As it turned out, last night's shift was better than "glass half full".
24 hours of sub-freezing temps did wonders for the piste. I actually ran with a roll of snow in my blade most of the night, in fact I did a push project for a good hour, vastly improving two adjoining trails that we opened earlier in the week. Boy howdy, that felt good!
A look at the remote sensors says "Springtime Conditions" Saturday night due to the afternoon high of 45°F. The mercury is falling fast, and should fall past freezing by 7PM-8PM.
I expect tonight's shift to be mostly making corduroy, with some light pushing and patching...in short, another satisfying shift.
On the mechanical front, my old favorite BR350 ran like a Ferrari last night. My oil pressure was back where it should be after an oil change. The wrenches said I had fuel in the oil.
This was a little less than a surprise. Over the last three weeks, the engine oil levels have been all wacky, the injector pump failed, and the working tractor has a new smell...like a "solvent" smell, once I have it up to temperature, and it's nose to the grindstone.
That's a lot of fuel and engine oil connections...oil analysis will tell the tale. Industry sourses say the Caterpillar six cylinder engines in the BR350's need rebuilding after 10K hours. Mine is clocking in at 11K, plus another 100 hours a week, or so...
Even with the mystery lubrication issues, the ol' fave is running strong, and no engine temperature changes are evident. Hydrostatic fluid temps haven't changed either...Triage continues...
Showing posts with label BR350. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BR350. Show all posts
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Hope Springs Eternal
Two wet nights in a row...just two too many! My favorite old BR350 let me down two out of three shifts so far this week, too. Something's gotta give!
Thursday's storm was a first for the season...it arrived 18 hours ahead of schedule, but it was rain, not flurries...
Thursday night, after the rain and a day of warm temps, swing shift opted to do little grooming in the rain (the proper call...wouldn't be prudent to turn the whole mountain into boiler-plate!) Tough conditions...fortunately the number of ponds, creeks and sinks is down. Down because the piste is up...a little.
My crew of four tiptoed into the night. Conditions: Delicate. A thin hard tempered crust had formed atop the gooey pack. Things turned out OK if you barely scratched the snow with the blade, careful not to pierce the ''Cream Filled Center", and crawled along slowly enough to let the tiller grind the scrapin's enough to lay acceptable corduroy...
Or you could double pass everything...ahh, double passing...Groomer's Purgatory. You don't get any more groomed, but you see more scenery...faster...twice...
Looking at the remote sensors on Friday evening, I see the temperature has been below 32°F since that midnight shift change Thursday night.
From my glass is half full perspective, tonight will be better. That "cream filled center" will be well below the reach of even the most aggressive, or careless blade. More aggro blade work will yield more scrapin's for hungry tillers, yielding a bit of fairy-dust to comb into corduroy...while praying for calm winds...
A week of these conditions will bring the return of the Alt-Hero Snow, a couple of movable inches of velvety topping that skis nicely during the day, and repairs quickly every night.
The sad truth is Thursday's rain will help us persevere until the storm door reopens in mid-February...and we still have snowmaking to help with the patchwork!
Thursday's storm was a first for the season...it arrived 18 hours ahead of schedule, but it was rain, not flurries...
Thursday night, after the rain and a day of warm temps, swing shift opted to do little grooming in the rain (the proper call...wouldn't be prudent to turn the whole mountain into boiler-plate!) Tough conditions...fortunately the number of ponds, creeks and sinks is down. Down because the piste is up...a little.
My crew of four tiptoed into the night. Conditions: Delicate. A thin hard tempered crust had formed atop the gooey pack. Things turned out OK if you barely scratched the snow with the blade, careful not to pierce the ''Cream Filled Center", and crawled along slowly enough to let the tiller grind the scrapin's enough to lay acceptable corduroy...
Or you could double pass everything...ahh, double passing...Groomer's Purgatory. You don't get any more groomed, but you see more scenery...faster...twice...
Looking at the remote sensors on Friday evening, I see the temperature has been below 32°F since that midnight shift change Thursday night.
From my glass is half full perspective, tonight will be better. That "cream filled center" will be well below the reach of even the most aggressive, or careless blade. More aggro blade work will yield more scrapin's for hungry tillers, yielding a bit of fairy-dust to comb into corduroy...while praying for calm winds...
A week of these conditions will bring the return of the Alt-Hero Snow, a couple of movable inches of velvety topping that skis nicely during the day, and repairs quickly every night.
The sad truth is Thursday's rain will help us persevere until the storm door reopens in mid-February...and we still have snowmaking to help with the patchwork!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Holding Pattern
Tonight finds me a little mind numbed, it could be the aftermath of the light baking that befell me during last night's shift (My Monday)
It was almost 40°F when I arrived at work. On the bright side, we're reporting nearly four feet of new snow for the storm total! I had been looking forward to a shift on the Ol' Hero Snow, but even the prodigious amount of snow from the third and final system of the train, couldn't absorb Friday's drenching by 11+ hours of rain. The piste was a cranky combination of good news and lumpy mashed potatoes...without the gravy to sweeten the pot.
The bounty of snow did wonderful things for us, another peak opened, and all those ponds, puddles and sinks are now buried bad memories. We ran three winchcat shifts, triple the pre-storm level. We would have done more winching save for some electrical gremlins that shut down the graveyard winch pilot after one new trail was opened.
My favorite old BR350 spilled it's guts three hours in, too...a blown tiller motor seal consumed most of my hydrostatic fluid, which I noticed as I made a three-point turn preparing to open another new trail...good thing too. I caught it just in the nick of time to successfully limp her back to the shop without running the pumps and motors dry.
My back-up cat had stereo issues...my final six hours were a tuneless, podcast-less drone, playing catch-up. The cavalry came at dawn and we knocked out the work orders by two minutes past opening time...acceptable given that it was mid-week...
The piste will dry while we wait for our old nemesis, the Blocking High to move away again...
I sought solace in some of my other passions...curiously bicycle racing isn't flicking my switch just yet...and I'm still numb from the 49ers' brutal loss in the NFC Championship Game.
However, baseball is on the near horizon! The San Francisco Giants came to terms with their ace, Tim Lincecum Tuesday. Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in three weeks.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the America's Cup Regatta leaped another hurdle.
Motorsports kicks off it's 2012 Season this weekend in Daytona! The 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona Sports Car Endurance Race should be great.
The guy I'm trusting this season with his forecasts says Winter will come back about Daytona 500 time...Mid-February
First estimates say the Modern Warm Period is about to end. Our Sun is still loafing.
Formula One is just 51 days from it's first race of the season in Australia...the wait will be interesting...
It was almost 40°F when I arrived at work. On the bright side, we're reporting nearly four feet of new snow for the storm total! I had been looking forward to a shift on the Ol' Hero Snow, but even the prodigious amount of snow from the third and final system of the train, couldn't absorb Friday's drenching by 11+ hours of rain. The piste was a cranky combination of good news and lumpy mashed potatoes...without the gravy to sweeten the pot.
The bounty of snow did wonderful things for us, another peak opened, and all those ponds, puddles and sinks are now buried bad memories. We ran three winchcat shifts, triple the pre-storm level. We would have done more winching save for some electrical gremlins that shut down the graveyard winch pilot after one new trail was opened.
My favorite old BR350 spilled it's guts three hours in, too...a blown tiller motor seal consumed most of my hydrostatic fluid, which I noticed as I made a three-point turn preparing to open another new trail...good thing too. I caught it just in the nick of time to successfully limp her back to the shop without running the pumps and motors dry.
My back-up cat had stereo issues...my final six hours were a tuneless, podcast-less drone, playing catch-up. The cavalry came at dawn and we knocked out the work orders by two minutes past opening time...acceptable given that it was mid-week...
The piste will dry while we wait for our old nemesis, the Blocking High to move away again...
I sought solace in some of my other passions...curiously bicycle racing isn't flicking my switch just yet...and I'm still numb from the 49ers' brutal loss in the NFC Championship Game.
However, baseball is on the near horizon! The San Francisco Giants came to terms with their ace, Tim Lincecum Tuesday. Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in three weeks.
Motorsports kicks off it's 2012 Season this weekend in Daytona! The 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona Sports Car Endurance Race should be great.
The guy I'm trusting this season with his forecasts says Winter will come back about Daytona 500 time...Mid-February
First estimates say the Modern Warm Period is about to end. Our Sun is still loafing.
Formula One is just 51 days from it's first race of the season in Australia...the wait will be interesting...
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Settled Down...Kinda
About last night...
Stutter-step start...not in my fave BR350
Nice to be grooming in falling snow again...
Didn't need the cloud deck settling in just before dawn...
Really didn't need the cloud deck to turn to rain...
For want of a silly cable, I went tuneless all damn night...
I remembered a very funny bit that Jimmy Fallon did the other night. I promised Driller I'd embed it.
The fire between Reno and Carson City is behaving...for now.
Gonna be another Interesting Day...
Another wild night on tap...may end in rain again...grrrr...
Friday night update:
Tonight's shift is gonna begin with rain...hurry cold front!
Stutter-step start...not in my fave BR350
Nice to be grooming in falling snow again...
Didn't need the cloud deck settling in just before dawn...
Really didn't need the cloud deck to turn to rain...
For want of a silly cable, I went tuneless all damn night...
I remembered a very funny bit that Jimmy Fallon did the other night. I promised Driller I'd embed it.
The fire between Reno and Carson City is behaving...for now.
Another wild night on tap...may end in rain again...grrrr...
Friday night update:
Tonight's shift is gonna begin with rain...hurry cold front!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Keepin' On Keeping On...
