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Part I of this article appeared in the January 2015 issue. It traced the beginnings of groomers from their roots in military over-the-snow vehicles and skier-pulled devices for snow grooming, such as the Bradley Packer, to the development of machines specifically aimed at snow grooming. Part II (below, following the slide show) picks up where we left off in the late ’70s, and chronicles what we might call the modern age of grooming.

SLIDE SHOW: HISTORY OF CATS, PART II

In 1980, Kässbohrer secured its U.S. market entrance by acquiring Valley Engineering, the company that was importing PistenBully snowcats into America. With this acquisition, manufacturing, repair, and training facilities were established in Gray, Maine, and PistenBully snowcats were here for the long haul.

Bombardier continued its successful line of Skidozers, and in 1981 released the BR 400, which became a mainstay of the company for many years. The BR 400 was diesel-powered, with hydrostatically driven tracks controlled by two levers located between the operator’s legs. The levers were mechanically linked via cables to the hydrostat pumps.

The DeLorean Interlude

In the 1980s, there was a third mainstream snowcat manufacturer. When John DeLorean purchased the snowcat division of Thiokol in 1978, he began producing snowcats under the name DMC (DeLorean Motor Company). By the early ’80s, the name was changed to LMC, standing for Logan Manufacturing Company, as the machines were produced in Logan, Utah. Through all the name changes, manufacturing remained in the former Thiokol factory.

LMC’s workhorse model, the 3700C, was an updated and redesigned version of the Thiokol Hydromaster 3700, and would soon be found in the frontline grooming fleets of many ski resorts. Ask any groomer who’s been at it since the early ’80s, and he’ll tell you stories of turbochargers glowing red with heat on the 250hp Caterpillar 3208 V-8 diesel engine that powered these well-loved and hard-worked machines. The 3700 featured an electric tilt cab and quick-connect hydraulic couplings in the rear, both of which made mechanics’ jobs easier.

The LMC 3700C sported a peculiar center cab design foreign to the younger generation of operators. Rather than a wide, front-mounted cab, the 3700C had a long hood in front, with the operator positioned over the center of mass, both side-to-side and front-to-back. There were passenger seats, though they were better suited to small children than adults. The tracks were controlled via mechanical linkage sticks (Johnson boat controls, to be exact) between the operator’s legs, and the blade was controlled by a “D Handle,” a wide handle with a variety of buttons for the different functions of the advancing blades—which now featured 12 possible movements.

A later version of the LMC 3700, the 3700CF, featured a front-mounted cab. For whatever reason, this model never caught on, and seemed plagued with glitches. Hence, while CF stood for “Cab Forward,” readers might imagine the other phrases that operators would substitute to express their frustration with that iteration of the machine.

The successor to the 3700 was the LMC 4700, a cab-forward (though still short-hooded) model that boasted a 340hp diesel engine with hydrostatic drive, a 10-way blade, and a variable tiller drive pump. LMC was proud of this new powerhouse, telling prospective customers: “Slip into one of the finely contoured bucket seats. Grip the ‘Dual D’ handles that link you to 20 hydraulic functions. Fire up the Scania turbocharged engine. Yes, the look, the feel, and the sound confirms there are none better.”

While the 4700 would seem to be an organic development, it was, in fact, based heavily on a short-lived model from the DMC era, the DMC 3900. Only a handful of 3900s were produced, powered by either a Cat 3208 or an Allis Chalmers 670 diesel engine. The machine featured the same cab design as the 4700.

Tillers and Winches

While the first tillers were straight, operators yearned for one that could conform to minor unevenness in the snow surface. LMC pushed the limits, creating its famed Tri-Flex tiller, which had three separate augers and offered maximal flexing. PistenBully and Bombardier settled for a bi-flex design, which could flex in the center, and was favored by the industry in the long run, as it remained the standard across manufacturers.

LMC was an early adopter of winch technology. On its winch cats, a Braden front-mount winch took the place of a blade. Winching with LMC cats required two machines: a winch cat, which would sit at the top of the run; and the grooming cat, to which the winch attached via an eyehook on the blade. The winch cat operator had a lap-top control board, with levers to uncoil and retract the winch cable, thus lowering and raising the grooming cat. Because the winch hooked to the blade of the grooming cat, passes could only be finished while traveling uphill. The groomer would back down the pitch, then drop his tiller and climb the pitch, leaving a finished pass.

