Mission: Re-Establish Communication (Wyoming Edition)

[WyoWild]

I had an amazing opportunity to assist Apex Communications (@Yancey) re-establish radio communications for one of our local school districts. We had a hell of a fun adventure. There were three (3) machines that hit the mountain, my 1974 Tucker Snocat, a Piston Bully Scout and a Utah State Agricultural Department (Frandee).

I will say without question, the Tucker was the best and most capable machine there. It ran amazing from 7521' elevation all the way to 11042' elevation. Love the V8 power. We got her into the pretty steep slopes and although had the doors opened up on the down hill side you would have fell out, it never felt unstable. All I can say, is I chose the right machine to spend my money on.

We started at around 8:30am and got back to the trucks at around 6pm. We initially took one route of the mountain but got to a section with 8-10' drifts and side hilling was getting to treacherous, so we went back down the mountain a few miles and took another route. That one proved to be slightly better and we were able to make it.

Attached are a few pics of our adventure....Enjoy.

 

[MCWYO]

So awesome!!! That country is my old stomping grounds. I lived in Saratoga for 13 years. I ran the groomer on the Sierra Madres out of Encampment from 2005-2015. We would love to tag along if you have another mission. We have a LMC1500 and a LMC1800.

 

[WyoWild]

So awesome!!! That country is my old stomping grounds. I lived in Saratoga for 13 years. I ran the groomer on the Sierra Madres out of Encampment from 2005-2015.

Our cabin is in the Madres. Such gorgeous country. Feel so blessed to be in such a beautiful state and to have the cabin down there.

 

[Yancey]

Wyowild, it was a great trip. I am really glad you were able to help out getting us up there, Thank you so much. Though I will admit there were a few time I was wondering if we would make it up.
Unfortunately the old 1958 4VL is just too heavy for the drifts and climbs together that we ran into, so we parked it and continued on with the 1974 Tucker and Piston Bully Scout.
Here are some more pictures of the adventure and a description for each.

1. This is a creek you pass along the summer road. Hard to tell with all the snow.
2. This is where we had to turn around on the summer road. The Scout was not able to blade through much further.
3. A view from the back seat of the winter road at it's start.
4. We were hoping we were on the road here. Things get a little tricky to see in this area.
5. Had to dig the radio site door open. Lesson learned here, avalanche shovels are not very strong and do not like ice.
Rime Ice is a real thing!
6. These are some tough trees, not only do they get brutally punished by the winds up here, but then they get covered with rime ice.

It was long day, but lots of fun and everyone got their work done, so very successful.

 

[WyoWild]

Picture #2 does not do that drift and hill slope justice. That is the point where I was about 20+ degrees or more. I was scared we were going to roll. Once we started digging (with the tracks spinning) it leveled the Tucker up which was a relief. The Union Wireless piston bully did what it could with the blade, but it was just too much work. We gave up on the "summer road" and went back about approximately 3 miles and go up the "winter road". It was still very technical and pushed our limits and commitment, but we succeeded. Hope everyone enjoys the pics and get a feel for our experience.