Whatta surprise! Snowmaking last night fired up three hours earlier than Tuesday night...so much for the accuracy of the remote sensors... All that snowmaking was blowing snow on trails we want to re-open, or open for the first time this season, so I felt like I was s*!^#ing in tall cotton!
I was grinding around with my window open...I did all the ramps that swing shift didn't get to, buried some more trouble spots on the bunny hills, and finally started making my long passes about the time my shirtsleeve thermometer told me that it was warming up...damn inversion was creeping up the slopes to make more mischief...
I hailed Jeweler on the 2-way: "Is it getting warmer?" I queried. "It is" Jeweler replied. Jeweler said they were shutting down...best to not make rain...I made a pass to the top of the mountain...for snowmobile pilots from Vehicle Maintenance who needed to retrieve a downed snowmobile in the AM.
I made another long pass from the Work Orders...and ran out of fuel. WTF?
I fueled up Wednesday morning after my shift, and nobody else ran the cat before I got in it at the beginning of my shift. No Idiot Lights, No alarms, No Go...No restart either. I hailed Jeweler on the 2-way again...no answer. I phoned him and asked "Are you still here? "Nope, I'm on the road" I pleaded my case...Jeweler said he'd come get me after he dropped off on of his crew. He was all of two miles from My Mountain, and would be less than three miles away when he dropped of his guy. He said he'd give me a ring when he was close.
The symptoms were those of a fuel delivery failure. I grabbed my flashlight and started looking for a broken wire or disconnected wiring harness. I haven't learned where the fuel shutoff relay or solenoid live on the BR350s...it's never been an issue like it was with the BR275s. I didn't find anything. My phone rang...
Jeweler was almost back to the shop and asked what I wanted to be rescued in. I asked him to bring a snowcat. Ten minutes later Jeweler phoned again: "I fired up the older Bison, and it made horrible noises...like rod knock noises...listen...I couldn't hear anything over the phone. I said: "Why don't you bring Driller's cat...it's only been parked for an hour and a half"..."OK" Jeweler replied.
Driller's CenterX Bison picked me up a half hour later..."You jump in the other seat and give me a driving lesson on our way down the hill" I suggested to Jeweler. I haven't run a CenterX yet...Jeweler gave me the lowdown, and the machine was leaving corduroy like butter...or buttah, I should say.
Nice machine in many ways, but all the important stuff is behind the operator...that would be the 2-way, the window latches, and the iPod dock. I finished the shift, fueled up, filed my report and talked to the mechanics about my tractor...all before punching out at 0830.
Looking forward to getting back in my own BR350 tonight, though.
I was grinding around with my window open...I did all the ramps that swing shift didn't get to, buried some more trouble spots on the bunny hills, and finally started making my long passes about the time my shirtsleeve thermometer told me that it was warming up...damn inversion was creeping up the slopes to make more mischief...
I hailed Jeweler on the 2-way: "Is it getting warmer?" I queried. "It is" Jeweler replied. Jeweler said they were shutting down...best to not make rain...I made a pass to the top of the mountain...for snowmobile pilots from Vehicle Maintenance who needed to retrieve a downed snowmobile in the AM.
I made another long pass from the Work Orders...and ran out of fuel. WTF?
I fueled up Wednesday morning after my shift, and nobody else ran the cat before I got in it at the beginning of my shift. No Idiot Lights, No alarms, No Go...No restart either. I hailed Jeweler on the 2-way again...no answer. I phoned him and asked "Are you still here? "Nope, I'm on the road" I pleaded my case...Jeweler said he'd come get me after he dropped off on of his crew. He was all of two miles from My Mountain, and would be less than three miles away when he dropped of his guy. He said he'd give me a ring when he was close.
The symptoms were those of a fuel delivery failure. I grabbed my flashlight and started looking for a broken wire or disconnected wiring harness. I haven't learned where the fuel shutoff relay or solenoid live on the BR350s...it's never been an issue like it was with the BR275s. I didn't find anything. My phone rang...
Jeweler was almost back to the shop and asked what I wanted to be rescued in. I asked him to bring a snowcat. Ten minutes later Jeweler phoned again: "I fired up the older Bison, and it made horrible noises...like rod knock noises...listen...I couldn't hear anything over the phone. I said: "Why don't you bring Driller's cat...it's only been parked for an hour and a half"..."OK" Jeweler replied.
Driller's CenterX Bison picked me up a half hour later..."You jump in the other seat and give me a driving lesson on our way down the hill" I suggested to Jeweler. I haven't run a CenterX yet...Jeweler gave me the lowdown, and the machine was leaving corduroy like butter...or buttah, I should say.
Nice machine in many ways, but all the important stuff is behind the operator...that would be the 2-way, the window latches, and the iPod dock. I finished the shift, fueled up, filed my report and talked to the mechanics about my tractor...all before punching out at 0830.
Looking forward to getting back in my own BR350 tonight, though.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Joyeux Noël à tous.
In what I hope isn't a new Christmas ritual, I was awakened by little Randy's screams of "I can't put my arms down" over and over. I realized that "A Christmas Story" was blaring away on the Tube. "You'll shoot your eye out kid"...the newest Christmas Classic Movie is 28 years old already!
Tonight, I'll be able to avoid another less desirable Christmas Tradition...the 24 hours of Christmas Music on every radio station. Thanks to the late Steve Jobs, I'll be listening to podcasts from my favorite radio shows instead!
Another longstanding Christmas Tradition just occurred to me...like I have for almost every Christmas Eve throughout the past three decades, I'll be up on My Mountain grinding around in my BR350, while Santa is out indulging in millions of servings of milk and cookies.
Now! Air Line, now! Water, now Ratnik and Snow Fan.
On! Tiller, On! Pumphouse, On! Snomax and Bison.
Now Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas to one and all!
Tonight, I'll be able to avoid another less desirable Christmas Tradition...the 24 hours of Christmas Music on every radio station. Thanks to the late Steve Jobs, I'll be listening to podcasts from my favorite radio shows instead!
Another longstanding Christmas Tradition just occurred to me...like I have for almost every Christmas Eve throughout the past three decades, I'll be up on My Mountain grinding around in my BR350, while Santa is out indulging in millions of servings of milk and cookies.
Now! Air Line, now! Water, now Ratnik and Snow Fan.
On! Tiller, On! Pumphouse, On! Snomax and Bison.
Now Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas to one and all!
Friday, December 23, 2011
My Dark Places
OK, here I am on my first night off of the season. I had planned to chronicle last night's shift when I punched out this morning. After sleeping on it, I've decided to protect the guilty. We made the unrecoverable mistake during shift change, and circumstances prevented us from recovering before tonight.
So I guess all the anticipation and waiting, coupled with the excitement and emotional investment since I climbed back into my BR350, catalyzed by last night's failure follies, have caused my brain's give a damn center to shut down...a temporary condition one hopes...
Given my position as a card carrying "glass half full" guy, I'm sure I'll recover full function when I get back on the hill tonight. Prime snowmaking conditions hold sway tonight, so the recovery will be complete by the time I grind past the scene of the crime.
Well then, I'm off to the grocery store for some midnight retail therapy.
So I guess all the anticipation and waiting, coupled with the excitement and emotional investment since I climbed back into my BR350, catalyzed by last night's failure follies, have caused my brain's give a damn center to shut down...a temporary condition one hopes...
Given my position as a card carrying "glass half full" guy, I'm sure I'll recover full function when I get back on the hill tonight. Prime snowmaking conditions hold sway tonight, so the recovery will be complete by the time I grind past the scene of the crime.
Well then, I'm off to the grocery store for some midnight retail therapy.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Good Night!
I just woke up from a solid 8 1/2 hours of deep sleep after 9 hours of slowly grinding around My Mountain.
In 2 hours, I'll be checking out my tractor in preparation of doin' it all over again.
My Boss didn't lie...my trusty ol' BR350 is running like a Ferarri! In 9 hours, never once did I use max RPM or max Track Speed. Her performance belies the 9000+ hours on her clock.
All things considered, conditions were great...yes, there was more geology lurking below the thin coating of manmade snow than I'd prefer, but that's the hand we've been dealt.
I saw a great sunrise from the Top of The World, and tonight I've got a shot at seeing a pass by Phobos/Grunt, seeing that the moon is in it's last quarter. Monday morning brings a more optimum opportunity at 0615.
In 2 hours, I'll be checking out my tractor in preparation of doin' it all over again.
My Boss didn't lie...my trusty ol' BR350 is running like a Ferarri! In 9 hours, never once did I use max RPM or max Track Speed. Her performance belies the 9000+ hours on her clock.
All things considered, conditions were great...yes, there was more geology lurking below the thin coating of manmade snow than I'd prefer, but that's the hand we've been dealt.
I saw a great sunrise from the Top of The World, and tonight I've got a shot at seeing a pass by Phobos/Grunt, seeing that the moon is in it's last quarter. Monday morning brings a more optimum opportunity at 0615.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
That Christmas Eve Thing
It's 3PM...I've been in bed for half an hour...I'm not sleepy...I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! My alarm is set for 9:30PM...it's my first worknight of the 2011-2012 Season! I'm sipping on a stiff eggnog, listening to some talk radio. Hopefully naptime catches up with me soon.
I just got off the phone with my Boss...things sound pretty good on My Mountain, and he says my favorite BR350 is running like a Ferarri. Furthermore, when I asked he said: "Every snowcat on the hill is in fine fettle...even the 2-Ways are all installed and transmitting".
So, this turn of events is thanks to a favorable week of snowmaking conditions, and yeoman's work from our snowmakers. It's gonna be nice seeing first hand how things look...I'm beyond bored with telepresence!
