The Surprising Versatility of Snowcats

Snowcats are versatile, heavy-duty machines that are supremely useful for all kinds of business owners. A snowcat features an enclosed cab, commonly the size of an average truck cab, and runs on tracks. Snowcats are designed to withstand sub-zero weather and face ice, snow, and other intense weather conditions with ease.

A snowcat is most commonly used to perform various snow maintenance activities. Snowcat business uses include the movement and grooming of snow, as well as transportation through snowy terrain. Snowcats can often be found at ski resorts or properties that utilize ski trails and snowmobile trails that must be groomed for safe use.

Snowcats have also been used to traverse or groom terrain during research projects such as polar expeditions and seismic studies in remote areas. They can also be used for medical evacuations, search operations, and essential travel through tough, snowy terrain. Finally, snowcats can be used for leisure travel to remote areas near any lodge or resort.

Ski Lift

Skiing is one of the most popular winter activities, and for good reason: it’s fun and accessible for all ages and is a great way to pass the time during the chilly winter months. While snowcats are commonly used to create and groom the trails necessary to ski safely, these versatile machines can do so much more.

Major resorts typically have ski lifts to take skiers to the tops of the most popular runs, but there’s some great fresh powder to be enjoyed in more remote areas. However, without a ski lift, you and your guests are left hiking up the hill, expelling energy that could be better enjoyed traveling down the slopes.

When your guests want to ski in an area that lacks the infrastructure or resources for permanent ski lift structures, there’s no need to force them to travel on foot. Snowcats are capable of towing up to four people at a time with ease. This makes for a perfect makeshift ski lift to get your guests up the hill so they can access more of your resort than ever before.

Rescuing

Emergency situations can happen anytime, anywhere. Your ability to react quickly as a business owner can make a significant difference. The snowcat possesses superior traction, helping it to move through difficult terrains such as snow and ice. While large and powerful, snowcats still boast impressive maneuverability. This allows snowcats to traverse difficult, uncleared terrain, maneuvering around debris such as fallen trees, rocky surfaces, or uneven trails.

The load capacity of a snowcat makes it easy to transport people, supplies, medical equipment, and anything else necessary to navigate all types of emergency situations. Snowcats are ideal for emergency rescue operations across the most challenging terrain, including after avalanches, floodplains, or other unsafe conditions.

In emergency situations such as natural disasters, some vehicles don’t have the off-road and multi-terrain capabilities necessary to move debris and assist. Winter weather and mountainous terrain can further limit the vehicles available for disaster management. This is ideal when a flood, earthquake, storm, or other natural disaster has shifted the ground, caused landslides, or scattered other debris.

Suggested Reading: Snowcats and Emergency Situations

Icebreaking

Install blades on your snowcat to create an icebreaker that can easily power through frozen rivers and lakes. The ability to blast through deep layers of ice can help prevent water build-up in certain areas that could cause flooding when the temperature rises. If you are in an area that is especially prone to harsh winter conditions, a snowcat can make all the difference.

The Pistenbully’s X-track is designed to go in wooded areas with little damage done to the terrain and surrounding habitat. Steel tracks are designed for maximum thrust while moving through icy terrain.

Suggested Reading: How the Pistenbully Prepares Slopes

Navigating

Some snowcats, used as military vehicles, and its advanced capabilities can cross over into many industries. The SNOWSat system provides year-round professional snow, slope, route, and fleet management monitoring. The system centralizes information to make it useful in a variety of industries and situations. Moreso, unmanned vehicles are useful to complete objectives that could put the lives of drivers at risk. SNOWSat provides real-time geodata, fleet info, maintenance reports, and more.

Another angle to unmanned use is the ability for ongoing wildlife observation and recording. Due to attachments, snowcats can reach off-road destinations Snowcats drive across wooded areas, meadows and moorland with very little damage to the terrain.

Construction and Mining

Snowcats have powerful, robust engines. It makes it incredibly useful in off-road situations and difficult conditions. As mentioned above, it’s especially useful for breaking-up icy paths and ice-encrusted plains. It can be used to complement other machines used in mining.

The size of the cab makes it good to use in mines and queries. A snowcat can easily situate itself in tight spaces and maneuver out of otherwise hazardous terrain. It can also be used for construction. Its ability to easily move heavy loads across uneven, muddy, snowy, and hilly terrain is useful for everything from new construction to ongoing building maintenance needs.

Several attachments (a plow, tiller, snow blower, ) make it so there’s no need to rent multiple construction vehicles. With its powerful engine, high traction, and versatility, a snowcat can reduce costs while meeting the necessary safety standards for construction vehicles.

Exploration and Touring

Snowcats have a powerful engine that is designed to handle all types of different terrains, even frozen and ice-encrusted slopes. When you want to boldly go where few have ventured before, a snowcat can get you there. From frozen tundra to remote mountain ranges, there are very few spaces a snowcat cannot travel.

The snowcat offers additional peace of mind when it comes to safety and is spacious enough to transport your crew, your equipment, and your supplies. This helps to minimize the need for stopping along the way to replenish your stocks of supplies and allows you to explore further for longer.

Alternatively, some mountain resorts offer snowcat-enabled tours throughout ranges. It’s a great way for everyone to see breathtaking sights. This means that anyone who wants to see more of the beautiful winter scenery at your resort can see exotic parts of the mountain. Moreover, snowcats can take advanced skiers and boarders to more challenging areas of the mountain.

Suggested Reading: How to Start Snowcat Tours

Marketing and Advertising

If you are a business owner, you know the importance of advertising. You also know the value of free or continuous advertising that doesn’t require a lot of manpower or money. With a snowcat, you can turn long journeys into opportunities to capture images for marketing and advertising materials.

A snowcat can travel across difficult terrain in a variety of weather conditions, so you go where the action is. When you set your shot up from the top of a snowcat, you’ll have natural lighting that equipment simply can’t recreate. You’ll be able to capture the most breathtaking phenomena to use in your resort’s marketing materials and website.

When you can offer stunning results that simply can’t be achieved elsewhere, you’ll increase the demand for your resort’s services. A snowcat will provide you with the means to capture precious images unlike ever before.

Buying Vs. Leasing a Snowcat

Business owners are happy to have the option of leasing a snowcat versus making an upfront investment. While some purchase Pistenbully 100s and other snowcat models, there are plenty of benefits that go along with leasing.

Firstly, it allows a business owner to keep costs lower. One can lease a machine for a season, analyze how well the realities of business reflected estimations, and then make a better, more-informed decision moving forward. It’s an incredible advantage for a smaller-sized or seasonal-based business.

Alternatively, those who have a need for multiple machines, like the idea of leasing. It gives them flexibility to own and operate the most current models versus investing in one model that eventually becomes dated and will need maintenance.

Explore Your Options with Snowcat

When it comes to the uses of a snowcat, the possibilities truly are endless. Snowcats are powerful, maneuverable vehicles designed to withstand the high demands of various tough terrains, making them the ideal motorized vehicle for snow transportation, grooming, and clearing. However, a snowcat is useful for so much more!

We offer high-quality snowcats and attachments. At Ski Cat, we’re all about providing options to our valued clients. Speak to one of our associates about your individual needs and leasing a snowcat.