Challenge Mountains 1963-601

Hi. I thought you might like to see some pictures of Challenge Mountains' 601.
I am the designated driver/caretaker. Please visit our website at http://www.challengemtn.org/ and view the video and you will see what we are about.
We call our 601 "the bus" and it is a big draw with the masses.
enjoy the pics, and I'll put more up later.

LOVE "the bus"! You have found a very strong gatherers of 601ers here. Watch out for Painer....I mean Mainer. He will be hitting you up soon for first dibbs on the 601 if it ever comes up for sale. BUT of course I already Have First Dibbs....... LOL WELCOME to the Forums! You can never post to many pictures.

Snowcat Operations said:

Watch out for Painer....I mean Mainer. He will be hitting you up soon for first dibbs on the 601 if it ever comes up for sale. BUT of course I already Have First Dibbs......

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Bzzzt! Too late Ops! I already fired up those conversations with K2 days ago before the forum and before I knew much about what the bus was used for! Nice try though...Mainer's faster than that!

In this instance, I think it's a very fortunate thing that he's hanging onto the bus for the kids there... I cannot think of any 601 in use today that is better suited to staying with the owner given the many people that it makes happy.
8)

Kermit2-
If you ever need contacts for parts or want to discuss please feel free to email the Painer...heck, I'm doing it now... I mean Mainer.
Down the road I'll be pressing out new 601 grousers to original spec so if you ever need any at cost let me know and they're yours.
Unique paint job! Nice!

wow, thats cool.

Good looking ride!! And welcome.

It's ALWAYS nice to see a living, breathing 601. yours looks very nice. Like Sno-Ops says, we all like pics. interior & exterior

I really wish I could say I own the bus, but alas, it's Challenge Mountains. Some day I'm sure it will have outlived it's usefulness, but I have found a new hobby in my retirement.
Yep Mainer is correct. I received a few e-mails from another site and his lead me to this one. I am overwhelmed at the info I have ingested in the past weeks. I will be sure to utilize all of the knowledge from everyone on this site.

The bus is from Kincheloe(sp) AFB in Michigan, went to a county s&r and then to a private owner who did the restoration. The director of Challenge mt had noticed it sitting for a while and inquired if it would be suitable for grooming the hills, and if it was, could it be purchased.
The owner said he would bring it over for them to try.
When they set up the time to meet, the director asked if i would accept a pintle hitch, and he said it would. Well he showed up an hour late, he stopped on the way and had the mount welded on. When the settled on a price the seller noticed an old tractor they had been using for mowing, asked if he could buy it, as he restored old tractors. So he lost the bus but gained another project.

This week we had vision impaired youngsters. It is an awesome sight to watch these kids ski down the hill, hats over their eyes, smiles wide open. They are an inspiration to us all. I know i couldn't walk in my own back yard blindfolded, much less go skiing. Next week we have burn victims, and to watch these kids do what they do just tugs at your heartstrings. It's a humbling experience for sure.
I'll post more pics from this weekend when I get home
I'll take more pics Saturday, any requests?
thanks for your interest and help
Dale

HI Kermit2

I went to your website, my wife & myself found it it to be very inspirational to see what you do for these kids. I have a good friend who has a handicapped son who loves to help me with my work on my 601. He has spent many hours helping with whatever he can do. We live about 100mi north of Boyne City in the U.P. My 601 came from KY Sawyer AFB. If you could I would be interested in seeing pics of the interior. seats, floor, heaters, engine etc. etc. You need to given afor doing what you do at Challenge Mountain .

weatherby said:

....You need to given afor doing what you do at Challenge Mountain .

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K2--- I 2nd that and 3rd that on Weatherby's comments! Anything you ever need... don't hesitate. The amount of impact you have is just fantastic on making so many lives that much more enriching!

I'll fourth that one as well. What an inspiration. I used to work with the mentaly and physically challeneged. One of the things I used to do was organize and help coach special olympics. So I can really relate to what you guys do. That's awesome.