Oh, webcams, PWSs, and Remote Sensors are modern miracles of the Information Age, but when you boil it down to basics, they're just an electronic fishbowl view, akin to the Chamber of Commerce-style weather forecasts that make the forecasters and their TV weatherman customers happy at the expense of the resorts, their customers, their hard working crews, and the bean counters. There's an awful lot of beans to count when you're blowing snow around the clock and Mother Nature's not chippin' in!
Looking at the AFDs and forecasts, I don't see any change to the entrenched blocking pattern in the Eastern Pacific for another week, maybe two, maybe I don't want to think about it at all for a while...
Tonight I'm just looking forward to strapping on my groomer, looking at the Work Orders, and reacquainting myself with Grooming 101, and our snowmakers' finest!
I just got off the phone with my Boss...things sound pretty good on My Mountain, and he says my favorite BR350 is running like a Ferarri. Furthermore, when I asked he said: "Every snowcat on the hill is in fine fettle...even the 2-Ways are all installed and transmitting".
So, this turn of events is thanks to a favorable week of snowmaking conditions, and yeoman's work from our snowmakers. It's gonna be nice seeing first hand how things look...I'm beyond bored with telepresence!
Oh, webcams, PWSs, and Remote Sensors are modern miracles of the Information Age, but when you boil it down to basics, they're just an electronic fishbowl view, akin to the Chamber of Commerce-style weather forecasts that make the forecasters and their TV weatherman customers happy at the expense of the resorts, their customers, their hard working crews, and the bean counters. There's an awful lot of beans to count when you're blowing snow around the clock and Mother Nature's not chippin' in!
Looking at the AFDs and forecasts, I don't see any change to the entrenched blocking pattern in the Eastern Pacific for another week, maybe two, maybe I don't want to think about it at all for a while...
Tonight I'm just looking forward to strapping on my groomer, looking at the Work Orders, and reacquainting myself with Grooming 101, and our snowmakers' finest!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Kids, Don't Try This At Work
A Ski Resort Owner in Maine is recovering from injuries after being run over by the grooming machine he and an employee were working on. The newspaper said "David Beers, 40, and another man were trying to fix a track on the vehicle when it accidentally slipped into gear, onlookers said Sunday."
As with all things Slope Grooming that I read in the Civilian Press, the details are pretty sketchy here...not sketchy are Mr Beers' injuries. Surprisingly, besides cuts and bruises, the only real damage is a broken jaw and dislocated ankle! He's one lucky guy!
It sounds like Mr Beers and his helper were "tracking-up" the snowcat when the accident happened. "Tracking-Up" is Snowcat Mechanic-Speak for installing the tracks. These tracks are made of steel "grousers" driven by reinforced rubber belts. Each belt is fastened to itself with "lacings" which are nothing more than hinges really. A hardened steel bolt with a locknut keeps the connection secure.
The grooming machine in question is an LMC 3700CF It's a mid-engine cab-over hydrostatic driven tractor, built by Logan Manufacturing Company. Until his legal troubles with the DEA and DOJ began, LMC was owned by John DeLorean, and named DMC as in DeLorean Manufacturing Company. Back in the day I demoed it's predecessor the Bear Cat. It had to be in the mid to late 90s.
Hydrostatic snowcats don't have gears in the sense that automobiles have gears. Hydrostatic drives are oil driven motors and controlled with valves that select forward or reverse and zero to 100% speed. There's a center detent (think neutral), and a parking brake which blocks the control oil pressure from activating the drive. Modern cats have door safety interlock switches that prevent the pumps from being stroked so no motion will be generated by the track drive motors.
This is why I don't understand the accident. When I'm sitting in the Driver's Throne of my BR350 groomer, and I'm working with a mechanic, I either have the parking brake set, or have the RPMs set to idle with my finger on the Parking Brake Switch. I've never run over a mechanic, or anyone else for that matter...(Oh, I did "pinch" a lift operator between my tracks and a fence once, but no harm, no foul, he became a rookie groomer the following season, was a quick study, and enjoyed a good career for a few years at My Mountain....earning the handle Cap'nDan.) Man, I loved working with him...
As with all things Slope Grooming that I read in the Civilian Press, the details are pretty sketchy here...not sketchy are Mr Beers' injuries. Surprisingly, besides cuts and bruises, the only real damage is a broken jaw and dislocated ankle! He's one lucky guy!
 |
| Grousers and belts on the machine's right hand track |
The grooming machine in question is an LMC 3700CF It's a mid-engine cab-over hydrostatic driven tractor, built by Logan Manufacturing Company. Until his legal troubles with the DEA and DOJ began, LMC was owned by John DeLorean, and named DMC as in DeLorean Manufacturing Company. Back in the day I demoed it's predecessor the Bear Cat. It had to be in the mid to late 90s.
Hydrostatic snowcats don't have gears in the sense that automobiles have gears. Hydrostatic drives are oil driven motors and controlled with valves that select forward or reverse and zero to 100% speed. There's a center detent (think neutral), and a parking brake which blocks the control oil pressure from activating the drive. Modern cats have door safety interlock switches that prevent the pumps from being stroked so no motion will be generated by the track drive motors.
This is why I don't understand the accident. When I'm sitting in the Driver's Throne of my BR350 groomer, and I'm working with a mechanic, I either have the parking brake set, or have the RPMs set to idle with my finger on the Parking Brake Switch. I've never run over a mechanic, or anyone else for that matter...(Oh, I did "pinch" a lift operator between my tracks and a fence once, but no harm, no foul, he became a rookie groomer the following season, was a quick study, and enjoyed a good career for a few years at My Mountain....earning the handle Cap'nDan.) Man, I loved working with him...
Friday, October 21, 2011
Back In the Saddle
If only for a day...
I attended an all day seminar with my crew, the Bosses and Human Resources, and Prinoth's Snowcat Demonstrator at My Mountain Thursday.
The morning session was introductions, team building basics, a brief history of My Moiuntain, and Customer Service guidelines.
I quizzed HR about our "Hired Gun Weatherman"'s prediction for the Winter, and so far, he's equivocating because it's another La Niña Winter.
Lunch was take-out Round Table Pizza.
After lunch, the Prinoth portion of the day began, featuring a slideshow augmented Operator's Manual Tutorial. Many questions were answered about the snowcats' future. Prinoth will continue to produce the original BR350 cab until no more customers want it.
We spent some time demystifying the "Glass Cockpit" on the new cab Bisons. Lots of pages of info you can scroll through. I made my annual plea that the displays be more night vision friendly. As is my usual MO, I snarkily reminded the Prinoth guy that the Prinoth engineers work the day shift in well lighted offices, while their creations work all night long...in the dark.
After a solid two hours with the manuals, we headed outside to do the "Preflight Walk-Around" demonstration. There in the bright Autumn sun sat my Old Faithful BR350, fresh from her Summer Service.
She was resplendent in rebuilt tracks, sporting fresh paint on her implements. New track belts, and shiny new cutter bars back under the tiller. The Boss confirmed that Old Faithful was the most reliable cat in the fleet last season. The only down time she suffered was due to burst hydraulic hoses and front wiper problems. None of the hydraulic maladies were drive-related, these were hoses on the blade and stinger. I'm looking forward to running her up to 10K hours this season!
On this beautiful Fall morning, I remind myself that it could be as soon as five weeks until I become a full-time Groomin' Human again.
I attended an all day seminar with my crew, the Bosses and Human Resources, and Prinoth's Snowcat Demonstrator at My Mountain Thursday.
The morning session was introductions, team building basics, a brief history of My Moiuntain, and Customer Service guidelines.
I quizzed HR about our "Hired Gun Weatherman"'s prediction for the Winter, and so far, he's equivocating because it's another La Niña Winter.
Lunch was take-out Round Table Pizza.
After lunch, the Prinoth portion of the day began, featuring a slideshow augmented Operator's Manual Tutorial. Many questions were answered about the snowcats' future. Prinoth will continue to produce the original BR350 cab until no more customers want it.
We spent some time demystifying the "Glass Cockpit" on the new cab Bisons. Lots of pages of info you can scroll through. I made my annual plea that the displays be more night vision friendly. As is my usual MO, I snarkily reminded the Prinoth guy that the Prinoth engineers work the day shift in well lighted offices, while their creations work all night long...in the dark.
After a solid two hours with the manuals, we headed outside to do the "Preflight Walk-Around" demonstration. There in the bright Autumn sun sat my Old Faithful BR350, fresh from her Summer Service.
She was resplendent in rebuilt tracks, sporting fresh paint on her implements. New track belts, and shiny new cutter bars back under the tiller. The Boss confirmed that Old Faithful was the most reliable cat in the fleet last season. The only down time she suffered was due to burst hydraulic hoses and front wiper problems. None of the hydraulic maladies were drive-related, these were hoses on the blade and stinger. I'm looking forward to running her up to 10K hours this season!
On this beautiful Fall morning, I remind myself that it could be as soon as five weeks until I become a full-time Groomin' Human again.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday Funnies
Saturday I was watching the Giants/Phillies game, when the FoxTV cameras showed a deadly serious Bruce Bochy signalling to his batter. I almost did a "Spit Take"!
Bochy, the Giants' manager looked like he was guiding the Normandy Invasion or something else equally dire. The slapstick language of baseball signals just looked so totally ridiculous juxtaposed against the dour visage of Bochy on the top step of the dugout...the mirrored shades only contributed to the dichotomy. Boy, am I glad I wasn't sipping on my coffee!
After the Giants lost, continuing a nine game skid, I wasn't chortling any more. I ordered some Giants World Series embroidered patches...gotta get my fan on...the Giants need help...
