently enjoying a skruff.

[simple]

But in the middle of the night, you can stand alone at the top of the mountain, look at the stars, smell the air, and feel sublime. Moonrise, meteor showers, sunsets, sunrises, foxes, blizzards, gales, twinkling lights of the town below.

That is what I'll remember the most from my job at Pico years ago working the night snowmaking shift. Not the most professional operation but still pretty awesome.

I'll never forget seeing the Aurora Borealis all the way from the top of that mountain in Vermont. So awesome!

[g0mer]

Funny story:

In '04, we got two of those BR350s which were the newest, hottest thing. They gave one to vailcat since he was more experienced.

g0mer: "Wow, that's so sweet! When do I get to run one?"







vailcat: "When you're fucking badass. Like me."

[vailcat]

Gomer I'm probably 2 1/2 from targhee on a snowday. Its not far just slow when it snows. Give me a heads up and I can try and meet you there. Life is crazy these days so its not 80 days a year anymore but more like 50 which isn't shabby either

Those ole BR's were not bad and come to think of it none of them were but it sure didn't stop people from bitchin one way or another.

You really sure I said that about badassedness? Doesn't sound like the vailcat I know at all

We def got to get together. For so$e rippon some day. Of course on real terrain

[Tye 1on]

This thread rocks, brings back some great memories from Big Sky in the early 90's. When the PB's were badass. Yep, going out with the team is awesome. Yep, heading out solo in the old LMC to do base area/lifts was awesome. Yep, skiing down a run you groomed, checking out if there were any ridges or berms was awesome. Days off after working night shift for five took some getting used to, you really have to discipline your sleep. And I got really tired of breakfast. [get up at 8pm. Have breakfast. Get off at 8am, go out to eat, order....breakfast. 'yo, i'll take the western omelette and a pitcher of Bud'].

Still one of my favoritist jobs ever!

[goldenboy]

Crested Butte was charging tourists to go tool around in a cat for an hour or two last year. I have no idea what they were charging or how many people decided they wanted to drive a cat around while on vacation, but it was kind of an interesting idea.

[nate s]

Get off at 8am, go out to eat, order....breakfast. 'yo, i'll take the western omelette and a pitcher of Bud'].

Still one of my favoritist jobs ever!

You were doing it wrong! You're supposed to have beer after work...

Reason #182 grooming rocks- popped first PBR before 8am this morning.




I would still rather work graveyard than swing especially when it is 4- 10s. Hard to get much skiing in on swing, IMO. With grave, you're already there, so if it is good you have no excuse not to ride.

[DanoT]

Crested Butte was charging tourists to go tool around in a cat for an hour or two last year. I have no idea what they were charging or how many people decided they wanted to drive a cat around while on vacation, but it was kind of an interesting idea.

Sun Peaks has been taking tourists for hour long rides for $40 for several years. They don't get to drive but imo it is still the best non skiing activity that SP offers.

[Sinecure]

We got a couple of those Prinoths this season. They seem to be notably quieter than some other cats. I was out for an early clinic the other day and they passed us. I was surprised how little noise they made.

They look cool too.