The Nordic Series: The Snowcat, Part 1

The Vail Recreation District purchased a new Prinoth Husky Snowcat a couple of seasons ago to keep up with the growing sport of nordic skiing here at the Vail Golf Club. As a golf course superintendent in this town, I am always asked what I do in the winter. I reply with "only working 40 hours a week".

Let me explain a few things about how a nordic track is maintained. First off, there are four of us through the winter months that groom and maintain the track daily. We also maintain a packed snowshoe course and some plowing. Much like golf, there are no holidays for nordic skiing, so there is someone on hand everyday for the entire day.

Below is the tiller or the cutter bar. The cutter bar is in the rear of the snowcat just before the corduroy mat, that tills up any snow and evens out the surface. It is crucial that the operator knows the course and how to manage the tiller at all times. During low snow periods, there could be rock or cart path that needs to be avoided. If there have been a number of days with no snow, the tiller helps to soften the surface slightly to allow skiers to catch their edge. When the snow piles up, the tiller helps pack the snow down and keep it in place. If the tiller is not set correctly for each condition it can severely impact the life of the track.

Visibility can be difficult when trying to understand what the snow looks like after it has been processed through the tiller. Having the mirrors set correctly, quickly helps grooming for the day. They help you see how much snow is gathering in the tiller, how fast the tiller speed is, what condition the pans leave behind, and that one skier who is riding your tail.

The steering wheel is the "bread and butter" of the operation. Conveniently you can make all the necessary changes you need right in front of you. The four push buttons on the top left help direct the entire rear attachment. The positions are center, left, right and float. Float is most commonly used to react to turns. The four green and black buttons operate the tiller and the pans. From left to right; turns the tiller on/off, sets the depth of the cutter bar, raise/lower the left pan, raise/lower the right pan.

The two knobs on the bottom left of the wheel determine tiller turning speed and the speed of the entire unit. The bottom push button operates the windshield wipers and in the background above the wheel is the light console to inform you of what is happening and what might be wrong (ex. low oil, pressure, etc)

This is your main switch board. The joy stick operates the plow in front of the cat, there are pressure, fuel and rpm gauges. Finally, there are numerous switches to help with the cutter bar, defrost to keep windows clear, parking brakes, exterior lights, heat, wipers, and of course the radio.

In part 2, I will discuss more about the pans, plow and other features of the snow cat. The series will also discuss course markings, types of skiing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, safety and other maintenance equipment.

There is still time

You have until January 5th to vote for your favorite golf courses in the state of Colorado. Click here for the link to vote Vail Golf Club as your favorite golfing destination.

Golf Heals

This link was sent to me today. Click here to view a great story out of Tacoma, WA. You my have seen it before. It could be one of the Golden Bear's best piece of work. All the best to a safe and happy holiday season.

Winter

Beginning today the days are getting longer! I always look forward to that. Makes for a longer ski day as well. Snow conditions haven't been better at the Nordic Center and we are off to our best start ever. Lots of early skiing and the entire track has been open for well over a month now.

Looking forward to some more storms over the holiday weeks.

To date our project are just about complete with only the gas line installation still on. After the new year we will work with XCel to continue with finishing their supplemental line through the course. I would guess they have 500 yards left to install, which would take about 2-3 weeks to install. Thawing the ground takes up most of that time.

Enjoy the holiday season, stay tuned for my "All Things Nordic" segment where I will begin to post the making of a Nordic track and snowshoe trails.

Joe B. Is Coming Back

No, New Orleans is not known for its golf. However, just like you, there are many people in that great city that love the sport just as much as you do.

This picture was taken by yours truly almost 5 years ago. If my memory serves my right, this was the first tee. There were no signs at the time of this golf course ever being played again. Thanks to the dedicated people of New Orleans, there is one more golf course set to open.

Click on the title of this post for a great article in the Wall St. Journal on the Joe Bartholomew Golf Course in New Orleans.

Bridge and Gas Line Update

The seventeenth bridge is coming along nicely and will be complete and ready for winter foot traffic for the weekend. You can see here, metal plates are being installed to keep the wood railings into place.

Excel energy started digging yesterday to install their new gas line. The goal is to replace the old line with the new line in the exact location.