I've taken a few of the handicapped people I used to work with for rides in the snowcat before and they just loved it. They had a grin on their face from ear to year for the rest of the day. One of the guys I used to work with talked really, really fast. He pronounced his "T's" as "C's" He knows my whole family very well. My dad and brother drive log trucks for a living. Every time he sees me, he asks me about my dad's BIG TRUCK. But he says it like BIG CUCK. They are truly special people. I never knew about challenge mountain. What an inspiration.

Thanks, but it's not about me, it's about the "kids", period. It's all about smiles to me, as groomerguy says, from ear to ear. I could go on and on and on.... but this forum is about SNOCATS!
I knew nothing about them until I saw the Bus. I had heard about the bus, but until actually seeing it, I wasn't impressed. After they said, "wanna take it for a spin?", I was hooked.
To make a long story short, I have inherited caretaking duties, so here I am.
I am not a mechanic by no means, but I can do it, if not, I can find someone who will. I am not intimidated by this in the least, after reading the 17 pages of Weatherby's project. Beautiful job sir. I will take more pictures for you, it helps knowing what to shoot.
I live about 150mi south of Boyne Falls, so your garage is closer than mine.
Here's some more pics from this weekend. If you see a guy with a bear on his head, that is moi.

Man, I'd love to do something like that. I've had thoughts of doing that for some time now but not quite to the extreme of challenge mountain. Wish I lived a bit closer. I'd be down there to help out whenever I could. I worked with those types of people for nearly 8 years. Lot's of good memories. We have a summer camp here where they go to for three weeks every summer. They do allot of outdoor activities for the people such as paddle boats, swimming, campfires, canoeing etc... It really puts things into perspective working with people like that. Little things we take for granted is a real struggle for many of them. It's awesome to see that such a great place like Challenge mountain exists for them to go to and have a great time.

I went to challenge mt today, I got some pics, for weatherby, i'll post them when i get home.
But look at what I found.

Yup, lot's of those 2100s laying around, and can be had fairly cheap.

more pics close -ups this time
the bus got a good workout saturday, we had Great Lakes Burn Camp,and the are one enthusiastic group. I made my rides more theme parkish, if you know what I mean. I threw in a little history or the bus, a little suspense, some moments of awe, and a lot of pure fun.
we do need to get the air cleaner on, i have the big top piece, but that's it. any help (Plainer), would be appreciated. they have been running it w/o for way more than I would. my girlfriend is complaining about my socks, and my feet are getting cold.
enjoy the pics, my camera is new, so bear with me.
and mr weatherby, if you want i can e-mail you the bunch i took, but i'm on a different computer and dont have access to your address, so pm me.

Some more pics
I'm going back up tuesday for a group of 80 from Canada.
From what i hear they are visually impaired and vegetarian.
Wow. this will be a first for me, no hot dogs for lunch!
I'll take more pics of the bus, if you notice it has seat belts, 4 on each side.
it was too wet to get under it, but i will
thanks everybody
Enjoy life,
K2

sorry weatherby, too many programs/ files/converter/outlook/yahoo.......damn!!!!!
it take a lot of time and brain power, and i'm running out of both.
I can put them on this website, WTF?
oh well you will like the dvd i'm going to make for you, just remember it has been used at challeng mt. for 16 yrs., so it doesnt look so pristine.
should look good on a big screen tv anyway.
good luck
K2
ps notice the color of the heater knobs (they are cool)

more
but the best one is this one
she's my girlfriend's daughter Danielle, and as you can see, she is our poster child.

Awwwww Kermit!
Looks like she was having great fun.
Very nice pictures

pirate_girl said:

Awwwww Kermit!
Looks like she was having great fun.
Very nice pictures

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Yea, that is so nice to see you guys providing the opportunity so these kids can have so much fun.

Isn't she sweet? Hopefully Dani can make it up in two weeks, it's up to her doctors.
I have more pics of the bus in use, today.
Smiles were the order of the day.
I cant wipe it off my face yet!