Winch technology significantly altered the grooming paradigm. Terrain previously considered impassible to snowcats became fair game for regular grooming. Winch grooming steep, expert terrain allowed skiers of a lower ability to navigate the pitches and created a new demand for “hero” conditions. It did not take long for winch grooming to become commonplace.

For all of LMC’s innovations, its fate was sealed by 1988. John DeLorean sold the company to an investment group, and its market share dwindled. The ski resort grooming market belonged to PistenBully and Bombardier, and both were innovating in several areas.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

In the early 1980s, PistenBully released the PB 200D, which significantly improved on the 170D. The new machine was more powerful and more ergonomic, and used electronic controls. Operators and mechanics could travel to the PB plant in Maine for training on adjusting and maintaining the new systems.
In 1984, the PB 200D was modified to become one of the earliest mass-produced winch snowcats. The PB 200DW had an over-cab Capstan-style winch, much like the winches in use today.

Bombardier’s successful BR 400 remained in wide use as the company began developing the ME and MP models into the 1990s. Later rebranded as the BR-275, the MP model was powered by a Cummins 8.3L inline-6 cylinder diesel engine. The “MP” stood for “MicroProcessor,” in reference to a new system for steering control in which a microprocessor computer was fed electronic data from potentiometers in the steering sticks, then sent commands to the hydrostatic pumps. This provided much greater precision in steering, and reduced the moving parts involved with mechanical linkage sticks. The MP system also introduced computer-based diagnostics to assist mechanics in machine repairs.

The microprocessor presented new challenges. The sticks had to be calibrated from time to time, and the potentiometers could become dirty and cause erratic steering. Nevertheless, the microprocessor dawned a new era for Bombardier’s snowcat line.

1. PistenBully

Meanwhile, in 1994, PistenBully was restructuring. The division of Kässbohrer responsible for its line of all-terrain vehicles split from its parent company and formed the independent Kässbohrer All Terrain Vehicle/PistenBully company. It was a fresh start for the manufacturer.

By 1997, PistenBully had delivered more than 10,000 vehicles worldwide, and in 1998, it successfully went public in Germany under the name Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG. Its frontline machines were the PB 200, with 12-way blade and flex tiller, and the PB 300, fitted with the same.

In 2002, PistenBully moved its worldwide headquarters to Laupheim, Germany. In the following year, it released the PB 300 Polar, an improvement on the standard PB 300 that introduced a more robust machine with a larger engine and the option of an improved winch.

The PB 600 was released in 2006. The machine integrated a new level of computer control. The 600 was (and is) larger than standard alpine grooming cats and shipped with a 400hp Mercedes Benz engine. Its standard configuration included a wheel for steering, though it was also made available with regular steering sticks, similar to those in Bombardier’s snowcats, instead of the paddle-shaped sticks that were available on a limited basis in PistenBully’s earlier cats.

PistenBully continued to grow its market share both through its existing brand and through acquisitions. In 2007, it acquired the Scandinavian snowcat builder Keiteleen Latukone Oy, whose signature model was the Paana. The Paana, a smaller machine geared toward Nordic operations, helped to expand PistenBully’s reach. Growth continued in 2008 with the purchase of Finnish alpine snowcat manufacturer Formatic. With these acquisitions and the 2008 release of its new frontline alpine model, the PB 400, PistenBully sold more than 20,000 snowcats by 2014.

With tightening emissions standards and a heightened environmental awareness within the ski industry, PistenBully began focusing on alternative power. This focus led to the PB 600 E+, a revolutionary diesel-electric snowcat that hit the market in 2012. The 600 E+ uses technology similar to diesel-electric locomotives; it creates a 20 percent improvement in efficiency, reducing emissions and lower operating costs.