Nine games (11 of 15 really) is a long slide...long slide? Like skiing? I could be starting to miss it...it's what...only August?
About two weeks ago, I was behind a fire engine at a local stop light...I smelled the sweet smell of diesel exhaust...instant longing to smell my faithful old BR350's exhaust...it's high time I find some distraction. Perhaps the Cotati Accordion Festival? Two weeks out...better go to Plan B...
Bochy, the Giants' manager looked like he was guiding the Normandy Invasion or something else equally dire. The slapstick language of baseball signals just looked so totally ridiculous juxtaposed against the dour visage of Bochy on the top step of the dugout...the mirrored shades only contributed to the dichotomy. Boy, am I glad I wasn't sipping on my coffee!
After the Giants lost, continuing a nine game skid, I wasn't chortling any more. I ordered some Giants World Series embroidered patches...gotta get my fan on...the Giants need help...
Nine games (11 of 15 really) is a long slide...long slide? Like skiing? I could be starting to miss it...it's what...only August?
About two weeks ago, I was behind a fire engine at a local stop light...I smelled the sweet smell of diesel exhaust...instant longing to smell my faithful old BR350's exhaust...it's high time I find some distraction. Perhaps the Cotati Accordion Festival? Two weeks out...better go to Plan B...
Sunday, July 3, 2011
One Begins, One Ends
From The Beginning
The 98th Tour de France began on the west coast of France Saturday, with a low tide processional ride across the Passage du Gois that connects France to Île de Noirmoutier.
In 1999 Le Tour actually was racing over this roadway that's only above water at low tide, when a big crash on the super-slick pavement split the field wide open. The Stage 2 crash separated several contenders by six minutes from the front of the race. That year Lance Armstrong's streak of good luck began, and he won his first of seven Tours de France.
Going back in history to 799AD, Île de Noirmoutier was the site of the first recorded invasion of the Vikings.
The Viking in today's race, Norway's reigning World Road Race Champion, Thor Hushovd finished third in the frantic uphill sprint at Mont des Alouettes. The last 20Km saw two crashes in the peloton that again split the contenders. Defending TdF Champion, Spaniard Alberto Contador was behind the crash caused by an inattentive spectator, and crossed the finished 1:20 behind the rest of the favorites.
Fans of Luxembourger, Andy Schleck saw this as a sort of delayed "Instant Karma" owing to Contador's taking advantage of Schleck's unfortunate chain drop on on the Port du Balès climb during Stage 15 in the Pyrenees during the 2010 Tour.
Now known as Chaingate, Schleck wearing the yellow leader's jersey, attacked Contador on the Port du Balès. As he accelerated away from the Spaniard, Schleck's chain dropped from his rear derailleur and jammed. Contador saw Schleck's mechanical trouble as he passed and began his counter attack in contravention of cycle racing's Gentleman's Agreement.
They say a True Champion doesn't take advantage of a mechanical, the Grand Tours must be settled mano a mano.
"The Spaniard took advantage to attack and went on to gain 39 seconds - exactly the amount of time that separated the two riders on the final podium in Paris.
"I wouldn't have done that (attack)," Schleck said in an exclusive interview published in French newspaper L'Equipe on Thursday. "He said he didn't see it. But he looked like this [turning his head and looking over his shoulder - ed.] and then he attacked."
"A great champion doesn't do a thing like that. When Ullrich crashed into a ravine, Armstrong waited. When Armstrong crashed on the way to Luz-Ardiden (on stage 12 of the 2003 Tour), the other riders agreed to wait for him. That's what makes a champion. I was really very disappointed by his attitude that day." (From Cyclingnews' article here)
There will be ample opportunity for the two stars to settle it in the Pyrenees and the Alps this year.
When CorduroyPlanet publishes Sunday morning, I'll be up watching the LIVE coverage of Stage 2, the 23Km Team Time Trial. If you only watch one stage of Le tour this year, the Team Time Trial is the one to watch.
The Time Trial is known as "the race of truth"...it's just the rider against the clock. There's nowhere to "get out of the wind", and it's the ultimate test of the rider's form and fitness. The Team Time Trial is the same thing, but all nine men race together as a team. The Team Time Trial illustrates the beautiful dichotomy of Pro Bicycle Racing...it's an Individual Sport, but it's a Team Sport at the same time. The uninitiated can learn everything they need to know about Bicycle Racing at the Top Level by watching the TTT.
You can watch the full package coverage at noon PDT on NBC, and several times on cable network VERSUS 9AM, 1:30PM, 5PM, 6:30PM, 9PM, and 10:30PM
Aaa-and That's a Wrap
While I'm lazing in bed watching Le Tour LIVE, the last of the Diehard Skiers and Snowboarders will be getting ready to slide down the slopes for the last time in Season 2010/2011. Mammoth Mountain in the Southern Sierra, and four resorts in the Tahoe Sierra will turn their chairlifts through the Independence Day Weekend. It even made the news in Los Angeles.
I do miss running my BR350 Groomer...but not in Summertime Snow!
The 98th Tour de France began on the west coast of France Saturday, with a low tide processional ride across the Passage du Gois that connects France to Île de Noirmoutier.
In 1999 Le Tour actually was racing over this roadway that's only above water at low tide, when a big crash on the super-slick pavement split the field wide open. The Stage 2 crash separated several contenders by six minutes from the front of the race. That year Lance Armstrong's streak of good luck began, and he won his first of seven Tours de France.
Going back in history to 799AD, Île de Noirmoutier was the site of the first recorded invasion of the Vikings.
The Viking in today's race, Norway's reigning World Road Race Champion, Thor Hushovd finished third in the frantic uphill sprint at Mont des Alouettes. The last 20Km saw two crashes in the peloton that again split the contenders. Defending TdF Champion, Spaniard Alberto Contador was behind the crash caused by an inattentive spectator, and crossed the finished 1:20 behind the rest of the favorites.
Fans of Luxembourger, Andy Schleck saw this as a sort of delayed "Instant Karma" owing to Contador's taking advantage of Schleck's unfortunate chain drop on on the Port du Balès climb during Stage 15 in the Pyrenees during the 2010 Tour.
Now known as Chaingate, Schleck wearing the yellow leader's jersey, attacked Contador on the Port du Balès. As he accelerated away from the Spaniard, Schleck's chain dropped from his rear derailleur and jammed. Contador saw Schleck's mechanical trouble as he passed and began his counter attack in contravention of cycle racing's Gentleman's Agreement.
They say a True Champion doesn't take advantage of a mechanical, the Grand Tours must be settled mano a mano.
"The Spaniard took advantage to attack and went on to gain 39 seconds - exactly the amount of time that separated the two riders on the final podium in Paris.
"I wouldn't have done that (attack)," Schleck said in an exclusive interview published in French newspaper L'Equipe on Thursday. "He said he didn't see it. But he looked like this [turning his head and looking over his shoulder - ed.] and then he attacked."
"A great champion doesn't do a thing like that. When Ullrich crashed into a ravine, Armstrong waited. When Armstrong crashed on the way to Luz-Ardiden (on stage 12 of the 2003 Tour), the other riders agreed to wait for him. That's what makes a champion. I was really very disappointed by his attitude that day." (From Cyclingnews' article here)
There will be ample opportunity for the two stars to settle it in the Pyrenees and the Alps this year.
When CorduroyPlanet publishes Sunday morning, I'll be up watching the LIVE coverage of Stage 2, the 23Km Team Time Trial. If you only watch one stage of Le tour this year, the Team Time Trial is the one to watch.
The Time Trial is known as "the race of truth"...it's just the rider against the clock. There's nowhere to "get out of the wind", and it's the ultimate test of the rider's form and fitness. The Team Time Trial is the same thing, but all nine men race together as a team. The Team Time Trial illustrates the beautiful dichotomy of Pro Bicycle Racing...it's an Individual Sport, but it's a Team Sport at the same time. The uninitiated can learn everything they need to know about Bicycle Racing at the Top Level by watching the TTT.
You can watch the full package coverage at noon PDT on NBC, and several times on cable network VERSUS 9AM, 1:30PM, 5PM, 6:30PM, 9PM, and 10:30PM
Aaa-and That's a Wrap
While I'm lazing in bed watching Le Tour LIVE, the last of the Diehard Skiers and Snowboarders will be getting ready to slide down the slopes for the last time in Season 2010/2011. Mammoth Mountain in the Southern Sierra, and four resorts in the Tahoe Sierra will turn their chairlifts through the Independence Day Weekend. It even made the news in Los Angeles.
I do miss running my BR350 Groomer...but not in Summertime Snow!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
It's a Wrap! Almost...
This is it. Tonight is my last shift of the 2010/2011 Season.
I've been seeing a theme develop over these past few weeks. My nights have been turning out much better than expected. I don't care to examine my expectations tonight...besides, why would I look a gift horse in the mouth?
It's been an amazing season. Plenty of snow, no personnel issues, the fleet hung together fine too. I can count the bad nights on less than ten fingers. I really endured one truly awful night (see "Well Done").
This morning over pizza, the Boss allowed that my Ol' Faithful BR350 might not be trade bait next season after all. She had 8875 hours on the Hobbs Meter when I put her to bed this AM. She's been practically trouble-free all season, and she's still running like a Thoroughbred at the Derby. Word is we'll be getting another Bison next season
Friday night's penultimate shift started badly...I woke up and looked at the clock 11:41PM! I'm supposed to be at work in nine minutes...I phoned Jeweler, confessed my sin, and said: "I'll be there in an hour". "No worries" Jeweler replied. 55 minutes later I punched in and trundled up the hill to check out Ol' Faithful and warm her up.
