Idyll of the snow cat
It is an important and popular fact, as the poet said, that different strokes work for different folks. Especially when it comes to leisure activities, an open mind must be kept. As all well-informed citizens of the internet soon come to find out, there is already a subforum for that, no matter how depravedly obscure you thought your interests were (you know who you are).
I say this not to beg your indulgence of The Cat’s Meow Snowcat Jamboree, which, as the image above indicates, is objectively awesome. Rather, I open with an appeal to tolerance out of the acute awareness that my own role in this story may be somewhat disturbing to some. Please adjust your judgement levels accordingly before reading on.
Chugging along
Despite being my father’s son, not to mention a professional automotive writer of a generation expected to be performatively interested cool machinery as a way of building ones personal brand, it is slightly painful to admit that I was not at Mt Hood’s Timberline lodge early on a Saturday morning to document a gathering of achingly cool old snowcats. Instead my partner Andrea and I were at Timberline for our version of church: hiking up Mt Hood’s Palmer Snowfield and riding down, her on a splitboard and myself on an alpine touring ski setup. Several hours of hiking uphill with skis on your feet for a single run is, in the mind of most skiers, a sign of some kind of bizarre mental illness. But after a week at a desk, under the grey clouds of the Oregon lowlands, hiking above the clouds and into the yawning mouth of a snow-draped volcano in order to fly down through untouched snow becomes satisfying on almost every level. Like church is supposed to be, I guess.
Taking the road more traveled
But on this day, the chapel of Mt Hood was noticeably louder than usual. Giddy at the sight of several inches of uncharacteristically light, fluffy powder, we paid little attention to the staccato hammering of low-revving engines and headed up towards the cloud-shrouded mountain. After a short distance we joined a cat track, and suddenly the noise became much louder. Occasionally these trails are used to ferry supplies from the main lodge to the Silcox Hut, at the top of the “Magic Mile” lift, but it was clear that there was much more traffic than usual. Suddenly two vintage snow cats converged from both ends of the trail, and passed each other as we stood ankle-deep in the powder and watched. Luckily Andrea had brought her phone, allowing us to grab a few hasty photos, generally shot with enough screen glare to necessitate a “spray and pray” approach.
Snow cats pass
As we began to realize that there were going to be more than just a few snow cats on the normally-quiet trail we had chosen, we took off into the powder to get away. The noise of the growing number of vintage cats shattered the usual peace of the place, and for a moment I was thankful that Timberline’s modern snow cats were relatively quiet. As we climbed away upwind of the busy trail, the clouds began to clear and the mountain began to show itself. It was going to be a glorious day.
Breaking trail
Breaking trail added to the effort, and the sparse cover forced us back towards the trail as we approached the Silcox Hut. The cat trail had widened at this point, and just as the sun was banishing the last of the clouds, two of the nicest vintage cats we saw came chugging up the trail. My earlier fear and confusion suddenly melted away as I realized that this was as perfect a day for these vintage snow cat lovers as it was for us. I could relate to chugging slowly uphill, keeping the revs low and savoring an experience that few others enjoy.
The Convoy
After all, it was turning out to be a glorious day. And old snow cats turned out to be the perfect Portlandia twist on an already-idyllic alpine scene: a vintage lumbersexual fantasy come to life.
“Rock of Roll”
As we reached the Silcox Hut, it became clear that a full-on jamboree was in progress.
The gathering
Though dominated by Oregon’s own Tucker Sno Cats, a wide variety of models were represented.
“PistenBully”
Observation on the trail up indicated the advantages of Tucker’s four-track approach, as they seemed to slip far less than the two-tracked alternatives. And as an Oregon company, it’s not surprising that they are so well-represented at this jamboree. I was not, however, able to verify whether the “Trans Antarctic Expedition” Tucker was one of the four actually used in Sir Vivian Fuch’s 1958 first overland crossing of Antarctica (and featured in this mind-blowing image), but then how likely is it to have been a replica? Wikipedia says three are in museums, including one in Southern California. Was this the one that’s not in a museum?
Rule Britannia
As the conditions became downright idyllic, it was clear that even more old snow cats were chugging up from the old Timberline lodge towards the Silcox hut. The traffic was building.
Morning traffic
There were cool old snow cats in every direction.
Classic “Cascade Groomers” Tucker, at the Silcox Hut
It was almost like stepping back in time.
“Official use only”
The whole situation was deeply awesome.
“Voile Backcountry Equipment”
But we were headed higher on the mountain, so we reluctantly headed off even as more awesome old cats arrived. Hearts filled with the power of these enduring things we trudged onward, towards the last frozen-over pillars of the Palmer chairlift.
Up Palmer Snowfield
And then we came down, floating through bright sunshine on creamy spring powder. As we went into the old lodge for a beer and a snack, the rumble of more geriatric engines echoed off its massive stone entrance as still more aged snow cats growled to life and headed up the mountain. It had been a perfect day, for us and for the snow cats, and I was glad to have shared the mountain with them.