PistenBully also developed a new tiller, the AlpineFlex, which employs a significantly more aggressive tooth pattern. Its comb and wing system produces a deeper, seamless corduroy pattern. A setting on the machine’s computer can set the tiller into “boost mode,” which increases its speed beyond the normal top speed, providing the ability to cut through hardpack or further process soft snow in preparation of race courses, etc.

Further innovations from PistenBully answered the growing demand for terrain park-specific equipment. In 1999, PistenBully began developing the first park-specific cat, which was released in 2000 as the PB 200 Park. The park cats boasted a greater range of motion in the blade and tiller to accommodate feature shaping and maintenance, reducing hand work. The 2014 release of the Park Pro added a finishing comb to the bottom of the blade. All major tiller and blade functions were moved to a single joystick. And software improvements allow the operator to customize the controls.

Other recent advances from PistenBully are primarily technological, including an LCD screen diagnostic and settings display, computer-controlled tiller control presets, and the SNOWsat fleet management system.

2. Bombardier/Prinoth

At Bombardier, by 2002 the BR 275 had evolved into the BR 2000, powered by a 350hp Cummins QSL9. This cat combined the best features of the BR 275 with a new, larger Terrain Master blade, and had improved ergonomics and comfort in the cab. It was also designed to be compatible with the HPG, Bombardier’s offering for half pipe shaping, and could be purchased as a winch model with a 4.1 M Ton overhead winch. The BR 2000’s Terrain Master tiller promised improved performance in harder snow and at higher speeds, and could optionally come with hydraulic side wings.

The BR 2000 was further tweaked and updated in the BR 350, which became another long-time frontline groomer. The BR 350 had an updated cab design, and a 350hp Caterpillar C9 under the “hood.” Other than minor updates, it has remained essentially the same.

Bombardier saw its own management changes. In 2004, the snowcat and industrial vehicle division of Bombardier Recreational Products was sold to Camoplast, another Canadian company, which would sell snowcats under its name until Prinoth purchased the division in 2005.

Prinoth, which had been building snowcats in Europe since the earliest days, had merged with Leitner, another European snowcat manufacturer, three years earlier. By combining technologies from the three companies, Prinoth had assembled a full quiver of snowcat design and building expertise.

Prinoth continued, and still continues, to offer the BR 350. But the company quickly began work on its own line of machines, which hit the market as the Prinoth Bison in 2007 and the Prinoth Beast in 2010. Pininfarina, an Italian firm whose work can be seen in exotic auto brands like Ferrari and Maserati, designed the exterior of the machines.

The Bison remains a standard alpine grooming cat, powered like the BR 350 by the Caterpillar C9 engine, though in the Tier 3 Acert 355hp version. The operator’s seat in the Bison is in the center of the cab, a move that improved front visibility and depth perception. More controls, such as tiller side wings, were moved to the blade joystick. An LCD display shows vital signs, allows the operator to make adjustments, and provides mechanics with diagnostic tools.

A terrain park model of the Bison, the Bison X, was created to offer options that allowed for precision control of blading functions for shaping. Like PistenBully’s park models, the blade and tiller have a much greater range of motion. A multifunctional hydraulic system allows use of both front and rear accessories at the same time.

Prinoth’s Beast was a unique new offering due to its sheer size. With a 520hp Caterpillar C13 and a full working width of about 23 feet, the Beast remains the largest snowcat produced to date. Its application, however, has been limited, as many ski resorts would have to cut new cat roads and install wider shop doors to accommodate the machines.

As the EPA continues to tighten diesel emissions standards, Prinoth has adapted. As of this year, Prinoth’s new machines will be built with Tier 4 Final engines, which the company says are not only cleaner, but also more powerful.

And So It Goes

The development of snowcats for grooming applications has seen steady growth and innovation. The earliest days showed the biggest leaps, moving quickly from boot- and shovel-packing to a mechanized contraption, then to self-powered machines with implements. As the fundamentals of good snowcat technology were mainly settled by the mid-’80s, recent advances have primarily been in tweaks, computerization, comfort, and task-specific equipment. This evolution leaves us now with the impressive machines that tame the slopes each night.

Still, innovation continues. The changing needs of resorts and their guests, and competition between the two remaining brands, guarantees it.