As forecast, the East Wind blew all day Friday, and as I predicted, the piste had dried nicely. Climbing was better than good. The list manageable. Not exactly Hero Snow, but sparse crowds left no serious bumps, and the corduroy was laying out nicely.
I didn't take a lunch...no power nap needed...I don't remember turning the alarm off...oh well...I got my big projects done in time to hit the mountain top before sunrise. The Boss who came in about 2:30 was on his game, and Jeweler was doing fine too, though he sounded worried over the 2-way. I put him at ease as the sun rose and we wrapped it up in plenty of time with extras.
The Boss disappeared about the time we hit the fuel dock only to reappear at the shop with fresh outta the oven pizza pies! Happily we all chowed down on pizza and sodas (we were still on the clock, so no beer or ale) and reflected on our season...nothing but good times.
So I savored my drive home and fell asleep before noon. I woke up in time to join the Giants game in the 7th inning. After some Torture they beat the DC Nationals. MotoGP form Portugal, NHRA Drag Racing from Houston, IndyCar from Brazil, and the Tour of Romandie bicycle race Sunday will be a fitting Kick-Off to the Month of May.
May is a Big Deal in my world. May is for Mount Everest Expeditions, The Indianapolis 500, the AMGEN Tour of California bike race (which comes right through Truckee on Stage 2!), Formula One returns to Europe, and fishing season turns on!
Next week I start putting out plants in the Ancestral Diggins, and BajaBabe comes to visit...gonna be an epic few weeks!
I've been seeing a theme develop over these past few weeks. My nights have been turning out much better than expected. I don't care to examine my expectations tonight...besides, why would I look a gift horse in the mouth?
It's been an amazing season. Plenty of snow, no personnel issues, the fleet hung together fine too. I can count the bad nights on less than ten fingers. I really endured one truly awful night (see "Well Done").
This morning over pizza, the Boss allowed that my Ol' Faithful BR350 might not be trade bait next season after all. She had 8875 hours on the Hobbs Meter when I put her to bed this AM. She's been practically trouble-free all season, and she's still running like a Thoroughbred at the Derby. Word is we'll be getting another Bison next season
Friday night's penultimate shift started badly...I woke up and looked at the clock 11:41PM! I'm supposed to be at work in nine minutes...I phoned Jeweler, confessed my sin, and said: "I'll be there in an hour". "No worries" Jeweler replied. 55 minutes later I punched in and trundled up the hill to check out Ol' Faithful and warm her up.
As forecast, the East Wind blew all day Friday, and as I predicted, the piste had dried nicely. Climbing was better than good. The list manageable. Not exactly Hero Snow, but sparse crowds left no serious bumps, and the corduroy was laying out nicely.
I didn't take a lunch...no power nap needed...I don't remember turning the alarm off...oh well...I got my big projects done in time to hit the mountain top before sunrise. The Boss who came in about 2:30 was on his game, and Jeweler was doing fine too, though he sounded worried over the 2-way. I put him at ease as the sun rose and we wrapped it up in plenty of time with extras.
The Boss disappeared about the time we hit the fuel dock only to reappear at the shop with fresh outta the oven pizza pies! Happily we all chowed down on pizza and sodas (we were still on the clock, so no beer or ale) and reflected on our season...nothing but good times.
So I savored my drive home and fell asleep before noon. I woke up in time to join the Giants game in the 7th inning. After some Torture they beat the DC Nationals. MotoGP form Portugal, NHRA Drag Racing from Houston, IndyCar from Brazil, and the Tour of Romandie bicycle race Sunday will be a fitting Kick-Off to the Month of May.
May is a Big Deal in my world. May is for Mount Everest Expeditions, The Indianapolis 500, the AMGEN Tour of California bike race (which comes right through Truckee on Stage 2!), Formula One returns to Europe, and fishing season turns on!
Next week I start putting out plants in the Ancestral Diggins, and BajaBabe comes to visit...gonna be an epic few weeks!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
I Gotta Get Back To Work!
These days off are killing me! Fortunately, all my technology has been making life easy on me!
NOT!
My email got hacked around the 10th of April or so. And everyone in my address book started getting spam for Caribbean Time Shares and Canadian Drug Stores that specialize in Boner Pills.
So for several hours Monday and Tuesday, I went through my email accounts and upgraded my passwords to two dozen symbols...up from nine. I'm ditching the email address I've used since the mid-90's, so I've created a new account, with a new address...which means I've got to migrate my address book to the new account, and email everyone with my apologies and new address.
That's barely the half of it! I haven't counted the number of online places that the old email address is my log-in or user name...I've got some online orders in progress...A couple of Amazon orders of artist supplies, printer ink, and kitchen gadgets, so I don't dare change those until delivery. Three more orders from garden supply websites...heirloom tomato seeds, garden supplies, and herb and veggie seeds for the Ancestral Diggins.
I foresee another month of changing my online aliases at bulletin boards, forums, and the few membership sites that would have me as a member...
So, after burning the Midnight Oil knocking out the Lion's Share of the eMail Project, I awoke to find that our local CableTV vendor had turned off the analog portion of their feed, and remapped the digital feed as well.
No problem, a rescan fixed me right up on my 2011 HDTV...the problem came when I rescanned my 2006 DVR...the old Philips has the fashionable for it's day hybrid tuner...digital tuners weren't FCC mandated until 2007. So the legacy tech is more than a little cranky...not one atom of fuzzy logic in it's parts or firmware...so far I've rescanned three times, and manually entered 30-40 channels, and there's still a dozen or so channels that are holding out on me...cranky bastards!
Tonight I will return to the comfortable embrace of my Legacy SnowCat...my BR350 has 8800 hours over most of four seasons, with still robust hardware specially designed to fit the application...hey, I'm the firmware, so glitches will be few and far between!
NOT!
My email got hacked around the 10th of April or so. And everyone in my address book started getting spam for Caribbean Time Shares and Canadian Drug Stores that specialize in Boner Pills.
So for several hours Monday and Tuesday, I went through my email accounts and upgraded my passwords to two dozen symbols...up from nine. I'm ditching the email address I've used since the mid-90's, so I've created a new account, with a new address...which means I've got to migrate my address book to the new account, and email everyone with my apologies and new address.
That's barely the half of it! I haven't counted the number of online places that the old email address is my log-in or user name...I've got some online orders in progress...A couple of Amazon orders of artist supplies, printer ink, and kitchen gadgets, so I don't dare change those until delivery. Three more orders from garden supply websites...heirloom tomato seeds, garden supplies, and herb and veggie seeds for the Ancestral Diggins.
I foresee another month of changing my online aliases at bulletin boards, forums, and the few membership sites that would have me as a member...
So, after burning the Midnight Oil knocking out the Lion's Share of the eMail Project, I awoke to find that our local CableTV vendor had turned off the analog portion of their feed, and remapped the digital feed as well.
No problem, a rescan fixed me right up on my 2011 HDTV...the problem came when I rescanned my 2006 DVR...the old Philips has the fashionable for it's day hybrid tuner...digital tuners weren't FCC mandated until 2007. So the legacy tech is more than a little cranky...not one atom of fuzzy logic in it's parts or firmware...so far I've rescanned three times, and manually entered 30-40 channels, and there's still a dozen or so channels that are holding out on me...cranky bastards!
Tonight I will return to the comfortable embrace of my Legacy SnowCat...my BR350 has 8800 hours over most of four seasons, with still robust hardware specially designed to fit the application...hey, I'm the firmware, so glitches will be few and far between!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter Eggs & Finish Line Follies
I can see the end from here now. Three more shifts this week and another season goes into the books. All in all, it's been a good one.
Business wise I dunno...I have a feeling that our midweek visits were up over last season, but I've managed to miss all the business meetings this year. I think most of our Holiday Weekends escaped heavy weather as well...I'm thinking business was good. Lately I've been surprised several times by the midweek numbers...maybe I shouldn't be surprised...the skiing's been great, along with the weather.
From my Groomer's standpoint, it's been a great season. Yeah, there were a few nights of rain, but not enough for real depression to set in. The long mid-winter dry spell was accompanied by cold temperatures, so grooming and skiing were good enough to endure. Once the storm doors reopened in mid March, snow and skiers kept coming in droves.
Maybe it's the protective fog of memory, but I don't recall many bad nights. Oh sure, I found plenty to belly ache about, but no killer-bad shifts...well OK, maybe the one where I drove four cats and finished in the mobile crock pot known as the Shop Cat. For the most part, I drove my own BR350 nine nights out of ten.
I'm gonna miss that one...as the oldest cat in the frontline fleet, she's scheduled for trade in after the season. She's the last of her breed too...our second BR350. We've been buying Bisons ever since. Yeah, the Bison is just a BR350 with Rexroth pumps and motors instead of Sunstrands, but what the Bisons gain in speed they give back in torque.
In every way possible (except for ergonomically) Bombardier hit for the cycle when the BR350 came off the drawing board. Ever since they've been "fixing stuff that's not broken" Even when Bombardier sold their snowcat business to Prinoth the Italian maker of quirky grooming machines, the Italians couldn't leave well enough alone either.
Given my history in the trade, and my cockeyed optimism, I suspect I'll find more than enough to love once I strap on my new tractor next season.
Management loves 'em too. What we used to do with 12 shifts a night, we now do with 7. That's real money. I suspect that the increased efficiency has a secondary but more important impact. Operators are more likely to return season after season because the comfort and ease found in the throne of the BR350's
A happy, seasoned groomer in first rate equipment does a lot to improve quantity and quality of the product. There is a tipping point in the growth of groomers...when it becomes something like a calling.