The 4 inch line was fused onto the pipe from the bridge and about the first 50 feet was dug and installed yesterday. The trench was back filled by the end of the day so it would not freeze.

Thaw blankets have been installed for another 125 feet and the ground will be ready on Friday to continue the installation on the access road between 11 & 16 greens.

By the weekend, the 17th bridge will be safely accessible for all users. After the work on Friday is complete, the installation process will not pick up again until after the holidays. Which is fine with us, because the nordic activities are the busiest and there will be no interruptions through the season.

The Final Touches on 11 Bridge

Today was the fun part. Plowing snow onto a perfectly good bridge. Mother Nature helped a bit, but we have spent the last few days moving snow with the front end loader from another site to the bridge. Due to the size of the bridge, we needed a lot of snow. The bridge is 15 feet wide and spans 44 feet in length.
Justin and Tony spent part of the morning getting the bridge into shape for skiers. By the end of the weekend it will be officially open.
Until the 17th bridge is operational, the 11th bridge will be used for skiers and foot traffic. Please obey signs. Keep it here for the completion of 17 bridge. Thanks to all of you for your patience and understanding.

So we are now embarking on our largest utility improvement project on the golf course. There are many utilities throughout the property including a power, phone, cable, high pressure gas and domestic (low pressure) gas. This next project is in response to a failed valve that caused an minor explosion to the domestic line prior to the 17th bridge excavation. The 4 inch line will be replaced starting this week. The first step is to thaw the ground. Today Xcel has installed a heating machine so that they can begin to dig on Friday.

They are installing the HDPE pipe all the way from the bridge to the frontage road, where it meets the high pressure line. This is a supplemental line for homes and part of Vail Village mostly used in the winter when the demand is greater.

They can thaw about 100 feet at a time. So it will be a slow process, but once they are complete, we can begin to open the area for winter activities.

The 17th bridge final preparations can be mostly accomplished from the south side of the creek, so they would not interfere with the gas company.

Railings

The design here is similar to the bridge detail on holes 14 & 15. A lighter and fresher color wood that will be changed on the aforementioned bridges to match our new established style in the future.

Today the guys are making quick work of the railings and hope to be completed by Wednesday. Transitioning the bridges will be the final step to allow the snowcat, snowmobile and skiers to access the bridge smoothly. We are focusing on protecting the rails and locating snow to bring to the bridge for skiing.

Almost There...

The end is in sight. Yesterday by 10.30am both frames of 11 & 17 bridge were in place and they fit like a glove. To the left is the 17th being lowered into position. For video of the process, visit the video bar to the right of the page.

The 17th bridge has one slight addition, a domestic gas line, as you can see it hanging from the frame. Earlier in this project, the gas company had a problem with one of their valves on this line and it caused a small explosion. This is a supplemental line and since we are nearing the peak season for natural gas demand, XCel will begin the process of replacing that line on Tuesday. Not the greatest news with the weather, present snow and the fact we need to keep track of our new irrigation system. However, it is better than piling this on the spring.

I will have more information later this week with details of the new gas line installation. Yes, it will have some effect on our operations, however since we have spent time and money on this new bridge I feel more comfortable knowing everything with the gas line will be corrected to prevent another explosion.

As for the bridges, they are not operational yet. The railings and deck need to be secured before we allow use of the bridges. The first step is being done right now, as the metal floor is being welded onto the frame. Next, the railings will be installed and a temporary deck for the winter will be placed. Ultimately, a concrete deck will be poured as the permanent deck, but we have decided against pouring concrete this time of year. The concrete will be poured in April when the nordic season is over and nighttime temperatures are typically higher than December.

Our plan is to have the bridges operational by December 13th. Keep checking the blog for the latest details.

Moving Bridges

From the moment I first laid eyes on the bridges on the golf course I knew that these aging structures needed to be replaced. Unfortunately they fell down the priority list behind a new irrigation system and some failing retaining walls. However, today is the day we begin with the final steps of the new large bridges on the 11th and 17h holes.

Pictured here are the bottom of the rails that have already been installed. Due to the schedule of the crane company, today will be when they are placed onto the abutments. Over the next week the railings and transitions to the bridge will be finalized. They will be available for the nordic community on December 13th.

The railings have been stained and prepared for all weather conditions. You will notice how nicely they match the wood detail of the pumphouse and the new weather shelter.