Fresh tracks
Very cool post about a seldom covered class of vehicle. I believe some early Tucker Sno-Cats were powered by Chrysler’s rugged and reliable inline flathead six. Why do I want to giggle every time I say PistenBully? 😉
In the 1920’s there were plans to put a massive sign across Mt. Hood that would have been readable from Portland! It was going to be illuminated at night, too. I believe it was an insurance company that came up with this Monty Burns-like plan. Oh, and “lumbersexual”? Loggers had to pay for that, hence the existence of Portland, whore capital of the West Coast then and now.
Did you ever get a chance to ride the Mount Hood Express when they were still using GMC Fishbowls? Good article and photos, I have never taken photos of the Snow Cats while up at Timberline, but I might next season.
Can’t see one of these & not instantly be reminded of The Shining.
“GO CHECK IT OUT!!’
Yeah, this is where they did exterior shots for “The Shining” as well.
Coincidentally, I just watched “The Shining” this weekend. I had Snow Cats on my mind.
“Several hours of hiking uphill with skis on your feet for a single run is, in the mind of most skiers, a sign of some kind of bizarre mental illness.” – I totally understand that mentality. I’m an avid distance runner who up until last week was running through three injuries all in the same leg, with each one responsible for causing the next: pulled hamstring, tendinitis, and now a yet-to-be fully diagnosed ankle injury (likely a stress fracture or torn ligaments) that has left me in an air cast. When you have something you’re truly passionate about and is your escape from life, you’re willing to go a long way to make it happen.
Great article! My choice however, is The Chariot, from Lost In Space. Morton Thiokol chassis. Fully functional, not just a prop. The Chariot was incredible, and it was amphibious too. Must have been hard to park inside the Jupiter 2 though! What a classic ride from ’65.
Forgot to link this in the post, but this is my second effort at documenting the vintage snow cats of Mt Hood. Sadly, the old Thiokols are now gone.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/03/down-on-the-slopes-thiokol-spryte/
*Very* cool and well written .
I too immediately thought ‘ I hope they include The Chariot ‘ =8-) .
-Nate
by clicking on the link you provided i think we know what became of the 1 “Trans Antarctic Expedition” Tucker that is unaccounted for.
seriously the only way out i can see is to use a winch and even then there is no guarantee.
Oops! I will admit that I did basically no research for this post. I started, realized that I would lose all my remaining weekend if I even began scratching the surface of the internet’s great wealth of snow cat knowledge, and stopped instantly. I respect this readership too much to try to pass myself off as knowledgeable about this kind of thing, which is why I tried to stick to just writing about the experience.
Mt. Hood is beautiful sitting there to the east. I’ve often wanted to climb it. Unfortunately, my George-Costanza-like-body would undoubtedly fail me before I reached the summit as it is a technical climb involving axes and crampons.
Sounds like a serendipitous event, to meet a pack of vintage Sno-Cats completely unawares. Definitely fascinating old vehicles! Also a very well-written piece and an enjoyable read.
A Sno Cat Jamboree! Definately an answer to a question I’ve never asked, but I’m happy to live in a world where both the question and the answer exist.
One point I’m trying to not be judgemental on is the idea of having a ski day after a week of desk work. If I could get a ski day for every week of desk work I’ve done this year I’d be happier & fitter too.
Not likely to change soon, the project I had foisted on me about the time of the ACD meetup is still ongoing, what a mess…
Are these mostly a West Coast thing? I realize PistenBullies are German, and designed for grooming ski trails (pistes or pisten), but those, Tucker’s and other makes do seem very common for private use in certain parts of the Sierra here in California to access remote homes. Are they also used in the north woods of Wisconsin and Minnesota, Michigan, or New England, or have snowmobiles pretty much taken over? I used to know at least two guys with Tucker SnoCats.
That’s a mega bonus… I’ve always wanted to drive one of these things ever since I saw MacGuyver drive one (or was “Murdock” driving one trying to kill him? I don’t remember). I haven’t been skiing in years, but – also as a young’n – we used to go to this place in New Jersey every winter and stayed in this great hotel that still had decor left over from its past life as a Playboy Club in the early ’70s. I thought that was really cool. Sorry for the detour, but that’s what I think of whenever I think of skiing.
This version of church looks way more appealing than the one I’m familiar with, although I will say that I liked their wafers.
You have described a very cool experience – and one as foreign to this midwestern boy as Austria or Bora Bora. But there is that common language – there are few experiences that cannot be improved upon by the addition of internal combustion. 🙂
The sno-cat referenced was the one in the crevasse photo. It was recovered and is now owned by Tucker. http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=67963&page=21 has more pictures and info on the Cat’s Meow Jamboree and the history of the tucker.
fyi, the trans antarctica expedition tucker is the REAL DEAL, a 1956 Tucker Model 743, and was the expedition leaders cat, Dr, Sir Vivian Fuchs, his son Peter Fuchs was in attendance at the Cats Meow Jamboree at Timberline Lodge ( fyi – there is NO trans antarctica sno cats in California) It was bought back by Tucker inc in 1959 and last used in 1960 at Crater Lake and had been sitting at the Tucker for 55 years, the machine has been completely gone through including the complete engine rebuild with great care in preserving the originally as if it had just off the ice.