The good ones are always trying to innovate...trying to do more, better, with less. This season, I've added a couple of new routines to my bag of tricks...little things really...I've just added a few extra passes to my traveling passes, but these are like money in the bank...they pay dividends every morning.
I figure my new tractor will be a CenterX Bison...if it's got as much leg room as the standard BR350, we'll do just fine.
Business wise I dunno...I have a feeling that our midweek visits were up over last season, but I've managed to miss all the business meetings this year. I think most of our Holiday Weekends escaped heavy weather as well...I'm thinking business was good. Lately I've been surprised several times by the midweek numbers...maybe I shouldn't be surprised...the skiing's been great, along with the weather.
From my Groomer's standpoint, it's been a great season. Yeah, there were a few nights of rain, but not enough for real depression to set in. The long mid-winter dry spell was accompanied by cold temperatures, so grooming and skiing were good enough to endure. Once the storm doors reopened in mid March, snow and skiers kept coming in droves.
Maybe it's the protective fog of memory, but I don't recall many bad nights. Oh sure, I found plenty to belly ache about, but no killer-bad shifts...well OK, maybe the one where I drove four cats and finished in the mobile crock pot known as the Shop Cat. For the most part, I drove my own BR350 nine nights out of ten.
I'm gonna miss that one...as the oldest cat in the frontline fleet, she's scheduled for trade in after the season. She's the last of her breed too...our second BR350. We've been buying Bisons ever since. Yeah, the Bison is just a BR350 with Rexroth pumps and motors instead of Sunstrands, but what the Bisons gain in speed they give back in torque.
In every way possible (except for ergonomically) Bombardier hit for the cycle when the BR350 came off the drawing board. Ever since they've been "fixing stuff that's not broken" Even when Bombardier sold their snowcat business to Prinoth the Italian maker of quirky grooming machines, the Italians couldn't leave well enough alone either.
Given my history in the trade, and my cockeyed optimism, I suspect I'll find more than enough to love once I strap on my new tractor next season.
Management loves 'em too. What we used to do with 12 shifts a night, we now do with 7. That's real money. I suspect that the increased efficiency has a secondary but more important impact. Operators are more likely to return season after season because the comfort and ease found in the throne of the BR350's
A happy, seasoned groomer in first rate equipment does a lot to improve quantity and quality of the product. There is a tipping point in the growth of groomers...when it becomes something like a calling.
The good ones are always trying to innovate...trying to do more, better, with less. This season, I've added a couple of new routines to my bag of tricks...little things really...I've just added a few extra passes to my traveling passes, but these are like money in the bank...they pay dividends every morning.
 |
| 2010 CenterX Bison |
Friday, April 22, 2011
Bait and Switch
Another night that looked bad on paper (read online) turned out better than OK by the time all was said and done.
It's starting to remind me of an LP record skipping...yet another night wherein I go to work already hunkered down as if the Sword of Damocles is freshly honed and zeroing in on my fat, juicy neck!
I woke up to my 10PM alarm and was alarmed to hear the rain blasting my front door like the Big Bad Monsoon was trying to go all Three Little Pigs on my ass. None the less, I got ready for work and headed up the hill at my usual appointed hour.
Sheets of rain and too warm temps greeted me as I dashed up to the driveway. It was warm and wet...big time...I started the Parts Runner, and thought I should run back downstairs and grab my book...I'd probably have time to read it while we wait for the snow level to drop!
Out on the roads, I thought: Not a night fit for man nor beast. Roads were running like rivers and it was way dark. I didn't lock the hubs on the parts runner...after all, the webcams and remote sensors confirmed the high freezing levels.
Well, the webcams and remote sensors weren't 100% correct...I ran into snow on the highway about a half mile from the summit. Pellet-style snow was beating on the windows and sticking to the pavement like so much mini hail. It was slick as can be. I made the last half mile drift-style...very little traction...lots of steering input...a smug smile came upon my face as I crested the summit.
The Groomer's Ready Room was a grim place save for All Star Winch Pilot who was punching out for the last time this season...Vacation Time Baby! It turns out the piste was even worse...somewhere between mashed potatoes and potato soup. Jeweler and I began the slow slog...
Jeweler went high looking for relief, the theory being up top the snow should be colder and drier...not so much it turned out. I went to the bottom of the mountain opting to pound the flats until the snow level fell to the forecast Lake Level. I took a look at the mid-mountain snow stake...less than two inches at 12:45AM, I had to call the Ski Patrol leader at 0400 with the snow total so he could make the Go/No Go Avalanche Control call.
I hunted far and wide for things to do that didn't involve any steeps, so I groomed all our pedestrian paths that were really a mess...all torn up by naked snowcats...I wouldn't want to walk on them. Naked in this context means without tillers...If the forecast delivered, they'd be sweet by morning. Even though the graupel continued to fall, the mercury was taking it's own sweet time to follow suit. Jeweler's CenterX Bison is equipped with an external thermometer which clung maddeningly to 39°F. "C'mon forecast" I rooted!
Around 0300 I drove into our WiFi Cloud and checked my Twitter feed...chain controls were finally up....seems the temps were beginning to go our way...at 0350 my BR350 made a loud BANG! and lost some RPMs and power. The engine temp shot up. I stopped and shut down the tiller...the temp dropped like a stone. I limped the 200 yards to the mid-mountain stake. As I reached for my phone it started ringing. I discussed the night's totals with the Patrol Leader...the stake still showed the same under two inches it had three and a half hours earlier. Even with the robust winds, the call was No Go. I hung up and keyed the mic: "Jeweler, can you come pick me up? I've got a downed cat over here" "On my way" Jeweler came back.
Conditions continued to improve, though the Bison I climbed into had stereo issues that even my iPod and FM transmitter couldn't overcome. My cat's trouble turned out to be a Turbo Boost Hose that came adrift. My cat was back at the shop before we finished the morning re-rolls.
Back at the fuel dock there was a good 4-5 inches on the ground. The final hour or so was weirdly satisfying. Usually re-rolls are just a grind, but this morning, in light of the awful conditions overnight, the last hour was at least a little uplifting. We were all quite chipper once we were out of our cats for the day.
All's well that ends well...there's always tonight...on paper it's looking good!
It's starting to remind me of an LP record skipping...yet another night wherein I go to work already hunkered down as if the Sword of Damocles is freshly honed and zeroing in on my fat, juicy neck!
I woke up to my 10PM alarm and was alarmed to hear the rain blasting my front door like the Big Bad Monsoon was trying to go all Three Little Pigs on my ass. None the less, I got ready for work and headed up the hill at my usual appointed hour.
Sheets of rain and too warm temps greeted me as I dashed up to the driveway. It was warm and wet...big time...I started the Parts Runner, and thought I should run back downstairs and grab my book...I'd probably have time to read it while we wait for the snow level to drop!
Out on the roads, I thought: Not a night fit for man nor beast. Roads were running like rivers and it was way dark. I didn't lock the hubs on the parts runner...after all, the webcams and remote sensors confirmed the high freezing levels.
Well, the webcams and remote sensors weren't 100% correct...I ran into snow on the highway about a half mile from the summit. Pellet-style snow was beating on the windows and sticking to the pavement like so much mini hail. It was slick as can be. I made the last half mile drift-style...very little traction...lots of steering input...a smug smile came upon my face as I crested the summit.
The Groomer's Ready Room was a grim place save for All Star Winch Pilot who was punching out for the last time this season...Vacation Time Baby! It turns out the piste was even worse...somewhere between mashed potatoes and potato soup. Jeweler and I began the slow slog...
Jeweler went high looking for relief, the theory being up top the snow should be colder and drier...not so much it turned out. I went to the bottom of the mountain opting to pound the flats until the snow level fell to the forecast Lake Level. I took a look at the mid-mountain snow stake...less than two inches at 12:45AM, I had to call the Ski Patrol leader at 0400 with the snow total so he could make the Go/No Go Avalanche Control call.
I hunted far and wide for things to do that didn't involve any steeps, so I groomed all our pedestrian paths that were really a mess...all torn up by naked snowcats...I wouldn't want to walk on them. Naked in this context means without tillers...If the forecast delivered, they'd be sweet by morning. Even though the graupel continued to fall, the mercury was taking it's own sweet time to follow suit. Jeweler's CenterX Bison is equipped with an external thermometer which clung maddeningly to 39°F. "C'mon forecast" I rooted!
Around 0300 I drove into our WiFi Cloud and checked my Twitter feed...chain controls were finally up....seems the temps were beginning to go our way...at 0350 my BR350 made a loud BANG! and lost some RPMs and power. The engine temp shot up. I stopped and shut down the tiller...the temp dropped like a stone. I limped the 200 yards to the mid-mountain stake. As I reached for my phone it started ringing. I discussed the night's totals with the Patrol Leader...the stake still showed the same under two inches it had three and a half hours earlier. Even with the robust winds, the call was No Go. I hung up and keyed the mic: "Jeweler, can you come pick me up? I've got a downed cat over here" "On my way" Jeweler came back.
Conditions continued to improve, though the Bison I climbed into had stereo issues that even my iPod and FM transmitter couldn't overcome. My cat's trouble turned out to be a Turbo Boost Hose that came adrift. My cat was back at the shop before we finished the morning re-rolls.
Back at the fuel dock there was a good 4-5 inches on the ground. The final hour or so was weirdly satisfying. Usually re-rolls are just a grind, but this morning, in light of the awful conditions overnight, the last hour was at least a little uplifting. We were all quite chipper once we were out of our cats for the day.
All's well that ends well...there's always tonight...on paper it's looking good!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Churning
Last night was more welcome than home made ice cream right from the churn!
Snow started falling in the evening across the Tahoe Sierra. I parked in three inches of new fallen snow when I got to work. Swing shift were happy as clams! What's not to like? Freezing temps, new snow, and for the first time in weeks...no digging projects!
My tractor was running like new. We've been trying to track down a glitch in the drive for two weeks now. Not always the easiest chore...yesterday it came to me, or rather I remembered the fix from a season or two ago. The shop replaced the potentiometer in the left FNR lever and problem solved!
BR350's, like all modern grooming machines are electronic over hydrostatic systems. The FNR sticks control the track drives. My Ol' Faithful has more than 8700 hours on the clock, but it never has suffered a total loss of hydrostatic fluid, so the pumps and motors are still in like-new condition. The glitch we've been chasing looks like impending pump or motor failure that every groomer who's spent much time in BR275's or earlier snowcats is all too familiar with.
When Bombardier designed the BR350, not only did they up the ante horsepower-wise, they also used a lot more hardline and a lot less high pressure hose in the drive system. The bottom line is a whole lot fewer total fluid loss events and consequently a whole lot longer drive system life. All it takes is one or two of these fluid loss events to fry a pump and/or motor...their tolerances are that tight. Then it's $8000+ to rebuild a pump or motor, and a bunch of down time while repairs are made.
The FNR pot is a cheap component, and a quick fix. They are a wear item, and eventually they grow a flat spot...this is what I remembered and the shop fixed.
I warmed up the ol' girl and set off into the snowstorm. It was blowing like stink, and the conditions finally were in our favor...we would have time to start grooming some secondary trails that have seen little love during the siege of snowfall followed by a long week of balmy temps.
I rumbled over to the study plot to look at the 24 hour snow stake...it was laying on it's side. I started grooming my way up the mountain...seeing wasn't the greatest, but nobody was complaining! The winds were picking up. I called Jeweler on the 2-way. I wanted to know how the winds were up top. "50-60MPH steady from the Southwest" came Jeweler's reply.
With the 24 hour stick out of commission, I called the Snow Removal Crew to get an idea of how much snow had fallen since morning. They said two or three inches, max. It had been snowing and blowing for almost four straight hours, but it didn't seem to be stacking up. Oh, the wind was playing havoc with our freshly made corduroy, but it was getting blown away, not buried.
At 0400, I called the Ski Patrol Boss like I do every Storm Night. We discussed the snowfall and wind, and he makes the Go/No-Go Call for Avalanche Control. Despite the dearth of snowfall, the winds were the determining factor. A/C is a Go.
We refueled the fleet by 0500 and we packed up and made the push to the tops for the lift mechanics. By the tine I hit the Big Blind Meadow, twilight was dawning making navigating a snap. Lots of drifting up top, but no genuine accumulation. Thankfully no digging was required to open the lifts...just a quick till of the maze areas.
My crew re-rolled everything basic and headed up to help the Park Guy down the stretch. Patches of blue sky were breaking through the clouds, and sunglasses were deployed. Back at the Groomer's Ready Room, the guys were ebullient...the mood was joyous for a change.
Better than home made ice cream fresh from the churn!
Snow started falling in the evening across the Tahoe Sierra. I parked in three inches of new fallen snow when I got to work. Swing shift were happy as clams! What's not to like? Freezing temps, new snow, and for the first time in weeks...no digging projects!
My tractor was running like new. We've been trying to track down a glitch in the drive for two weeks now. Not always the easiest chore...yesterday it came to me, or rather I remembered the fix from a season or two ago. The shop replaced the potentiometer in the left FNR lever and problem solved!
BR350's, like all modern grooming machines are electronic over hydrostatic systems. The FNR sticks control the track drives. My Ol' Faithful has more than 8700 hours on the clock, but it never has suffered a total loss of hydrostatic fluid, so the pumps and motors are still in like-new condition. The glitch we've been chasing looks like impending pump or motor failure that every groomer who's spent much time in BR275's or earlier snowcats is all too familiar with.
When Bombardier designed the BR350, not only did they up the ante horsepower-wise, they also used a lot more hardline and a lot less high pressure hose in the drive system. The bottom line is a whole lot fewer total fluid loss events and consequently a whole lot longer drive system life. All it takes is one or two of these fluid loss events to fry a pump and/or motor...their tolerances are that tight. Then it's $8000+ to rebuild a pump or motor, and a bunch of down time while repairs are made.
The FNR pot is a cheap component, and a quick fix. They are a wear item, and eventually they grow a flat spot...this is what I remembered and the shop fixed.
I warmed up the ol' girl and set off into the snowstorm. It was blowing like stink, and the conditions finally were in our favor...we would have time to start grooming some secondary trails that have seen little love during the siege of snowfall followed by a long week of balmy temps.
I rumbled over to the study plot to look at the 24 hour snow stake...it was laying on it's side. I started grooming my way up the mountain...seeing wasn't the greatest, but nobody was complaining! The winds were picking up. I called Jeweler on the 2-way. I wanted to know how the winds were up top. "50-60MPH steady from the Southwest" came Jeweler's reply.
With the 24 hour stick out of commission, I called the Snow Removal Crew to get an idea of how much snow had fallen since morning. They said two or three inches, max. It had been snowing and blowing for almost four straight hours, but it didn't seem to be stacking up. Oh, the wind was playing havoc with our freshly made corduroy, but it was getting blown away, not buried.
At 0400, I called the Ski Patrol Boss like I do every Storm Night. We discussed the snowfall and wind, and he makes the Go/No-Go Call for Avalanche Control. Despite the dearth of snowfall, the winds were the determining factor. A/C is a Go.
We refueled the fleet by 0500 and we packed up and made the push to the tops for the lift mechanics. By the tine I hit the Big Blind Meadow, twilight was dawning making navigating a snap. Lots of drifting up top, but no genuine accumulation. Thankfully no digging was required to open the lifts...just a quick till of the maze areas.
My crew re-rolled everything basic and headed up to help the Park Guy down the stretch. Patches of blue sky were breaking through the clouds, and sunglasses were deployed. Back at the Groomer's Ready Room, the guys were ebullient...the mood was joyous for a change.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Well Done
When it rains it pours goes the old adage...unfortunately I had to live it first hand Friday night.
I should have suspected the continued pummeling when I parked the parts runner in the freshly plowed parking lot. As I got out from behind the wheel, a huge gust of wind blew my watch cap off my head! I grumbled as I looked in vain for it. Oh, there it is...some 40 feet away!
Walking up the shop road with the wind at my back, I had no idea what faced me...until I walked into the groomer's ready room and felt the defeated vibe...three cats down will do that...especially when there's so much work to be done!
Once everyone punched in, my fate was sealed...everyone would have a cat to run once Driller finished his shift in the Terrain Park. Two of us would have to run winchcats, but we wouldn't be hooking up and pulling new trails...just digging and the basics...this was no time to wallow into bottomless secondary runs!
Of the three downed cats, the Bison would be the quickest fix...once the Graveyard Wrench punched in. My Ol' Faithful was still awaiting a new injector so I took it upon myself to run the Shop Cat until further notice. I wanted all the guys to at least run BR350s...the guys running winchcats as free groomers felt put upon enough already...
I set about getting the Shop Cat started...I rounded up the hot shot battery charger and an extension cord. Eskimo hauled me and the charging kit up to the parking hill and back-bladed away the drifted snow around the old warhorse. I embarked and thanked him for the ride, and slogged to the cat.
The Shop Cat is a patchwork quilt of retired front line groomers. She began life as a 2001 Bombardier BR275 Olympic Winchcat. We bought her on the cheap because she was a demo cat. Bombardier made a fleet of these Olympic Cats available to the Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee for use at the 2001 Olympic Trials, the dress rehearsal for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games. The cat has the signature livery featuring the 2002 Olympic Emblem, a stylized snowflake. Ours had just a few hundred hours on the clock when we took delivery, and she served as a frontline winchcat for several years before being put out to pasture.
On the back, the winch has been replaced by a tilting aluminum pickup bed from another retired demo groomer...one of the two Euro-Spec BR400MPs we bought around Y2K. One of those EuroCats was my daily driver, I hated those pickup beds...they did a great job of totally obscuring the tiller's cutter bar...not to mention how much snow they'd catch in a shift...snow that you have to shovel off at the end of your shift!
I schlepped the charger around to the pickup bed, brushed the snow from the batteries, and hooked up the leads. I ran the extension cord to the power pole and plugged her in. Back at the Shop Cat, I could hear the charger doing it's thing. I turned the key...nothing, no lights either...I looked around for the Main Electrical Shut Off Switch...nothing...then I remembered that our mechanics had installed the big switches in the cabs back in the day, and that the OEM location was back in the engine compartment. A little more snow sweeping and I found the Mains. Back in the throne, I turned her over...I got a good five seconds before the starter drained the pitiful battery bank.
I tried again every few minutes before I got some encouraging coughs and ignitions, but still not enough electrons to get her to catch. I busied myself looking about the cab. I put the rear view mirror back on it's stalk. I turned her over again...more good sounds, but still the Cummins engine refused to run on it's own before the juice ran out.
I think I know how the thoroughbred race horses feel in the starting gate. Waiting more than five minutes between tries was torture. Finally she caught and stayed running. It was almost 2AM
I still couldn't relax...the lights were dim, the heater blower was barely moving any air, and the voltmeter hadn't moved one millimeter...diesels don't need any electricity to run once they've started. I kept the lights off while I warmed it up...I figured the the Graveyard Wrench could council me on the cat's foibles...he'd be in any minute. I throttled up to drive down to the fuel dock and the volt meter came to life at 1000RPM...I'm saved!
I put the charging gear back in the shop and got my things arranged in the old cat's cab. I filled it up and the Graveyard Wrench walked in. I gave him the thumbnail of the state of the fleet, grabbed a handheld 2-way, and finally rumbled off into the night...now it was 0300...
I started mashing down the homeruns and maze areas...it was really deep. I could barely see...the defroster just wasn't getting the job done. Cats of this era had windshield defrosters on a timed circuit. Turn on the defroster and it turns itself off after 15 minutes. There's an indicator light on the dash that shows when the defroster is on, but it's notorious for failing...today's cats still have the timer, but the timer resets every time you move the blade, so the windshield defroster only goes off when the cat's not working.
I turned the heat up and tried to run with the window open, but those gusty winds were bringing in more moisture than the heat was moving out. It was like a sauna in there...without the relaxing part.
I ran this way for seven hours...now I know how a pot roast feels coming outta the oven!
The Bison was back online around 0600, and my Ol' Faithful was ready to rumble at 0900.
I can't wait to groom in the 21st Century tonight! (Though I'd be lying if I said these days don't remind me of 1981/1982)
I should have suspected the continued pummeling when I parked the parts runner in the freshly plowed parking lot. As I got out from behind the wheel, a huge gust of wind blew my watch cap off my head! I grumbled as I looked in vain for it. Oh, there it is...some 40 feet away!
Walking up the shop road with the wind at my back, I had no idea what faced me...until I walked into the groomer's ready room and felt the defeated vibe...three cats down will do that...especially when there's so much work to be done!
Once everyone punched in, my fate was sealed...everyone would have a cat to run once Driller finished his shift in the Terrain Park. Two of us would have to run winchcats, but we wouldn't be hooking up and pulling new trails...just digging and the basics...this was no time to wallow into bottomless secondary runs!
Of the three downed cats, the Bison would be the quickest fix...once the Graveyard Wrench punched in. My Ol' Faithful was still awaiting a new injector so I took it upon myself to run the Shop Cat until further notice. I wanted all the guys to at least run BR350s...the guys running winchcats as free groomers felt put upon enough already...
I set about getting the Shop Cat started...I rounded up the hot shot battery charger and an extension cord. Eskimo hauled me and the charging kit up to the parking hill and back-bladed away the drifted snow around the old warhorse. I embarked and thanked him for the ride, and slogged to the cat.
The Shop Cat is a patchwork quilt of retired front line groomers. She began life as a 2001 Bombardier BR275 Olympic Winchcat. We bought her on the cheap because she was a demo cat. Bombardier made a fleet of these Olympic Cats available to the Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee for use at the 2001 Olympic Trials, the dress rehearsal for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games. The cat has the signature livery featuring the 2002 Olympic Emblem, a stylized snowflake. Ours had just a few hundred hours on the clock when we took delivery, and she served as a frontline winchcat for several years before being put out to pasture.
On the back, the winch has been replaced by a tilting aluminum pickup bed from another retired demo groomer...one of the two Euro-Spec BR400MPs we bought around Y2K. One of those EuroCats was my daily driver, I hated those pickup beds...they did a great job of totally obscuring the tiller's cutter bar...not to mention how much snow they'd catch in a shift...snow that you have to shovel off at the end of your shift!
I schlepped the charger around to the pickup bed, brushed the snow from the batteries, and hooked up the leads. I ran the extension cord to the power pole and plugged her in. Back at the Shop Cat, I could hear the charger doing it's thing. I turned the key...nothing, no lights either...I looked around for the Main Electrical Shut Off Switch...nothing...then I remembered that our mechanics had installed the big switches in the cabs back in the day, and that the OEM location was back in the engine compartment. A little more snow sweeping and I found the Mains. Back in the throne, I turned her over...I got a good five seconds before the starter drained the pitiful battery bank.
I tried again every few minutes before I got some encouraging coughs and ignitions, but still not enough electrons to get her to catch. I busied myself looking about the cab. I put the rear view mirror back on it's stalk. I turned her over again...more good sounds, but still the Cummins engine refused to run on it's own before the juice ran out.
I think I know how the thoroughbred race horses feel in the starting gate. Waiting more than five minutes between tries was torture. Finally she caught and stayed running. It was almost 2AM
I still couldn't relax...the lights were dim, the heater blower was barely moving any air, and the voltmeter hadn't moved one millimeter...diesels don't need any electricity to run once they've started. I kept the lights off while I warmed it up...I figured the the Graveyard Wrench could council me on the cat's foibles...he'd be in any minute. I throttled up to drive down to the fuel dock and the volt meter came to life at 1000RPM...I'm saved!
I put the charging gear back in the shop and got my things arranged in the old cat's cab. I filled it up and the Graveyard Wrench walked in. I gave him the thumbnail of the state of the fleet, grabbed a handheld 2-way, and finally rumbled off into the night...now it was 0300...
I started mashing down the homeruns and maze areas...it was really deep. I could barely see...the defroster just wasn't getting the job done. Cats of this era had windshield defrosters on a timed circuit. Turn on the defroster and it turns itself off after 15 minutes. There's an indicator light on the dash that shows when the defroster is on, but it's notorious for failing...today's cats still have the timer, but the timer resets every time you move the blade, so the windshield defroster only goes off when the cat's not working.
I turned the heat up and tried to run with the window open, but those gusty winds were bringing in more moisture than the heat was moving out. It was like a sauna in there...without the relaxing part.
I ran this way for seven hours...now I know how a pot roast feels coming outta the oven!
The Bison was back online around 0600, and my Ol' Faithful was ready to rumble at 0900.
I can't wait to groom in the 21st Century tonight! (Though I'd be lying if I said these days don't remind me of 1981/1982)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Still Missing?
My saga continues...
Last night I had trouble with my pickup...It would not start to save my life! I finally got it to run, and got to work 90 minutes late.
My tractor was listed on the Ready Board as "Down: Erratic Throttle" I called the Park Groomers and asked if they could spare a tractor, and they obliged. Twenty minutes later I was suiting up in their BisonX.
The piste was cooperating...not quite Hero Snow, but close enough...climbing was good enough to allow us to knock out the list despite having a winchcat offline, and a tardy leader.
About 0730 I had a new problem. I lost the pin that anchors the stinger's lift ram to the tractor's frame. I couldn't lift the tiller, and the ram was hanging straight down, digging a little trench at the centerline.
I radioed the Vehicle Shop for help, and the Graveyard Wrench snowmobiled out to me and we got the ram up out of the snow and strapped to the stinger's frame. I limped the BisonX back to the shop for what was supposed to be a quick fix. I pulled up to the fuel dock, and two mechanics descended on the stinger problem as I put 55 gallons of diesel in the tank. That's when they noticed a pretty big hydraulic leak...that's cat number three on the night's "Down List"...
The head mechanic said: "Your cat is all warmed up, you can take it if you need to." "I couldn't get it to do the erratic throttle thing in an hour of trying"...
We talked about the glitch, he showed me a couple of things I could do to help diagnose the cause....should the throttle go wacky again tonight. Our first BR350 had the same problem last season. They never figured out what the cause was, and the problem went away never to return.
I roared off to finish my list...Ol' Faithful didn't even hiccup.
After I put the tractor to bed, I talked with the Head Mechanic about my pickup's starting problem. Head Mechanic is a wizard on his stuff, he asked: "Is it a 350 with throttle body injection?" "Yes", I replied. Head Mechanic advised:"They have a history of the Ignition Module and Pickup going bad"
He related a few tips on the job and said: "Good Luck" I stopped by the Auto Parts Shop on my way home and picked up my parts...I'm gonna get greasy fingers this weekend.
Last night I had trouble with my pickup...It would not start to save my life! I finally got it to run, and got to work 90 minutes late.
My tractor was listed on the Ready Board as "Down: Erratic Throttle" I called the Park Groomers and asked if they could spare a tractor, and they obliged. Twenty minutes later I was suiting up in their BisonX.
The piste was cooperating...not quite Hero Snow, but close enough...climbing was good enough to allow us to knock out the list despite having a winchcat offline, and a tardy leader.
About 0730 I had a new problem. I lost the pin that anchors the stinger's lift ram to the tractor's frame. I couldn't lift the tiller, and the ram was hanging straight down, digging a little trench at the centerline.
I radioed the Vehicle Shop for help, and the Graveyard Wrench snowmobiled out to me and we got the ram up out of the snow and strapped to the stinger's frame. I limped the BisonX back to the shop for what was supposed to be a quick fix. I pulled up to the fuel dock, and two mechanics descended on the stinger problem as I put 55 gallons of diesel in the tank. That's when they noticed a pretty big hydraulic leak...that's cat number three on the night's "Down List"...
The head mechanic said: "Your cat is all warmed up, you can take it if you need to." "I couldn't get it to do the erratic throttle thing in an hour of trying"...
We talked about the glitch, he showed me a couple of things I could do to help diagnose the cause....should the throttle go wacky again tonight. Our first BR350 had the same problem last season. They never figured out what the cause was, and the problem went away never to return.
I roared off to finish my list...Ol' Faithful didn't even hiccup.
After I put the tractor to bed, I talked with the Head Mechanic about my pickup's starting problem. Head Mechanic is a wizard on his stuff, he asked: "Is it a 350 with throttle body injection?" "Yes", I replied. Head Mechanic advised:"They have a history of the Ignition Module and Pickup going bad"
He related a few tips on the job and said: "Good Luck" I stopped by the Auto Parts Shop on my way home and picked up my parts...I'm gonna get greasy fingers this weekend.
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